Sensitive gums? Try Neem toothpaste

Today seems to be a day to talk about toothpaste for me. Earlier in the day I wrote in my mummy blog about using some banana flavoured toothpaste. Sounds fun? Quite fun, actually. But this post is more about a regular toothpaste review. In case you’re wondering, I’m no toothpaste freak, just want to share some information although toothpaste is a rather mundane thing to talk about! Read on anyway, as there is more to this than just a review. Apparently this toothpaste has some ingredient issue, although I do not know how true it is and whether it’s been resolved.

I never use to have any problems using any kind of toothpaste in the market from Colgate to Darlie to Fresh & White, etc. But some 2 to 3 years back I started to get this awful sensitive gum problem where it feels uneasy and sensitive whenever I brush some areas of my mouth. That’s when I switched to using brands like Oral-B and Sensodyne which are more expensive. Sensodyne worked for my sensitive gums but not Oral-B.

Then I went on to try Himalaya Dental Cream which is a 100% vegetarian and herbal based toothpaste (read my previous post about it here). It also works very well for my sensitive gums and I have been using it for more than a year already. Then recently I ran out of toothpaste and when I went to one of the Guardian outlets to replenish, they didn’t have stock. Desperately needing a toothpaste, I decided to give this other brand a try – Neem.

The Neem toothpaste is also a 100% vegetarian and herbal base toothpaste and I found it even more refreshing than the Himalaya Dental Cream. I also have no problems using this on my sensitive gums. So I guess this is a cheaper alternative to the Himalaya Dental Cream (the Himalaya brand costs RM9.90 for 100g tube whilst Neem costs RM6.90 for a 200g tube).

Neem toothpaste’s main ingredients include neem extract which makes it a very effective germ fighter and is effective in preventing cavities, bleeding gums and gum inflammation. However, sometime in 2007 the Canadian government apparently banned the sale of this toothpaste in the country citing excessive use of a chemical called diethylene glycol (DEG). It claimed that unacceptable amount of this chemical is found in the toothpaste and it is supposedly poisonous and can cause abdominal pain, nausea, kidney failure and even death when swallowed.

It sounds pretty scary but upon further checks, I couldn’t find any other country that has openly banned this product. Instead, I found many user reviews which agree that this is an excellent toothpaste that has helped to improve their oral problems and enhanced their oral health. Some have also wondered if the Canadian government got the toothpaste mixed up with some copycat brand of the Neem toothpaste.

Whatever it is, it’s been 2 years since then and I can’t find any other complaint about this toothpaste and I do believe that in Malaysia we would’ve some tests to make sure that it is safe for use.

If you are thinking of trying but feel uncertain now that I’ve also alerted you on the ban in Canada, perhaps you should do more research about it before buying. And if you come across more info, do share with me by leaving a comment here on this post.

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