Homemade Toothpaste

Did you know you can make your own toothpaste? You can. And it can be just as effective as anything you’ll get at the store.

It wasn’t that long ago when commercial toothpaste wasn’t even a thought. Just 50 years ago people commonly used plain ol’ baking soda to keep their teeth clean and white. Today, we are surrounded with so many choices for toothpaste, it’s hard to imagine a time without it.

Why Make Homemade Toothpaste?

Why would anyone want to make their own toothpaste when it’s so readily available?

First of all, you can’t always depend on being able to get it from the store. But most importantly, there are some really good reasons why you should consider making your toothpaste yourself.

• Unlike with store-bought toothpaste, you’ll always know exactly what the ingredients are. No more dangerous additives and preservatives.

• A simple homemade toothpaste is very inexpensive to make. Even more elaborate recipes typically cost less than a dollar to make.

• You can tailor the ingredients to your family’s preferences or particular needs.

• If you can’t get to the store to buy a tube of toothpaste, you can easily make your own out of ingredients you probably already have on hand.

Personally, my main reason for making my own toothpaste for my family was to make sure that what my children were putting into their mouth was safe for them. For a long time we forked out big bucks for Flouride-Free Tom’s toothpaste, or other “all natural/organic” alternatives. But once I learned how easy it is to make it myself, I started experimenting to find the right recipe for us.

What’s In Homemade Toothpaste?

Do a quick Start Page or Pinterest search, and you’ll undoubtedly come across infinite recipes for making toothpaste. The ingredients vary, so look around until you find one that you either have the ingredients on hand to make, or you’re drawn to the ingredients you see.

Some common ingredients you’ll find are:

• baking soda
• coconut oil
• activated charcoal (surprised?)
• essential oils
• hydrogen peroxide
• bentonite clay
• sea salt
• vanilla (for flavor)
• liquid stevia or xylitol (to sweeten a little for kids)

In my opinion, the essential oils are key. Many of them have antiviral, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties. Only use top quality oils, as these will have the biggest impact on your oral health.

If you don’t want to make your own toothpaste for everyday use, at least print off a few simple recipes to make your own in a teotwoki-scenario.

Homemade Toothpaste Recipe

I’ll share with you the recipe I’m using right now with my kiddos. I’ll probably continue tweaking the recipe until I get it just right (flavor and texture-wise), but you can try it if you want and see what you think.

Ingredients:

• 6 T. Cold Pressed, Unrefined Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 15 drops peppermint essential oil
• 10 drops sweet orange essential oil
• 3 drops liquid stevia (homemade from my garden)
• pinch of sea salt

Mix all ingredients together and store in a covered jar or glass container.

It smells heavenly.

Notes: Go easy on the salt. The first batch I made for my kids had way too much salt in it. They hated that toothpaste. Although, on the bright side, at least they weren’t eating it like they were the strawberry flavored store-bought stuff! Also, my kids prefer a fruity flavor to a stronger minty flavor, so I’ll probably use less mint and more orange and probably some homemade vanilla extract in the next batch I make.

Tailoring To Your Needs

If you have kids, you’ll probably want something fruity and slightly sweet for them to brush with.

If you have particular dental issues: bad breath, gingivitis, gum disease, yellowing teeth, etc, you’ll want to do a little research into the best ingredients to best take care of your needs.

For example:

• Thieves, Cinnamon, and Peppermint Essential Oils are good for bad breath.
• Thieves Essential Oil is good for fighting gum disease.
• Lemon Essential Oil is an antiseptic; it strengthens gums and whitens teeth.
• Activated Charcoal actually whitens teeth.
• Bentonite Clay restores minerals to your teeth, and draws toxins out of your mouth.

There are so many benefits to learning how to take care of your oral health naturally. Making your own toothpaste is a great place to start!

The post Homemade Toothpaste appeared first on .