Toothpaste widely contaminated with lead and other metals, US research finds

Summary

Toothpaste can be widely contaminated with lead and other dangerous heavy metals, new research shows.Most of 51 brands of toothpaste tested for lead contained the dangerous heavy metal, including those for children, or marketed as green. The testing, conducted by Lead Safe Mama, also found concerning levels of highly toxic arsenic, mercury and cadmium in many brands.About 90% of toothpastes contained lead, 65% contained arsenic, just under half contained mercury, and one-third had cadmium. Many brands contain a number of the toxins.The highest levels detected violate some federal and state limits in the US, though the thresholds have been roundly criticized by public health advocates for not being protective – no level of exposure to lead is safe, the federal government has found.“It’s unconscionable – especially in 2025,” said Tamara Rubin, Lead Safe Mama’s founder. “What’s really interesting to me is that no one thought this was a concern.”Lead can cause cognitive damage to children, harm the kidneys and cause heart disease, among other issues. Lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic are all carcinogens.Rubin first learned that lead was added to toothpaste about 12 years ago while working with families that had children with high levels of the metal in their blood. The common denominator among them was a brand of toothpaste, Earthpaste, that contained lead.Last year she detected high levels in some toothpaste using an XRF lead detection tool. The levels were high enough to raise concern, and she crowdfunded with readers to send popular brands to an independent laboratory for testing.Among those found to contain the toxins were Crest, Sensodyne, Tom’s of Maine, Dr Bronner’s, Davids, Dr Jen and others.So far, none of the companies Lead Safe Mama checked have said they will work to get lead out of their product, Rubin said. Several sent her cease-and-desist letters, which she said she ignored, but also posted on her blog.Some companies have defended themselves, often clai...