Colgate Total® has been the trusted choice for healthy teeth and gums for more than 20 years. Worldwide, it’s the brand recommended most by dentists 
 
 Colgate Total® toothpaste is uniquely formulated with 0.3% of the antibacterial ingredient triclosan to fight harmful plaque germs, which are the cause of most common oral health problems. 
 
 There are more published, peer-reviewed clinical studies of Colgate Total ® than of any other toothpaste in the world. The efficacy and safety of Colgate Total® is supported by more than 90 clinical studies, involving over 20,000 people, and a broad set of safety evaluations. Our research has been shared with regulatory agencies around the world who have accepted triclosan’s safe and effective use in toothpaste. 
 
 Colgate Total® is clinically proven to work better than other toothpastes in reducing the germs that can cause gum disease. It is clinically proven to provide 12-hour protection against plaque germs that can lead to gingivitis, an early form of gum disease. Over 75% of American adults suffer from gingivitis. Plaque and gingivitis, if unchecked, can progress to periodontitis, a more serious and damaging stage of infection that can result in tooth and bone loss. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost half of American adults age 30 and over have serious periodontal disease. 
 
 Brushing with regular fluoride toothpaste does not provide the antibacterial protection of Colgate Total® toothpaste. On the US FDA’s website, updated as of September 2, 2016, the FDA states as follows regarding Colgate Total® toothpaste: "For some consumer products, there is evidence that triclosan provides a benefit." The FDA notes that it has “reviewed extensive effectiveness data on triclosan in Colgate Total toothpaste" and that the "evidence showed that triclosan in that product was effective in preventing gingivitis." 
 
 Additionally, only Colgate Total® toothpaste provides both antibacterial protection and direct anti-inflammatory action, which is notable given the importance of good oral health and the emerging scientific research associating oral health with overall health. 
 
 A thorough independent review was conducted and published by the Cochrane Oral Health Group on the oral health benefits of triclosan/copolymer, the active antibacterial system in Colgate Total® toothpaste. The Cochrane Review evaluated 30 studies dating from 1990 to 2012 and involving 14,835 participants (Riley & Lamont 2013). The resulting data highlighted the many clinical benefits of using a fluoride toothpaste containing triclosan/copolymer and concluded there was no evidence of any harmful effects associated with the use of triclosan/copolymer toothpastes in studies up to three years in duration. Among other things, the Cochrane Review found that after six or more months of use, fluoride toothpaste containing triclosan/copolymer provided: 
 
 22% reduction in plaque and gingivitis as compared with traditional fluoride toothpaste 
 
 22% reduction in plaque and gingivitis as compared with traditional fluoride toothpaste 41% reduction in plaque severity as compared with traditional fluoride toothpaste 
 
 41% reduction in plaque severity as compared with traditional fluoride toothpaste 48% reduction in gum bleeding as compared with traditional fluoride toothpaste 
 
 View the full text of the Cochrane Review 
 
 More questions about Colgate Total®? Ask Here 
 
 Learn More About Colgate’s Ingredient Safety Policy links ||||| A chemical ingredient of cosmetics, soaps, detergents, shampoos and toothpaste has been found to trigger liver cancer in laboratory mice, raising concerns about how safe it is for humans, scientists said. 
 
 Triclosan, a commonly used anti-bacterial agent added to bathroom and kitchen products, promotes the growth of liver tumours in mice fed relatively large quantities of the substance, a study has found. 
 
 The research is the latest to link triclosan with cancer and liver disease, but other scientists have urged caution over the findings suggesting that they do not prove a direct causal link between the chemical and the ill health of people exposed to it. 
 
 The study found that mice fed 3 grams of food containing 0.08 per cent triclosan daily for six months suffered liver damage and were more susceptible to liver tumours induced by other carcinogenic chemicals. 
 
 By comparison, one gram of toothpaste contains about 0.03 per cent triclosan, and six months in mice is equivalent to about 18 years in humans, the researchers pointed out. 
 
 However, the scientists who carried out the latest study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said that the link between triclosan and liver cancer in laboratory mice is relevant to human health because the chemical may cause similar changes in people. 
 
 “Triclosan’s increasing detection in environmental samples and its increasingly broad use in consumer products may overcome its moderate benefit and present a very real risk of liver toxicity for people, particularly when combined with other compounds with similar action,” said Professor Robert Tukey of the University of California, San Diego. 
 
 The study suggested that triclosan is damaging to the liver by interfering with a protein called constitutive androstane receptor, which helps to detoxify the blood. To compensate for this interference, the liver overproduces cells, causing fibrosis and cancer, the scientists said. 
 
 Traces of triclosan, a synthetic compound not found in nature, have been found in the breast milk of up to 97 per cent of lactating women and the urine of three quarters of people tested, the researchers said. 
 
 Concerns about its possible health effects of triclosan have resulted in an investigation by the US Food and Drug Administration, which regulates its use in America. The FDA said that it does not have enough safety evidence to recommend any change to its use in consumer products. 
 
 However, Professor Bruce Hammock of the University of California, Davis and a co-author of the study, suggested that the latest findings could lead to changes in the advice to consumers. 
 
 “We could reduce most human and environmental exposures by eliminating uses of triclosan that are high volume, but of low benefit, such as inclusion in liquid hand soaps,” Professor Hammock said. 
 
 “Yet we could also for now retain uses shown to have health value – as in toothpaste, where the amount used is small,” he said. Triclosan has been shown for instance to help the treatment of gum disease. 
 
 However, other scientists were not convinced of the risk to human health. 
 
 “Firstly, the mice used in the study were primed with a tumour-promoting chemical before being exposed to triclosan, which humans would not be. And the concentrations of triclosan used were much higher than those found in the environment,” said Oliver Jones of the University of Melbourne in Australia. 
 
 Professor Alan Boobis, a pharmacologist at Imperial College, London, said: “Studies in primates showed no hepatic [liver] damage at doses greater than those used in the present study, when administered for 12 months. Whilst it is possible that the carcinogenic effect in mice is relevant to humans, it should be noted that mouse liver tumours are induced by many chemicals, and often they are not relevant to humans.” 
 
 Triclosan is a widely-found pollutant 
 
 Triclosan was first developed in the early 1970s for use in surgical hospital scrubs and since then it has become the most ubiquitous anti-bacterial component of a wide range of consumer products ranging from shower gel to floor wax. 
 
 Its use has increased significantly in recent years with the result that it is a widely-found pollutant. About 1,500 tons of triclosan are produced worldwide each year and much of it ends up in rivers and streams – it is among the seven most commonly-detected compounds in waterways in the United States. 
 
 Concerns about its possible health effects led to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordering an inquiry. So far, however, the evidence does not warrant a change in advice to consumers, it said. 
 
 Some studies have linked it with cancer, others with hormone regulation – triclosan may mimic female hormones and so act as a “gender bender” chemical. Other research involving bacteria has even suggested that it could play a role in promoting resistance to antibiotics. 
 
 However, other studies have shown that triclosan is beneficial to human health. A 1997 study by the FDA of evidence presented by Colgate showed that triclosan is effective in preventing gingivitis – bacterial gum disease.
– The FDA last week banned the use of a chemical from soap, but not from the nation’s top-selling toothpaste. Why? The New York Times reports it was because Colgate-Palmolive convinced the FDA that the benefits of triclosan are greater than the risks. Toothpaste containing the chemical "demonstrated to be effective at reducing plaque and gingivitis," an FDA spokeswoman said. The decision came after the agency announced that there was not enough evidence to prove that antibacterial soap containing triclosan was any better "at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water." Worse, long-term use of the soap, the agency said in a statement, "has raised the question of potential negative effects on your health." Scientists have long raised concerns that prolonged exposure to germ-fighters could result in strains of resistant bacteria. The only toothpaste in the US that contains triclosan Colgate Total, the Times reports. Colgate-Palmolive insists that rigorous testing has shown the toothpaste is safe. "The full weight of scientific evidence amassed over 25 years continues to support the safety and efficacy of Colgate Total," spokesman Mike DiPiazza told the paper. But critics questioned the FDA’s logic. "We put soap on our hands, and a small amount gets into our body," said Rolf Halden, an expert at Arizona State University who has studied triclosan. He said that with exposure through the gums "chemicals get rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream." (The feds have also targeted fluoride.)