As someone who has had a lifetime of unpleasant dentist office experiences, I wasn’t really sure how to approach a zero-waste oral care routine. In fact, I’m still working it out. Each night, as I begrudgingly floss with the cursed traditional dental floss (refillable, in a glass tube) instead of my floss picks, I wonder if this is the best swap out there for clean teeth.

Fortunately, mouthwash was a much easier swap than floss for me and has involved significantly less cursing. Right now I am using Bite Mouthwash Bits. Clink the link for the review:

The Bite mouthwash bits arrived in plastic-free packaging. The box and paper are fully recyclable and came with paper tape. I always get really excited when a package arrives and before I even get to the products, the shipping material is plastic-free. If you can believe it, I have received “plastic-free items” wrapped in plastic. You can bet emails were sent in those cases!

The bits are stored in a glass bottle with an aluminum lid. In addition to being eco-friendly, they look much nicer on your counter than a giant plastic bottle and they take up less space.

The glass container is meant to be refillable. If you join a subscription, you should receive your refills in home compostable envelopes. I will write more about that when I review the toothpaste bits. I’m expecting my refills within the next week or so. Keep an eye on this space for a full review of the toothpaste bits and bamboo toothbrush.

The Bite mouthwash bits work by popping them in your mouth, chewing them a bit, taking a sip of water, swishing it around in your mouth for 30 seconds and spitting. Other mouthwash tabs I have used require dissolving the tab in water before swishing. Though this is certainly easy and the tabs can dissolve while you brush and floss, having mouthwash tabs that don’t need to dissolve means you can use them anywhere. The Bite mouthwash bits actually come with a little metal travel case that you can keep with you so you can easily freshen your breath after eating out or while traveling. I have done both. The tabs are also sturdy, looking a lot like a breath mint, so they hold up nicely during travel- they aren’t too powdery and didn’t break down in the metal tin.

Plus, as a bonus, they actually freshen your breath! I know, you would think that is sort of a must with a mouthwash tab but that isn’t always the case. Trust me! I felt a little like Godilocks while trying out mouthwash tabs. Some I bit into were so strong! The mint was almost burning until you added water and diluted it. Others I swished around and though they left your mouth feeling clean-ish, you weren’t left with minty fresh breath. This is why I test things for you, guys!

The Bite mouthwash bits were the best I have tried so far in the minty-fresh breath department. I felt that they were strong enough that your mouth felt clean after and smelled fresh but it wasn’t overpowering. There is also just a teeny, tiny bit of the burn you get from Listerine but not nearly as strong. Just enough! 🙂

So what’s in it and what isn’t? There is a debate going on in the all-natural community about the pros and cons of fluoride. I will be honest- I do not have a strong opinion either way. As someone who is prone to cavities and sensitive teeth, I was a little nervous forgoing fluoride since I was worried about causing more damage. With the release of the mouthwash tabs, Bite has introduced nHAp, or Nano-hydroxyapatite, into all their products. This is an alternative to fluoride. You can read more about nHAp in this study, which is linked on the Bite website. This website is a little more digestible but offers the same information. Or, if you don’t want to read those studies, I can summarize for you and say nHAp helps prevent gum disease, strengthens teeth, reduces sensitivity and can make teeth whiter and glossier.

In other words, all the good things you would want in a dental care product!

Not only do the mouthwash bits leave out fluoride, they are also sulfate-free, paraben-free, have no artificial flavors and are vegan-friendly.

Company-wise, if you aren’t familiar with Bite, they are a female-owned company and they are USA-made. Going even further, I had some issues with my last order (my fault! not theirs) and I got a response in less then 12 hours, they were super friendly and incredibly helpful. These are all things I LOVE to see in a company. They fact that they also make eco-friendly products is just, winning on all fronts!

What more could I possibly say besides I am a big fan of these mouthwash tabs! I’ve been using them for about 2 weeks and much prefer them over the brand I was using previously. I do not notice an increase in sensitivity and my mouth feels clean. I highly recommend trying them. And since I am not even remotely popular enough to have companies sponsor me, you know these opinions are 100% my own. 🙂