Many new years resolutions revolve around weight loss and health yet a vital key to health, mouth health, is often neglected. Ick Mouth can make your sick! And I'm determined to keep my teeth until I die- I love eating too much. This year I'm launching monthly experiments and my friend Jill had an interesting hypothesis on homemade toothpaste that I'm going to test. I made some changes to this recipe. I'll have to try their addition of Myrrh Gumm Powder to fight inflammation and liquid minerals for remineralization for the next batch I make.
Hypothesis: She theorized that the xylitol present even in the most natural factory made toothpastes could be fermenting in your mouth and contributing to bad breath. I theorize it could be feeding bacteria. Either way, I love the idea of forgoing all chemicals and experimenting with my own toothpaste. It's super easy, costs pennies, and feels squeaky clean without burning and foaming like conventional toothpaste.
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Sea Salt
3 Tablespoons Bentonite Clay*
3/4 Teaspoon Green Stevia Powder (optional for sweetness)
30-40 Drops Food Grade Peppermint Essential Oil
1 airtight jar to store it in to keep it safe
1 Popsicle stick or plastic applicator to apply the paste to your toothbrush if you don't want to dip your brush into a jar.
* Bentonite clay is said to absorb toxins, impurities, and heavy metals due to its magnetic charge. Great for the mouth! You can replace the bentonite clay with the same amount of baking soda.
Step 1 - Step 3: Pour your coconut oil, baking soda, bentonite clay, stevia powder, and essential oil into a mixing bowl or the small airtight jar of your choice. Step 4: Mix all your ingredients together well with a fork, I'd do this on top of a towel, it can make a huge mess!
Feel free to experiment with what works best for you with the recipe, you really can't go wrong as long as it has baking soda, coconut oil, and mint oil. It wasn't as gritty as I liked, I'm used to using straight baking soda, but less grit is better for our gums.
Making your own toothpaste isn't just insanely cheap, it's also a way to avoid sulfates, sugars, and other chemicals that are a detriment to your health. The natural organic ones are a better choice but many do contain sulfates and/or glycerin which may prevent teeth from remineralizing. Due to the nature of virgin oil, the toothpaste will be very solid if it's cold in your house or stored in your refrigerator and more pasty/liquid if it's warmer in your home. And don't forget to floss every day! Many holistic books and articles I read recommend water pics over flossing like ShowerFloss that I'll invest in soon. This year I resolve to brush after every meal, it's fun with this toothpaste.
Related: My DIY 100% Natural Organic Deodorant is the best. Ever.
Have you ever tried making your own toothpaste? Would love it if you had any natural toothpaste experiments to share in the comments. Let's talk teeth and going green for the new year.
I forgot to add: For natural toothpaste recommendations I like Earth Paste, a similar simple toothpaste that's mostly Bentonite Clay but it does have xylitol. Kiss My Face was nice, too, but it has xylitol and glycerin.
ReplyDeleteAlso there's an interesting article on tooth health here, leans toward high fruit eating vegan but I think it has enough helpful information for everyone: http://health101.org/art_blog_dental_issues
Interesting info! I'd never heard of the shower floss gadget. I like the idea of it fitting to your shower head. When I was a kid I had braces and had to have a water pic. I think it hung on the wall or sat on the counter. I can't remember but I have a small bathroom now with little counter space so this shower unit would be great. I wonder how much water pressure it has. If I remember right a water pic really blasts.
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea of it versus traditional water pics which make a giant wet mess on the counter, very practical to have it in the shower. And like you said, saves counter space which many of us don't have lot of. Hope it really blasts to get all the gunk out from between your teeth. It's pretty cheap too, perhaps even cheaper than a year's supply of floss?
DeleteGreat post, Van. I have made homemade dry tooth powder, but will try this recipe next. Also, like the idea of the Showerfloss and saw they are sale on Amazon for $22.95 and free Amazon Prime shipping. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteNice! Thanks for the tip.
DeleteI have heard that you have to be careful with spitting coconut oil into your sink. Because it solidifies when cold, it can clog pipes!
DeleteAh ha, that's a scary one! Thanks for the tip, I'll research it and add a warning to post. I haven't had any problems but I can see how it could be an issue for narrow sinks or old pipes.
DeleteI look forward to trying this recipe out!
ReplyDeleteRegards,
http://FreshanaOrganic.com
Let me know how it works for you.
DeletePinning this. Where do you get the clay (wait let me guess Amazon?? Hopeful look on my part). Hey did you read an article that was circulating a couple weeks ago about having root canals? Basically said we are sealing bacteria off into our bodies since we drill right into the root of our teeth. Scary stuff. Made me glad I have never had a cavity (thanks mom for the awesome gene's!).
ReplyDeleteI got it from a local natural grocery store, Grassroots. It's here on Amazon for cheap: http://www.amazon.com/Aztec-Secret-Indian-Healing-Cleansing/dp/B0014P8L9W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388806945&sr=8-1&keywords=indian+bentonite+clay
DeleteMakes a really great face mask too. I've have mine over a year and have barely made a dent in it, very concentrated stuff. I haven't heard of the root canal article but that's pretty terrifying!
Sweet thanks! What would I do without amazon.
DeleteI need to try this... We are lazy and just buy Tom's. I am going to try your deodorant. So many natural ones suck!
ReplyDeleteThat natural deodorant is the best one I've used, I've had athletic people try it out and it blocks funk completely. It's not the best at keeping you super dry like someone coming from a background of conventional deodorant may want but I find no matter what I'm using if I'm active enough or it's hot out I'm going to sweat.
DeleteI use enamel repair toothpaste or whatever as I have worn away the enamel on two of my teeth from grinding. I don't think this homemade toothpaste would provide the comfort that that toothpaste does?
ReplyDeleteIt's an adjustment if you're really used to a conventional paste. What your enamel repair toothpaste called? I'm curious to visit a dentist after trying my hippie pastes to see if it's produced some progress. Going to keep experimenting.
DeleteThat's so interesting and something I would have never in a million years thought of. I'm not even sure we could get all of those ingredients where I live.
ReplyDeleteVitacost and Amazon.com are great places to find all the ingredients on the list. Or any natural markets nearby. When I was a gumshoe hippie this would have seemed like the strangest thing too but now no hippie concoction surprises me ;) deep into the rabbit hole now!
DeleteLooking forward to trying this, I just need to find the clay. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteIt's always at natural food stores. Also on vitacost and amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Aztec-Secret-Indian-Healing-Cleansing/dp/B0014P8L9W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388806945&sr=8-1&keywords=indian+bentonite+clay
DeleteLet me know how it works for you if you try it :)
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