Comments on: Wither the ADA's blessing?

Question: Wither the ADA's blessing?

bruceo — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:45:22 -0800

Why do Crest, Colgate, etc. no longer display the ADA seal of approval?

Since the '70s, almost all toothpaste brands have sported a "Seal of Approval" from the American Dental Association. I've been accustomed to the cute little ADA logo appearing on all the boxes in my store's toothpaste aisle. In my head, the seal means "Has fluoride and won't dissolve your enamel."

Recently, I noticed that Crest and Colgate and most other brands no longer display the ADA seal/logo on their packaging. I'm not sure when this happened. AIM still displays the seal, but I could not find any others.

Is it possible that the ADA has withdrawn their approval of these brands? Or do the toothpaste companies feel that the ADA seal is no longer necessary or useful?

By: Metroid Baby

Metroid Baby — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:55:55 -0800

Aha! Here you go:

The Seal is your assurance that the toothpaste has met the ADA criteria for safety and effectiveness. You can trust that claims made on packaging and labeling for ADA-Accepted products are true, because companies must verify all of the information to the ADA—even claims for which a product might not be Accepted. For example, although the ADA gives its Seal to toothpastes that can show they are effective in reducing cavities, the ADA would not give its Seal because a toothpaste is low in abrasion. Nonetheless, before a company could make a "low in abrasion" claim, it would need to provide supporting data to the ADA.

So for a toothpaste to get the ADA seal, the toothpaste company has to prove that ALL of the claims on the tube are true. Nowadays toothpastes claim to do so many things that it's probably harder to get the seal.

By: zpousman

zpousman — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:12:08 -0800

Metroid Baby is correct... It's because every toothpaste claims to whiten your teeth, straighten them, and also to "provide a minty fresh mouth" and make tens of other claims in a glittery font. And the ADA can't really rate the minty-ness of the toothpaste, and the whitening claims are similarly marketroid b.s.

By: needs more cowbell

needs more cowbell — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:24:03 -0800

Yes, the plainer varieties (like Colgate's "Fluoride Toothpaste, Cavity Protection Great Regular Flavor") still have the ADA seal.

By: hal_c_on

hal_c_on — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:45:26 -0800

So basically, the rise of marketing has a inverse correlation with approval from a legitimate and trusted medical association. Interesting...

By: goethean

goethean — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:10:21 -0800

the rise of marketing has a inverse correlation with approval

They were always marketed. This is more like the rise of hyper-marketing.

By: mendel

mendel — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:00:35 -0800

And the ADA seal is marketing, but when everyone has the seal, it's not differentiating anymore. So they're choosing to differentiate themselves with the hard-to-prove benefits instead of with the same seal everyone else has (and no-one cares about as much as the hard-to-prove benefits).

By: davejay

davejay — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:19:49 -0800

FWIW, I just noticed this on Tom's Natural toothpaste as well; the children's toothpaste makes few claims and has the seal, and the adult's toothpaste makes few claims...and doesn't have the seal.

By: pearl228

pearl228 — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:12:20 -0800

As someone who works for one of the big soap 'n toothpaste Co's, I think mendel's on the right track.

I've gathered that it's really expensive, and takes a really long time, to get official approval in general (FDA, etc.). Sometimes it's simply impractical even though a product might be worthy of it. Innovation happens so fast now and there's great pressure to put new product on the shelf quickly.

Also, I imagine it might have something to do with IP issues now that these companies are chasing after all of these new benefits and developing their own technologies to deliver them.

By: bruceo

bruceo — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:36:12 -0800

great work, mb. and in ten minutes!