The Truth About Toothpaste Safety: Why We Go the Extra Mile at Smart Charlie’s

When it comes to what you put in your mouth every day, we believe you deserve full transparency. At Smart Charlie’s, we’re building our brand around a simple promise: to deliver the cleanest, safest, and most effective toothpaste possible — without cutting corners.

Why Toothpaste Safety Matters

Toothpaste is something we use twice a day, every day, and many people don’t realize that some “natural” and even conventional brands can contain measurable levels of heavy metals — including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. While these elements occur naturally in the earth, they should not be present in products designed for daily oral use.

This concern is particularly relevant for dry toothpaste powders, which independent testing has shown can sometimes contain exceptionally high concentrations of lead and other heavy metals. These elevated levels are often linked to the use of unrefined mineral or clay-based toothpaste ingredients such as bentonite or kaolin, which can naturally absorb metals from the soil in which they form.

While these clays can be refined through industrial purification methods — including filtration, sedimentation, or mild acid washing — complete removal of heavy metals is not possible. Even after processing, trace amounts can remain because lead and other metals are inherent to the mineral structure. For this reason, only pharmaceutical- or cosmetic-grade clays that undergo strict quality control and third-party heavy metal testing should be considered suitable for oral care formulations.

How We Measure Up

We felt so confident in our product’s safety that we submitted Smart Charlie’s to an independent, ISO-certified laboratory for a low-level, food-grade heavy metals test — the same rigorous analysis used for products meant to be swallowed. We’re proud to share that our toothpaste tested significantly cleaner than most brands we benchmarked against:

• Zero detected: Mercury & Cadmium
• Extremely low trace levels: Lead & Arsenic

Daily exposure from typical use is approximately 0.1 µg/day for adults — well below California Prop 65’s 0.5 µg/day limit — and contains 10–60x less lead than what’s found in common foods such as spinach, rice, and sweet potatoes.

In fact, our testing revealed that Smart Charlie’s has over 700% less lead than some mainstream whitening brands tested in the same lab. This independent lab validation reinforces our mission to produce the best nano hydroxyapatite toothpaste on the market — one that’s both effective and genuinely safe.

Understanding the Numbers

To put this into perspective, many everyday foods naturally contain more lead than our toothpaste:

Food Item	Lead per Serving
Spinach (1 cup, raw)	Up to 6.0 µg
Sweet Potatoes (100g)	Up to 4.0 µg
Carrots (100g)	Up to 3.0 µg
Rice (1 cup, cooked)	Up to 2.0 µg
Dark Chocolate (40g)	Up to 2.8 µg
Whole Wheat Bread (2 slices)	Up to 0.9 µg
Smart Charlie’s Toothpaste (2g daily)	~0.1 µg/day

Even if swallowed, our toothpaste contributes significantly less lead than many nutrient-rich, everyday foods — often 10 to 60 times less. That’s the level of purity we aim to achieve with every batch.

Why This Matters

When you choose Smart Charlie’s, you’re choosing a toothpaste that is:

• ✅ Independently lab-tested for safety and purity
• ✅ Safe for kids and those with sensitive mouths
• ✅ Free from harmful toothpaste ingredients such as synthetic dyes, parabens, and sulfates
• ✅ Formulated with clean, effective toothpaste ingredients that support remineralization and enamel health
• ✅ Built on ongoing innovation using fluoride substitute toothpastes powered by nano hydroxyapatite

Our Clean Commitment

We only use purified, food-grade ingredients from trusted sources and test to ensure these trace levels stay far below any level of concern. Every ingredient we select — from our natural abrasives to our nano hydroxyapatite — is chosen for safety, performance, and purity.

Smart Charlie’s remains committed to continuous improvement and transparency because we believe you deserve more than marketing claims. You deserve proof. That’s why we rely on independent laboratory verification and internationally recognized standards for food-grade and cosmetic safety.

What Sets Smart Charlie’s Apart

Unlike many commercial brands that rely on fluoride, artificial whiteners, and chemical foaming agents, Smart Charlie’s uses nano hydroxyapatite — a clinically supported fluoride substitute toothpaste ingredient that naturally strengthens enamel and reduces sensitivity without toxicity concerns. Nano hydroxyapatite is biocompatible and non-toxic, making it one of the safest and most effective alternatives to fluoride available today.

This commitment to using proven, non-toxic ingredients — paired with independent heavy metal testing — ensures that our toothpaste stands among the best nano hydroxyapatite toothpastes available anywhere.

Transparency You Can Trust

We believe transparency builds trust. Our ISO-certified heavy metals testing confirms Smart Charlie’s ranks among the cleanest options available. Our report has been submitted to Lead Safe Mama for review, and you can explore how other brands compare in this 2025 Toothpaste chart..

Have Questions?

We welcome your curiosity. If you have questions about our toothpaste ingredients, test results, or our approach to safe oral care, please reach out to us anytime at info@SmartCharlieNaturals.com.

Thanks for choosing clean, smart oral care for your family — and for supporting a brand committed to safety, integrity, and full transparency through independent testing.

Source: LeadSafeMama.com – 2025 Toothpaste Test Result

References

El-Desouky, M., & Ali, H. (2025). Heavy metal content of over-the-counter toothpastes: A systematic review of in vitro studies. Frontiers in Dental Medicine.

Lachenmeier, D. W., & Bohme, S. (2016). Technically avoidable heavy metal contents in cosmetic products. Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, 11(4), 337–345.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (n.d.). FDA’s testing of cosmetics for arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury, and nickel content. Retrieved October 30, 2025

Health Canada. (n.d.). Guidance on heavy metal impurities in cosmetics. Retrieved October 30, 2025