Platform welcomes extended timeline to inform safety discussions around the use of Synthetic Amorphous Silica (SAS) in fluoride toothpaste

The Platform for Better Oral Health in Europe would like to extend its thanks to the oral health community for having come together in raising the public health concerns of a potential ban of synthetic amorphous silica (SAS), which was being discussed at a meeting of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) on Thursday 11 March 2021.

The Platform, alongside the broader oral community sought to underline the (unintended) public health consequences of imposing such a ban without better understanding the implications, notably on the impact of the availability and affordability of fluoride toothpaste, an essential health product, and had called on the relevant decisionmakers to ‘stop the clock’ and adapt the process to allow oral health stakeholders a realistic timeframe to provide input.

We commend the Committee for having decided on a clear timeline for SAS manufacturers to provide additional data on the safety of this ingredient. The Platform remains committed to providing an oral health perspective to EU decisionmakers to inform future discussions about the public health aspects related to the potential restrictions on the use of silica.

This action aligns with a key priority of the Platform for Better Oral Health which is to encourage evidence-based best practices for oral health promotion, such as through tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste as an effective routine oral hygiene practice.

Platform highlights unintended oral health risks of a potential Synthetic Amorphous Silica (SAS) ban (10 March 2021)

The Platform for Better Oral Health in Europe recently engaged relevant EU decisionmakers to bring their attention to the possible unintended public health consequences of a potential ban of Synthetic Amorphous Silica (SAS) in cosmetic products. The Platform believes this could lead to a serious oral health risk by impacting on the availability and affordability of effective fluoride toothpastes.

A recent opinion from the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has led the European Commission to consider introducing a ban of nanoforms of SAS for use in cosmetics. However, SAS is also a key component for the majority of toothpastes using sodium fluoride, the most commonly used anti-caries ingredient. The importance of fluoride toothpaste is underlined in the recently published WHO report on Oral Health, which recommends the promotion of legislation to increase the affordability and accessibility of fluoride toothpaste, and advocates for its recognition as an essential health product, as a key tool for the prevention of oral health diseases.

Through targeted outreach to key stakeholders the Platform seeks to underline the (unintended) public health consequences of imposing such a ban without better understanding the implications, and has called on the relevant decisionmakers to ‘stop the clock’ and adapt the process to allow oral health stakeholders a realistic timeframe to provide input.