Some Crest toothpastes; such as 3D Whitening, Crest Pro-Health and a number of others contain the ingredient polyethylene, a form of plastic.
The plastic does not breakdown and can stay embedded in your mouth.
At Aesthetic Smiles in Meridian, Dr. Wade Pilling and his staff are aware of the ingredient and have since been looking a little deeper in the mouths of their patients.
"Your body will see them as a foreign body, bacteria will clamp to them and it has the potential to cause gum disease, some form of gingivitis or harm to it," said Dr. Pilling.
Months ago, a dental hygienist in Dallas blogged with other dentists about finding tiny blue pieces of plastic embedded in her patient's gums.
Trish Walraven told CNN that at first she didn't know what it was, but then realized what was happening and started telling others in the dental community about it.
Dr. Pilling first heard about Walraven's concern from a social media site for dentists called Dental Town, so he also started looking into it.
"We did some of our own little experiments by dissolving the toothpaste and seeing what was left over, and pretty much these plastic beads were left over," said Dr. Pilling.
He said there's no reason to panic because the plastic is not causing infection or inflammation.
"But it's certainly, logically has the potential, if they bunch up in between the gums, to bring in bacteria," explained Dr. Pilling.
The makers of Crest - Procter & Gamble - said the ingredient is completely safe, and it is approved by the FDA.
The American Dental Association has issued a statement on the plastic microbeads saying the polyethylene microbeads are an FDA-approved food additive, and the council will continue to monitor and evaluate new scientific information that comes from this issue.
However, Procter & Gamble acknowledges that the product is causing some concern among its customers and released a statement via email to KTVB.
"We understand there is a growing preference for us to remove this ingredient. So we will."
However, until the products are removed from shelves completely, by March of 2016, Dr. Pilling believes education is best.
"We just know you should know what you're putting in your body, so look at what you are doing, look at what you are buying," said Dr. Pilling.
Not all Crest products have the ingredient - Crest Whitening + Scope, Crest Baking Soda Peroxide, Crest Tartar + Whitening - all do not have the product in them.
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