It’s a study published in the journal Nature which reports that several manufacturers of dental floss would use chemicals potentially dangerous for health. American scientists point the finger in particular to fluorine, which is used to “protect” dental floss and which would contain toxic products.
Endocrine disruptors and dental floss
The chemicals in question? These are perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, which are more commonly called PFAS. These are fluorinated surfactants, which make it possible to increase the spreading and wetting capacities of a liquid by lowering its surface tension. The surfactant, for example, is what makes a shampoo foam.
As part of this study, scientists reveal that these PFAS are very present on some brands of these dental tools. However, PFAS are known to be endocrine disruptors and persistent organic pollutants.
They are still used in many household products, for their particular resistance to grease in particular. The problem is that the chemicals they contain enter human biological tissues and affect the immune system.
A study of PFAS in American women
This dental floss alert was born out of a study on PFAS in general. Scientists studied 178 middle-aged women, half of whom are African-American. They were interested in the presence of six types of PFAS in their organism. During their research, they found two things: African American women have fewer toxic substances in their blood than others, and one of the major toxic factors is the use of dental floss.
The highest levels of PFAS were found in women using Oral-B Glide thread. Analysis of this dental floss confirmed the presence of chemicals dangerous to health.
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