If dental hygiene/healthcare isn't doing it or isn't accessible, then the next best I've found is certain softer wood. I have some sensory issues with anything putting pressure on my gums so I need to constantly keep food remnants out and also have something of an oral fixation so having something in my mouth is calming.

Some tree branches are great for chewing on. I used to live in an area with lots of Sassafras trees and those sapling branches were great for it. They have a bit of a waxy texture that I kind of liked. I've heard they also have a very mild stimulant effect in the bark as well which probably helped when I would grab them when hiking, but they don't have a scent, though you could grab some mint leaves to supplement for that.

I also tend to get some good quality toothpicks (I like bamboo ones personally though they're sometimes not as strong for picking) and soak them in a little bit of good quality tea tree oil that's safe for ingesting (some is only safe for external cosmetic purposes). They're good for picking food remnants which leads to bad breath, as well as chewing and tea tree oil has a mild disinfecting effect as well as leaving breath smelling fresh. But you could also soak them in mint oils (again make sure they are not just cosmetic grade, but also culinary grade).

Those oils are strong, though, so only a little is needed, but might still be too bitter for some. A little artificial sweetener mixed in before soaking might help if the taste is bothersome. Natural sugar is probably not good, though, since it will just make cavities worse and thus make your breath worse.

People will downvote anything.

Awesome. So the only floss that doesn't break between my tight teeth is bad. Figures.

There used to be organic floss in the "healthy" isle of my local grocery store. I switched to that but for some reason it's no longer stocked (probably low sales?). Now I have to compromise with a PFAS-free variant but still plastic.

You can try harder foods, like a very fat loaf of non-fermented bread or sth.
And of course, you eat that instead of the other bread that you normally eat.

Dang, any suggestions on plastic-free alternatives to chew on? I’ve been chewing gum the past couple weeks to work my jaw more to help my tense jaw muscles.

it's mostly a type of latex, some waxes, vegetable oils, lecithin, and glycerin, terpenes, but not polymer plastics.

It's not natural to have minty fresh breath. It's natural to succumb to infection and die, though, so don't worry if that happens.

Oh awesome, I love fibre. I get those fibre-boosted cereals!

Frankly it should be criminal for them to even put PFAS in hygiene products, it’s reasonable to assume floss is nontoxic. Apparently some recent studies have found mucilagenous fiber (like what is in oatmeal, peas, carrots, beans, and Metamucil) help your body remove PFAS, if you’re worried about potential past exposure.

God dammit. Every time I think I'm doing something right... Lol

There’s such a thing as naturally occurring plastic? I’m sure that’s not as bad for you though, right?

Cyanide is "natural". Not everything natural is "good" and not everything artificial is "bad".

Birch tar is at least very close to plastic after it's hardened

Floss 👍

But not with Oral-B “glide” floss, because it has a shocking amount of PFAS.

Yeah, the natural stuff isn't really what we call "plastic", and it does break down better. The synthetic stuff is much more durable, which is the problem.

To my understanding (though admittedly I'm not like a materials scientist or anything so take this with a grain of salt), "plastic" is a somewhat fuzzy term, the things it generally refers to are artificial polymers, but there are also a lot of naturally occurring polymers used in biology, and it's not like chemicals care if they're made by humans or not. One could call naturally occurring polymer materials plastic, but if you did that, you would have to say that, for example, things like wood and insect shells are made of plastic, which isn't really how people generally use that word. Naturally occurring ones are probably less likely to create "microplastic" type issues though because there has generally been enough time for stuff to evolve to break those materials down, whereas purely artificial ones are too recent for that.

I tried it but it's too hard, you cannot really chew it. Even if you make it softer it'll get harder after a while (heh)

Mastic I guess would be the next best thing.

If you’re out hiking and forage for spruce/pine resin directly from the source: it’s still plastic.

There's such a thing as naturally occurring plastic? I'm sure that's not as bad for you though, right?

As far as an alternative goes for minty breath: nothing stops you from cutting out the middleman and chewing on mint leaves directly.

That's an interesting idea.

Well shit.

Edit: Apparently me being mad at finding this out is downvote worthy? I'm just scratching my head at this one.

it's usually xylitol, but yes.

Tongue scraper too

Mostly, yes. Although the aspartame part is optional, it could be any other sweetener or even real sugar.