Are activated charcoal oral care products safe to use?

In a paper published by Norman Horn, Ph.D., “The Science Behind My Magic Mud Products,” lab results from recent studies indicate that Colgate’s and the American Dental Association's recent negative claims about activated charcoal could be inaccurate. Carbon & Clay Company, who owns the brand My Magic Mud^®, a natural line of oral care products available in stores across North America, Europe and Australia, has responded to negative claims against their primary ingredient, activated charcoal, by conducting laboratory studies in accordance with the ADAs own recommendations for determining safety of tooth cleaning products on enamel and dentin.

REA (Relative Enamel Abrasion) and RDA (Relative Dentin Abrasion) studies were performed in a controlled laboratory and overseen by chemical engineer Norman Horn, Ph.D. The results indicate that My Magic Mud^® Activated Charcoal Toothpaste and Activated Charcoal Tooth Powder products fall comfortably within range of safety, which may prove Colgate and the ADA wrong about their recent claims that activated charcoal may be too abrasive for teeth.

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Pellicle Stain Removal Studies were also performed on My Magic Mud’s activated charcoal oral care products, measuring their efficacy compared to an ADA-approved standard dentifrice (toothpaste), and the results indicate My Magic Mud^® products were significantly more effective at stain removal than the reference material.

My Magic Mud President Justin Arman offered his comments on the studies: “Seeing that our products fall within range of safety on enamel and dentin, according to the ADA standards, while simultaneously demonstrating the effectiveness of stain removal in a controlled study, according to ADA’s standard of measure, shows that natural products can stand up to the science, and that dentists should start looking at the numbers, rather than making inaccurate categorical claims. Activated charcoal can be manufactured in different particle sizes and from different sources, so we can only speak for the safety indicated in the lab studies performed on our activated charcoal products specifically.”

My Magic Mud has begun its first clinical trials and will publish studies as they become available.