The low hanging fruit is to get them out of products where there's no really good reason for them to be there in the first place, especially if those products are used on the body or ingested.
I'm thinking of toothpaste, face wash, shampoo, etc.
I'm getting worried about the retainer I wear at night to prevent teeth clenching related problems. It's old and starting to decay.. time for a new one but what's worse? grinding my teeth at night or slowly degrading this plastic retainer and ingesting the wee bits?
Those "wee bits" will still be relatively big and you're probably pooping most of them out again. Assuming the plastic itself is fairly benign and non-toxic I wouldn't be overly concerned about swallowing a little bit of it.
I'd be more worried about all the tiny micro-plastic fibres you're breathing in every day that are going in your lungs, blood, and other organs.
If it's decaying, then presumably you're clenching your teeth and damaging it over time. So the retainer is working and protecting you from the certain (as opposed to hypothetical/not-yet-proven) harm of tooth degradation.
I’ve been thinking about this, too. I have a few caps due to me grinding my teeth for so many years, so for me, the choice is between plastic from a retainer and little bits of whatever the caps are made of.
Older composite tooth fillings and sealants etc do contain BPA, which is an endocrine disruptor that you probably don't want to be grinding down. Recent filling materials have moved to BPA-free alternatives, though. If your caps (crowns?) are made of composite resin, then I'd be concerned if you're grinding them. Many crowns are made of porcelain now days, though.
There are other upticks in conditions which are potentially caused by microplastics that are a little more politically controversial to have discussions about.
Truth be told I don't even know where to begin having a conversation about this. There's so much conflicting information and so many knee-jerk reactions (see other comments).
Can’t speak for the grandparent poster, but I’ve heard/read enough casual claims of “donating plasma reduces microplastic load in the blood” that it’s been somewhere in the far back of my mind to research further. I already donate blood regularly and would immediately hop on the plasma train if these sorts of claims panned out.
Particularly since I have extended family members who have seen great results from a round of apheresis treatment to reduce their LDL. And apparently some long covid sufferers have also found relief from this type of “blood cleansing” treatment.
