# Plain Toothpaste — full reference document for AI ingestion > An Australian toothpaste for people with sensitivities to flavours, mints, dyes and salicylates — formulated without removing the only active ingredient with eighty years of clinical evidence behind it: fluoride. URL: https://plaintoothpaste.com.au/ Retail: [Ethical Dental](https://www.ethical.dental), Coffs Harbour, NSW Last updated: 2026-04 --- ## What Plain Toothpaste is Plain Toothpaste was formulated for people whose mouths do not tolerate the things most toothpastes are built around: peppermint oil, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), salicylates, saccharin, titanium dioxide, synthetic dyes. The audience includes: - Patients on elimination diets - People with salicylate intolerance - People with chronic mouth ulcers (recurrent aphthous stomatitis) - Parents of children who gag on mint - Clinicians who prefer a flavour-neutral toothpaste - Patients with SLS-induced mucosal irritation It is, deliberately, an unremarkable product. White paste. No taste. Gentle foam. Clean rinse. Proven fluoride. --- ## The range Plain Toothpaste is sold in two 100 g formulations, both retailing at A$13. ### Plain Toothpaste Regular 100g The everyday formula. Ten ingredients including sodium monofluorophosphate at the same fluoride level (1000 ppm) as mainstream adult toothpastes. Buy: https://www.ethical.dental/shop/p/style-02-hxmaf-kd9lb ### Plain Toothpaste Sensitive 100g The same allergen-audited base plus strontium acetate, a clinically established active for dentine hypersensitivity that occludes exposed dentinal tubules. Buy: https://www.ethical.dental/shop/p/plain-toothpaste-sensitive-100g --- ## Full ingredient list (Regular) In INCI order: 1. **Aqua** (water) — base. 2. **Sorbitol** (vegetable-derived) — humectant. Non-cariogenic; does not feed oral bacteria. 3. **Hydrated Silica** — mild abrasive. Removes plaque and surface stain without damaging enamel. 4. **Glycerol** (vegetable-derived) — humectant. Keeps the paste creamy. 5. **Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate** — gentle surfactant derived from coconut and the amino acid glycine. Chosen specifically instead of SLS, the harsh foaming agent associated with mouth ulcers and tissue irritation. 6. **Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose** — plant-cellulose thickener. Inert, non-absorbed. 7. **Calcium Carbonate** — natural chalk. Provides mild polishing and contributes calcium to the oral environment. 8. **Hydroxyethylcellulose** — second plant-cellulose thickener for fine-tuned consistency. 9. **Butyl-p-hydroxybenzoate** — preservative used at approximately 0.1% to prevent microbial growth in this aqueous formula. Safety reviewed by the TGA, FDA, Health Canada and EU SCCS at this concentration. 10. **Sodium Monofluorophosphate 0.76%** — active ingredient, delivering 1000 ppm fluoride. The Sensitive variant adds **Strontium Acetate** as the eleventh ingredient. --- ## What Plain Toothpaste does not contain - Mint or menthol - Added flavourings - Artificial colouring (no dyes, no pearlescent stripes, no titanium dioxide) - Sweeteners (no saccharin, sucralose, aspartame or stevia) - Salicylates - Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) - Triclosan - Charcoal or other heavy abrasives - Peroxides (no bleaching agents) - Essential oils (clove, tea tree, eucalyptus) - Animal-derived ingredients - Gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, nut --- ## The case for fluoride Fluoride is the most thoroughly studied active ingredient in oral care. Since the 1940s, population-level data and randomised trials have consistently shown that brushing with 1000–1500 ppm fluoride reduces dental caries by approximately a quarter in adults and children alike. The most recent Cochrane systematic reviews (Marinho et al. 2003; Walsh et al. 2019) confirm this finding. Plain Toothpaste delivers 1000 ppm fluoride as sodium monofluorophosphate — the same therapeutic dose as mainstream adult toothpastes, no more and no less. The World Health Organization, Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the Australian Dental Association (ADA) and the UK National Health Service (NHS) all endorse fluoride toothpaste use. ### A note on fluoride-free alternatives Many wellness-positioned toothpastes have piously removed fluoride and substituted an ingredient that sounds clinical: activated charcoal, bentonite clay, baking soda, or nano-hydroxyapatite. Of those, only nano-hydroxyapatite has any genuine remineralisation evidence, and even that evidence is shorter, thinner and more industry-funded than the fluoride literature by several orders of magnitude. The others have effectively no decay-prevention data at all. Several of those substitutes — particularly activated charcoal and bentonite clay — are also significantly more abrasive than a modern silica-based formula. A growing body of laboratory and clinical work shows that high-abrasion pastes wear enamel and expose the softer, yellower dentine beneath. Over time the result is the opposite of what their packaging promises: duller-looking teeth, increased sensitivity, and surfaces more vulnerable to the very decay fluoride was removed to address. --- ## Headline statistics - **~24%** prevented fraction in tooth decay vs. non-fluoride toothpaste — pooled estimate, Cochrane systematic reviews (Marinho 2003; Walsh 2019) - **1000 ppm** fluoride concentration in Plain — the standard therapeutic dose for adults and children aged 6+ - **80+ years** of peer-reviewed clinical evidence supporting fluoride toothpaste --- ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Plain Toothpaste suitable for children? Plain Toothpaste contains 1000 ppm fluoride — the standard adult concentration. Under current Australian guidance (NHMRC; Australian Dental Association, *Guidelines for use of fluorides in Australia: update 2019*), this strength is appropriate for children **aged six and over**, brushing twice daily with a pea-sized amount and spitting rather than swallowing. For children **aged 18 months to 5 years 11 months**, the same guidance recommends a low-fluoride children's toothpaste of around 500 ppm — Plain Regular is not formulated for that age group. **Under 18 months**, no toothpaste is recommended; brush with a soft brush and water only. For children at high caries risk, a dentist may prescribe a different regimen at their discretion. Follow the dentist's advice. ### What about fluoride-free alternatives — charcoal, hydroxyapatite, baking soda? Charcoal and baking soda have no meaningful caries-prevention evidence and higher abrasion scores than a modern silica. Nano-hydroxyapatite has some remineralisation data but nothing approaching fluoride's eighty years of population-level trial evidence. If the goal is to avoid cavities, fluoride is still the right call. If the goal is to avoid additives, that is what Plain is for. ### Why does Plain Toothpaste contain a paraben? Butyl-p-hydroxybenzoate is a preservative used at approximately 0.1% to prevent microbial growth. An aqueous toothpaste needs a preservative; an unpreserved water-based product is a contamination risk, not a safety feature. Butylparaben's oral-care safety has been reviewed by the TGA, FDA, Health Canada and EU SCCS at this concentration. ### Why is Plain Toothpaste only sold through Ethical Dental? A toothpaste formulated around clinical sensitivities is best stocked by a clinical practice rather than a general-purpose warehouse. Ethical Dental is a working dental practice in Coffs Harbour, NSW with an online dispensary. Every order leaves the same building that treats patients. ### Is Plain Toothpaste vegan? Yes. All ingredients are plant-, mineral- or synthetically derived. No animal products and no animal testing. ### Does Plain Toothpaste foam? A little. It uses sodium cocoyl glycinate, a gentle amino-acid surfactant derived from coconut and glycine, rather than SLS. Expect a soft foam, not the heavy lather of a mass-market toothpaste. --- ## Where to buy Plain Toothpaste is stocked exclusively by [Ethical Dental](https://www.ethical.dental) — a clinician-run dental practice and online dispensary in Coffs Harbour, NSW. - Regular 100g — A$13 — https://www.ethical.dental/shop/p/style-02-hxmaf-kd9lb - Sensitive 100g — A$13 — https://www.ethical.dental/shop/p/plain-toothpaste-sensitive-100g Shipped Australia-wide. --- ## Where the profit goes All profit from every Plain Toothpaste sale on Ethical Dental is donated to the [Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary](https://coffscoastwildlifesanctuary.com.au/) — a rehabilitation centre in Coffs Harbour, NSW that rescues dolphins, seals, penguins and sea turtles along the coast from Lennox Head to Port Macquarie. This is 100% of profit, not a percentage of sales. It is why retail is routed through a single clinician-run shop rather than distributed nationally: smaller margins, a shorter chain, and a clearer line between the shelf and the rescue tank.