GoodGuide's Toothpaste Ratings: Which Brands Are Best and Worst?

Miessence Anise Toothpaste beats all comers, while Mentadent Advanced Whitening Toothpaste finishes last among nearly 200 toothpaste products rated by GoodGuide.

Consumer Ally has teamed up with GoodGuide, whose experts have rated more than 65,000 consumer goods -- including food, toys, personal care and household products -- using factors that include concern for the environment, personal health and social responsibility, as consumers begin increasingly to consider those in addition to price.

Good Guide's ratings also include a brief explanation for each category, though the user can drill down into each score for more detail. The health score measures a product's potential health impact on consumers.The environment score is based on the impact of the product in question and the company's overall policies and practices. The society score evaluates social impact, which can include treatment of workers, workplace diversity, community involvement and corporate ethics.

Miessence Anise Toothpaste's rating of 8.6 was based on:

• A health score of 10: This product has no ingredients that raise health concerns.
• An environment score of 8.1: Compared to other companies, this company scores well on reducing pollution emissions that cause global warming.
• A society score of 7.7: This company scores well compared to others on commitment to its local community.

Conversely, Mentadent Advanced Whitening Toothpaste's rating of 3.2 was based on:

• A health score of 0: This product contains four or more ingredients that raise a low level of health concern.
• An environment score of 3.8: The company that makes this product has one of the lowest scores for practices that are climate-friendly.
• A society score of 5.7: The company that makes this product has an above average score in ethical policies and performance.

Last time around, we examined GoodGuide's household cleaner ratings. This time, we'll see how GoodGuide experts rated 196 toothpaste products. Below are its top-five best and worst. In order to avoid repetition of a particular brand (Miesssence and Tom's dominate the top 26 spots), we've skipped ahead to the next best or worst brand.

The Best Toothpaste

• Miessence Anise Toothpaste (8.6)
• Tom's of Maine Whole Care Gel Peppermint Toothpaste (8.0)
• Lavera Basis Toothpaste (7.9)
• Weleda Ratanhia Toothpaste (7.6)
• Biotene Antibacterial Dry Mouth Toothpaste with Calcium, Gentle Mint Gel (7.3)

The Worst Toothpaste

• Orajel Toddler Training Toothpaste, Fruit Splash (4.5)
• Colgate Total Toothpaste Clean Mint (4.1)
• CVS Apple-Banana Toothpaste (3.6)
• Plus White 5 Minute Power Gel Bleaching (3.6)
• Mentadent Advanced Whitening Toothpaste (3.1)

You can view all the top-rated toothpaste (in descending order) here, and all the poorly rated toothpaste (in ascending order) here.