By Catherine Saint Louis, NY Times, Sept. 7, 2016

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration effectively banned the antibacterial chemical triclosan from soaps.

But you can you still find it in your toothpaste.

That’s because the best-selling toothpaste brand, Colgate Total, convinced the F.D.A. that the benefit of triclosan in toothpaste outweighs any risks.

Toothpastes that contain triclosan have “demonstrated to be effective at reducing plaque and gingivitis,” said Andrea Fischer, an F.D.A. spokeswoman. Before approving the toothpaste in 1997, the agency requested the Colgate-Palmolive company to conduct toxicology studies, and the F.D.A. ultimately decided it was safe and effective.

“Based on scientific evidence, the balance of benefit and risk is favorable for these products,” Ms. Fischer said on Tuesday.

Colgate Total is the only toothpaste in the U.S. that contains triclosan. For some critics, the decision to take triclosan out of topical products, but leave it in an oral product is a bit of a head scratcher.

“We put soap on our hands, and a small amount gets into our body,” said Rolf Halden, the director of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, who has tracked triclosan for years. But through the gums, “chemicals get rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream.”

In a statement, Colgate-Palmolive spokesman Thomas DiPiazza said the product has undergone a far more rigorous safety review than other toothpastes. When the company sought approval to use triclosan in 1997, it conducted a comprehensive evaluation of human safety of triclosan as part of its new drug application. The review included “carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, eye and skin irritation, and short term and long term toxicity,” he said.

The original F.D.A. submission for Colgate Total contained 98 volumes and included more than 100 toxicology studies, and the company provides monitoring and safety updates annually, said Colgate.

A few weeks ago I attended a major blogging conference in New York called Blogher. This was my 2nd time attending, and such a fantastic way to get in front of my favorite brands in person! Speaking of brands, I met with Colgate about their newest toothpaste addition, Colgate Total Daily Repair. The event kicked off with a fun photo booth with props. I don’t shy from the camera (although I’m…