Recent research has revealed that many brands of toothpaste may be contaminated with lead and other dangerous heavy metals.
The study, conducted by Lead Safe Mama, tested 51 toothpaste brands and found that a significant number contained lead, including those marketed for children and labeled as environmentally friendly.
About 90% of the analyzed toothpastes contained lead, 65% were found to have arsenic, just under half had mercury, and one-third contained cadmium.
Many brands tested positive for multiple toxins, raising red flags about their safety.
The highest levels of toxins detected in these products violated the state of Washington’s legal limits, although they did not breach federal thresholds.
Public health advocates have criticized these federal standards as insufficiently protective, as studies indicate that no level of lead exposure is safe.
Tamara Rubin, the founder of Lead Safe Mama, expressed her disbelief at the findings, stating, ‘It’s unconscionable – especially in 2025.
What’s really interesting to me is that no one thought this was a concern.’
Lead exposure can lead to significant cognitive damage in children, kidney harm, and increase the risk of heart disease among other health issues.
Lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic are all recognized carcinogens, heightening the urgency for consumers to be aware of these findings.
Rubin’s journey into uncovering lead contamination started over a decade ago while assisting families who had children exhibiting high blood lead levels.
A common factor among these cases was the use of a specific toothpaste brand, Earthpaste, which was found to contain lead.
Last year, Rubin employed an XRF lead detection tool and found alarming levels in various toothpastes, prompting her to launch a crowdfunding campaign for further independent laboratory testing of popular toothpaste brands.
Among the brands that tested positive for these toxic heavy metals were Crest, Sensodyne, Tom’s of Maine, Dr Bronner’s, Davids, and Dr Jen.
So far, none of the companies that Lead Safe Mama investigated have committed to removing lead from their products.
Several brands responded to the findings by issuing cease-and-desist letters, which Rubin has publicly addressed on her blog.
Some companies have defended their products, claiming that lead is present at trace levels throughout the environment and thus unavoidable.
Others asserted that the levels detected by Rubin are not a cause for concern.
Congress is currently deliberating on the federal Baby Food Safety Act of 2024, which proposes lead limits in children’s food set at 10 parts per billion (ppb).
California has established a stricter limit of 6 ppb for lead in baby food.
However, neither of these regulations includes toothpaste products, with many tested exceeding these thresholds significantly.
The FDA currently enforces a lead limit of 10,000 ppb for fluoride-free toothpaste and 20,000 ppb for fluoride-containing varieties, and none of the tested toothpastes surpassed these FDA limits.
Washington state has recently instituted a new law that sets lead limits at 1,000 ppb, with several toothpaste brands exceeding that level reported by Rubin.
However, companies have been given time to comply with these new regulations.
As of now, the FDA has not responded to requests for comments regarding these alarming findings, nor has Crest’s parent company, Procter & Gamble.
Lead Safe Mama indicates that the contamination likely originates from certain ingredients added to toothpaste, such as hydroxyapatite, calcium carbonate, and bentonite clay.
Hydroxyapatite, sourced from cow bones, is purported to aid calcium absorption in teeth, though Rubin expresses skepticism about its efficacy.
Calcium carbonate is added to assist with stain removal, while bentonite clay serves as a cleaning agent.
Toothpastes with the highest toxicity levels tended to contain bentonite clay.
Rubin’s analysis of hydroxyapatite and calcium carbonate as standalone ingredients also revealed concerning levels of lead and other heavy metals, implying these may be the source of contamination.
Conversely, several children’s toothpaste options, such as Dr Brown’s Baby Toothpaste, showed no positive tests for any heavy metals and did not contain the problematic ingredients in question.
image source from：https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/toothpaste-lead-heavy-metals
