If we renew our plastic toothbrushes as often as we 'should' then each of us will send 4 toothbrushes per year to landfill (or into the ocean in places where refuse collection isn't meticulous), so that's almost 300 plastic toothbrushes accumulated in an average lifetime. These toothbrushes outlast us by hundreds of years! It's amazing we aren't already knee deep in toothbrushes. In some parts of the ocean that is, sadly, almost a reality.
I didn't fancy a bamboo toothbrush, as bamboo stays slimy meaning it potentially goes stinky and even mouldy, if you aren't fastidious about drying it out.
Then I found cornstarch toothbrushes. They are made by 'The Natural Family Company' and sold by Holland and Barret, Amazon and various eco-focussed online retailers, at £8 for two. The look, feel and act just like a plastic toothbrush. The 'River Mint' one is a really nice soft minty green / turquoise colour (it doesn't show in the photo how nice it is). The bristles are unfortunately made of plastic (nylon) but that is still a much smaller plastic footprint than a fully plastic toothbrush leaves behind.
The Natural family Company also sell cornstarch toothbrushes for young children, available from the same places as the adult toothbrushes detailed above. Their 'Jack and Jill' range is decorated with very cute, gender-neutral, bunny / dino / hippo / koala designs. It's a relief to not be faced with just the blue option or the pink option when trying to buy a child-friendly toothbrush that the child might actually like the look of.
As yet I haven't found a cornstarch toothbrush for older children, but I'm sure the tide is turning. So, in the meantime, for an older child I use a Yaweco plastic toothbrush with Yaweco detachable toothbrush heads from Amazon, *UPDATE* which now come in plastic-free packaging. So only the plastic toothbrush head is thrown away each time, the handle is reused indefinitely.
Now, what to use with your plastic-free toothbrush...?
Having tried a number of (disgusting and pain-inducing) plastic-free toothpastes, I have happily settled on toothtabs. 'Eco Living Toothpaste Tablets' available from the Eco Living website or from Ethical Superstore are pleasant to use and leave my teeth feeling clean. I would always choose the WITH FLUORIDE option as I found non-fluoride tooth cleaning products left me (and others Google would suggest) with very sore gums. They need to be chewed to a powder (as this is what you need to do for a few seconds, before brushing with any tooth tabs). The 'Eco Living' Toothpaste Tabs are made in the UK and have plastic-free, home-compostable packaging. You *MUST* take them straight out of the packet and put them in a water-tight container, as living in a damp bathroom will soon turn them to mush! I keep them in an old jar, without a lip on the lid (Sainsbury's own-brand herbs and spices jars are good for this) so the Toothpaste tabs stay fresh, plus they are then easy to tip out into the lid and onto your hand, one at a time.
If you haven't found a plastic-free toothpaste option that suits your children, you can save up and drop off the plastic tubes with a Terracycle collector - any brand of toothpaste tube-and-cap is accepted.
*UPDATE* The 'Ben and Anna' brand now do a Strawberry Toothpaste for Kids, suitable for age 3+. It comes in a glass jar with a metal lid and it has a bamboo spatula to hygienically scoop out a blob of toothpaste. I keep the bamboo spatula standing up, poked into an old cork, to keep it dry and hygienic in the bathroom cupboard.
*UPDATE* I have found tooth tabs to be suitable to use with children of upper-primary-school age, it's important they are able to hold the toothpaste tablet in their front teeth to chew it (rather than accidentally swallowing it).
*UPDATE* For information about how to make using an electric toothbrush more environmentally friendly, see my blog post on the topic of electric toothbrush heads.
I am a floss-and-mouthwash convert (using them makes the yearly dental check-ups far less painful). I love the 'Georganics Spearmint Mouthwash Tablets' as they are pleasantly minty and refreshing (plus they are made in the UK). If you have the spatial-awareness required for dental floss use (I don't!) then the 'Georganics Charcoal Spearmint Dental Floss' is great (it initially comes in a glass dispenser, then you buy refills in compostable paper bags). For those of us who need extra help with flossing, 'The Humble Co. Corn Starch Mint Floss Picks' (available from Holland and Barret) are sadly rather a greenwash option (but better than fully plastic picks. They are still made from 60% plastic (and 40% cornstarch) with a nylon thread, but they are far better (gentler yet longer lasting) than the fully-plastic tooth-flossing-picks I used in my past (plastic-unaware) life. The pack of The Humble Co Picks I have will probably last me years, as I was the pick after use and continue to use it until the string breaks (each usually lasts a few weeks!) I keep the (washed) 'in use' floss pick standing up poked into an old cork, to keep it dry and hygienic in the bathroom cupboard.
Wow, that was a lot to take in. Happy (and virtually guilt-free) brushing!