CHARCOAL — Did you know you'll find activated charcoal in water filters and traditionally hospitals and poison control centers use it to treat accidental poisoning or a drug overdose. We use charcoal as our main whitening ingredient because it's a highly absorbent porous substance that binds to things like tannins left from coffee, wine, etc that stain teeth and leave them yellow or brown.

WHAT DOES ACTIVATED CHARCOAL MEAN? — Activated means it is purified or refined. Coconut shells are heated to create a char. This char is then "activated" in a furnace at high temperatures of 1,700° to 1,800°F with steam.

CLAY — Clay is imporatnt because it’s full of minerals like calcium, magnesium and silica which are nourishing for the teeth. Like activated charcoal, bentonite clay can be taken internally to help with toxin removal so it’s safe for use in the mouth. Clay is alkaline. My charcoal and clay blend can actually be helpful in changing the pH and health of the mouth, and as such is effective in avoiding cavities and killing the bad bacteria present in tooth decay and gingivitis.

HOW DOES IT WORK? — Activated charcoal removes plaque, toxins that cause bad breath, and teeth stains through a process called adsorption where these unwanted elements adhere to the porous surface of the charcoal. Unlike the bricks you use for your backyard barbecue, activated charcoal’s enormous surface area is dotted with the numerous nooks and crannies that draw in and trap toxic substances in your gut like a sponge, preventing them from being absorbed by the body.

DOES IT WORK FOR EVERYONE? — Your teeth may become discolored due to a variety of factors from poor dental hygiene to the food you eat to just getting older. Activated charcoal is shown to be attracted to a group of compounds known as tannins. Tannins can be found in common stain inducing items like wine, blueberries, cigarette smoke or coffee, for instance. Those are the types of stains if you brush with charcoal, you can clean off.

OUR INGREDIENTS ARE EDIBLE — Since chemicals can easily absorb through the sensitive skin in the mouth, we use ingredients that are safe enough to eat. But don't. It's best to spit out the bacteria and plaque you brushed away.

SAFER THAN CHARCOAL POWDERS &msah; Unlike abrasive charcoal teeth powders that could possibly remove enamel from teeth, the Peasasnt Co blend makes application safer by reducing the abrasiveness:

• We use a grit-free, ultra fine granular charcoal in our formula that is food grade and gentle on the enamel.
• Most importantly we add coconut oil. The reason coconut oil helps whiten teeth is similar to what oil is doing in your car’s engine. In addition to acting as a carrier oil, it's a natural lubricant that will ease the abrasiveness of charcoal.