If you want the best toothpaste for your money and for your family’s health, you’ll have to look beyond the most common brands to smaller, less-well-known brands that are more careful what they put in their products.

You can find Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Carrageean and Sorbitol in some brands. And most brands include Sodium Saccharin, a questionable artificial sweetener that’s the same thing as those pink packets some people once used in their tea or coffee before better alternatives were available.

Worst of all the chemicals found in big-name toothpastes is Sodium Fluoride and the other forms or Fluoride. While this was once considered essential to healthy teeth, there are better choices now that are non-toxic and don’t have the side effects. If you want the best toothpaste available, you want a fluoride-free toothpaste.

So which brands can be trusted? You need to carefully read the label of any product you’re considering, but you can trust some products from Tom’s of Maine, now made by Colgate, Jason and Kiss My Face.

Other brands you may be able to trust are:

• Dr. Ken’s
• The Natural Dentist
• Tea Tree Therapy
• Vicco
• Desert Essence
• Weleda, and
• Spry.

Reading labels and staying vigilant is as essential when choosing a toothpaste as it is when choosing vegetables, packaged foods and other products for your family. It’s so important to choose the right toothpaste because it goes into your mouth every day, is absorbed through your gums and some of it is inevitably swallowed, especially by children who don’t know any better.

Remember that even trusted makers change their formulas all the time, so a product that’s acceptable one week could be bad for you the next. Remember also that some products from trusted makers are better than others. Not every choice is a fluoride-free toothpaste that deserves to be called the best toothpaste for your precious family.

If you are willing to put in the time, here is a health homemade toothpaste recipe.