Why do you need natural toothpaste?
Commercial toothpaste contains flouride
There is a lot of debate about Flouride and whether it does or doesn’t have negative effects on our bodies. It is a key ingredient in most tubes of toothpaste that you find in the grocery store today. It also gets added to the local water supplies in most parts of the U.S. I don’t want to start a big debate about whether it is good that it is put into our water supply or not, but just know that even the supporters of flouride use agree that too much can lead to Fluorosis.
Personally, I am a bit of a natural health freak and try to avoid flouride and if you are like me you are well aware that there are few options in the grocery store. Even a lot of the natural and organic toothpastes seem to contain flouride.
Other artificial ingredients
But, regardless of where you stand on the flouride issue, there are many other artificial ingredients contained in commercial toothpaste, like sweeteners (usually saccharin), emulsifiers, preservatives, and artificial flavors. While they may not be as bad as drinking bleach, they aren’t benefiting your body.
Make your own toothpaste
I decided to do some digging and see what it actually takes to make your own toothpaste. It turns out it only requires a few natural and easy to find ingredients. I don’t have kids yet, but this seems like one of those projects that may be good to get your kids involved with. I know I never wanted to brush my teeth when I was 5, but this might have made it more fun!
Ingredients needed to make natural toothpaste
- Baking soda (works as a natural cleansing agent and it polishes and whitens your teeth as well!)
- Table salt
- Hydrogen Peroxide (naturally disinfects your mouth)
- Stevia (optional as sweetener)
- Peppermint oil (optional)
Both 4 and 5 can be found at a health food store
Steps to make your toothpaste
- Pour 1/2 cup baking soda into a mixing bowl
- Add a dash of salt
- Add 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide
- Add 1 drop of peppermint oil
- Add a dash of stevia (more if you want it sweeter)
- Mix it all up until it becomes paste like. You may have to add more hydrogen peroxide to get the right consistency.
A few notes about the homemade toothpaste
- You can store it in a plastic container to keep it from drying out.
- If you’re not into the peppermint flavor, you could try ground cinnamon or vanilla extract.
Another quick and easy option is to get Peppermint extract (1/4 tsp.) from the Spice section of the grocery store and mix it with 1 tbsp. of baking soda. Add a dash of salt, mix it up, and you are good to go.
In trying this out, I thought I added a dash of salt, apparently I added way too much because it tasted like the Gulf of Mexico. Next time, I am going to lay off the salt. Brushing with it felt nice and left my teeth feeling so fresh and so clean, clean! I think I am going to try it with cinnamon next time to see what that tastes like.
{ 64 comments… read them below or add one }
“In trying this out, I thought I added a dash of salt, apparently I added way too much because it tasted like the Gulf of Mexico.”
–Now that made me laugh.
Interesting post, Bob. Jamey and I will have to try that.
i heard that salt is too abrasive, is this true?
That’s what I am here for tristan!
We’ve known about the dangers of fluoride for a while. I just use plain baking soda and my kids use Aerobic 07 drops. Can’t get my husband to give up his toothpaste, though. I’ll give this a try. I think we’d like the cinnamon or vanilla flavor.
And did you know that stevia is actually good for your teeth? There are whole books on the subject.
@kyria
I didn’t know that, but I still think it is funny that the FDA won’t allow it to be labeled as a sweetener
Interesting that you mentioned adding stevia to the toothpaste. I read another post this week about stevia as an alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. Very interesting. Never new you could make toothpaste with a few ingredients. would be a fun school project.
I stumbled it.
Yea, stevia is a pretty amazing herb from everything I know about it… thanks for the stumble
This post has been included in the 141st Festival of Frugality at Almost Frugal, going live September 2, 2008. Please make sure to link back to the Festival and or submit it to sites like Digg, Stumble Upon, PF Buzz etc. Thanks for participating!
Flourosis is only a danger for children, and you can get flouride-free children’s toothpaste. The benefits of flouride for teeth are tested and well-understood, and as an adult I’ll not be passing on that.
History and “old fashion things” are fun, but I’ll not be giving up modern dental progress for the way things used to be.
@Don
I enjoy the modern conveniences, but as I discover that some of them come at such a tremendous cost (i.e. long term health problems) I am looking for ways to get back to the ways things used to be – before everything was made with chemicals…
As a poor loan laden dental student I read a few financial blogs to help me to use my money wisely. The rest of the time I study and “practice dentistry”. As a semi-educated individual on the subject I would ask you to please not advise people to make their own toothpaste. If you are reading this post please do not make your own toothpaste at home using a technique popular prior to WW2. People with a complete understanding of the De-mineralization –> Re-mineralization cycle of hydroxyapatite, Acid base chemistry, the Henderson hasselback equation, Solubility Product Constant (Ksp)
plaque formation, plaque composition and colonization, bacteria metabolic systems, cariogenic Micro flora, and Fluoride and its role in the re-mineralization of carious lesions and ………………..have developed modern day dentifrices as delivery mechanisms for chemotherapeutic agents to fight caries, gingivitis, and periodontitis. Hundreds, if not thousands of articles have been published in scientific journals about the benefits of fluoride in toothpaste and how it prevents tooth decay. Please use a fluoridated toothpaste with the ADA’s seal of approval signifying that evidence has been demonstrated scientifically from multiple long term studies that the product is both safe and effective. Use a pea sized amount and if you are worried don’t swallow any. Also, direct evidence from working with patients and one full year of oral pathology has convinced me never to put hydrogen peroxide in my mouth (It does not react very well with the oral mucosa) unless I am whitening my teeth with a safe and controlled commercial product. If you save $1 dollar every 4 months by making your own toothpaste it will take you 13 years to save enough money to have one filling placed in a dental school, and 66 years to save enough money to have one filling placed by private practice dentist. I don’t think it’s worth it.
@Q
I appreciate your perspective on this and while I don’t want to start a debate about modern vs. alternative health care, I can understand where you are coming from.
Thanks for your contribution to my “Take Charge of Your Health Care Carnival.” I was advised many years ago by a periodontist to use baking soda and peroxide. Adding the stevia and pepperment oil just makes it more palatable and helps freshen the breath. Sounds like a good combination to me.
hey well i just wanted to say that toothpaste is what i will enjoy and i use the toothpaste like im suppose to
I want to now if you put food grad hydrogen peroxide in it
Or not. tabitha mohr
I tend to agree with Q, that it would be more frugal to buy good toothpaste and use very little of it. As the debate about alternative health, well I’ll leave it to those who really care about stuff like that.
I go way back to ditto the first comment on the Gulf of Mexico line – hilarious.
2 comments: I agree with Q – Much of my family is connected with dentistry in one way or another – he’s right.
The other comment is about stevia. I have used it for various applications – I even baked a cheesecake using stevia almost exclusively! No one noticed, although I did tell them, as I wanted to let the guests know what was so unique about dessert that night. I give my kids the occasional red dye treatment with Koolaid – but I make it with 1/4 teaspoon (yes, that’s right!)ultra-concentrated stevia along with 2 tablespoons sugar (this small amount of sugar simply takes away the wierd-ish aftertaste of the stevia) – guests/kids cannot tell the difference, are consuming a lot less sugar, and it’s better for oral health. (BTW – the stuff is easy to grow, as well)
There’s my 2 cents.
Once you make the toothpaste, how do you get it in the tube?
Mix Gooseberry (Amblica Officinalis) powder, Haritaki (Terminalia Chebula)fruit powder and Bibhitaki (Terminalia Bellirica) fruit powder in equal amounts and store in glass jar. Use this powder as a tooth powder. This is much better and safe than the above product. Neem leaf paste or tender neem stick can also be used for cleaning teeth.
The above recipe looks interesting, though some ingredients may be difficult to find. But a comment regarding fluoride. I recently read that fluoride lessens cavities by 20-30% (not actually that great, however much the pro-fluoride people advocate it), while zylitol, a natural sweetener derived from wood, lessens cavities by 60-70%, and it doesn’t have the harmful effects fluoride does. (Fluoride may remineralize the tooth structure, but it pulls electrons out of the enamel and thus harms it). Zylitol already exists in a commercial toothpaste, though that toothpaste still has the disadvantage of having glycerine, which coats the teeth and prevents re-enamilization of the teeth, which otherwise happens naturally. Zylitol is easily found in many grocery stores (found it today at Whole Foods myself). Just need to figure out a recipe for a toothpaste or powder with it.
Correction to my comment about glycerine. See http://mizar5.com/keyes.html, which gives a Dr. Keyes findings about that. That site has some good info. And it’s Xylitol, not as I typo’d above.
I am a third year chemistry student of KNUST. I want to use the white latex of jatropha to make a natural toothpaste. How do i do that? I am working on it as my project.
was this hard i am going to do this for sience fair.
Fluoride is a toxic chemical. I don’t care what schooling you have. I know its fun and makes you feel good to show everyone what you know. I’ve been taught many lies in school….high school, undergrad and graduate. Bottom line, fluoride is TOXIC. It may help with tooth decay, but other things do too. Why not choose the non-toxic thing that prevents tooth decay?
I agree with Matt on Q’s comments. I have also been handed many lies in H.S., college, and grad school. And while the information above had good intentions, I felt the lengthy lecture with industry jargon to be a little patronizing. (Mentioning loan debt doesn’t equal reliability and expertise and pre-WWII methods of health care are only as illegitimate as the value systems that we place on them are.)
Regardless of what is ‘healthier,’ I find people are wanting to have more agency (also read: freedom) with their body and lifestyle. Even though science has helped us a lot, we place way too much validity in it and I commend those who seek alternate methods regarding health.
Bob, this is perfect! Thanks so much for writing this up – and I’m glad we’re still reading and commenting a year later!
I have perioral dermatitis, and both sodium lauryl sulfate and fluoride aggravate the condition – this is something I really NEED.
I’m with @Matt and @Krista on @Q’s comments – Krista you put it very eloquently and I for one appreciate that.
My two cents: there are books written and empirical evidence that fluoride is toxic. As for “pre-WWII conditions”? While I will agree there are some things that modern technology/science made better since then, I would like to point out that our globe was a lot less warmer, not to mention there was a lot less pollution in general. Television had yet to become prevalent – let alone any of it’s late 20th-century offshoots like video games and computers – drive-thrus had not yet been invented, and I believe people were just as likely to grow their own vegetables as they were to buy them at a market. Among other things. All equalling better health overall due to a better diet and more exercise.
There is evidence that wolves living in the wild have perfect dental health – they are not fed pet food you buy at the store, they have the whitest teeth you ever did see and ZERO cavities – and nobody’s brushing their teeth! God will provide, if only we will let him.
http://www.alt4animals.com/dental.htm
just a note but the life expectancy pre WW1 was about a third less than today. Does seem odd, more pollution, more harmful things about but we live much longer and (generally) healthier lives than our grandparents.
Rob,
Life expectancy was lower for a few reasons:
1) Infant mortality was extremely high
2) War casualties rarely survived wounds
3) Hardly any middle class – most people were dirt poor
4) No working conditions or safety
I could say a lot about this article. but heres a questopn for Rob in Madrid. Which do you prefer…live longer sicker? oor living shorter healthier?
Would you like to live 50 years with the health and fllexibility of a 20 year old? oooor 100 years with the health and flexibility of a 70 year old.
Its not just about Quantity of life but also about Quality of LIFE.
I”ll go the natural way and enjoy BOTH!
For more information on the bad effects of fluoride check out the research done in India and why they don’t want it over there.
As for why American companies don’t seem to mind so much. I like how my friend put it, “Funny how money makes things look better.”
I would like to know more about a lot more natural things that i can make bob
what are the processes involved in making toothpaste?
I used your toothpaste and my teeth got whiter!
if fluoride is so safe, why is it banned from being mixed in with the water supply in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Austria, France and The Netherlands?
Anything the government puts in the water sounds pretty suspicious to me, never mind all the data questioning the benefits of fluoride.
dis is a good project
Flouride has also been linked to bone cancer. Just an FYI.
I just want clean teeth – noting fancy, not dangerous!
I made this toothpaste, put it in a plastic container and it foamed and spilled all over my sink while I was away. I guess it expands? Or the peroxide causes foaming? I dont know, but it made a mess…my counters are polished now! lol How do you keep it from erupting everywhere? I thought maybe to not fill the container all the way. Maybe that would help. Any thoughts from someone who’s had good experiences containing this volcanic toothpaste?
Brad, I would suggest mixing it in a separate container and make it into an actual paste and then transferred it to the appropriate container for storage – after the volcanic reaction
Because of my thyroid disease I have been looking for a toothpaste recipe that doesn’t contain floride. Little bear toothpaste gets expensive-lol. Thanks Bob.
Agree with tothers above:1. This will be a good homeschool project and we want more!
I have heard that that the baking soda/peroxide combo can eat away at composite fillings. Do you know if that’s true or simply an old wives tale? I make most of my own stuff, buy organic & natural whenever possible. Would like to add toothpaste to the list. Thanks for having this site & enjoyed the comments.
This is great, i have yet to make it, but I plan on soon. I love leaning essentials needed that i can take out on a camping trip that i made, rather than store bought. I don’t know why i never thought of toothpaste. I would also like to know Kathy’s question as well. The more natural the better.
No need for the peroxide, really. Just mix the baking soda, sea salt and add some “spice” if you like. I have only short-term experience on this, though – it would be good to hear comments from people who have used home-made toothpastes for a long time.
At least for my hair the baking soda was not good, even after a couple of washes it left the tops really dry. I swapped to Meera Herbal Hair Wash (available through e-bay) and quit rinsing with lemon.
I have been using baking sode & salt to brush my teeth for over a year and its working great. No problems. I don’t make a paste. I just wet my brush with water and then dip it in the powder. Easy.
So Don, I guess that before flouride everyone’s mouth was rotten and decayed right? Seriously, humans did just fine before flouride, they’ll do just fine without it. Flouride is a close second to arsenic, it’s second on the list. And speaking of WW2, did you know Nazis put flouride in the jews drinking water? Why you ask? To keep them calm, docile and open to suggestion, to easier manipulate them. Do some research, history is full of sorcery tactics and now here we are present day America, preparing for own holocaust. Nowadays there’s a warning on the back of toothpaste tubes “WARNING: Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately”. Really?! Posion control?! There was never such a disclaimer when I was a kid. Sure it was never reccomended to swallow it, lest you’re looking for a belly ache, but it certainly wouldn’t kill you.
Also most people didn’t own their own toothbrush preWWII. I believe access to equipment (toothbrush, floss, ect) and education has led to improved dental health in the past several decades. I would think mixing the bakingsoda and peroxide would cause them to neutralize. The blend that I use, I dip my brush in the peroxide, then into the tooth powder. I think having that reaction ‘on’ your teeth aids in whitening. It’s kind of tedious, though.
Sorry that comment was directed towards the poster “Q”. Didn’t mean to attack you Don, but still your comment was rather unsettling considering the naivette of it. You should do some research as well. Don’t just blindly accept what you’re told because “science” said so. “Moderen dental progress”, modern mind control is what is is.
I like your website. It is very interesting and has a lot of good information.
I am going to make some homemade tooth paste!
Bravo for the resistance guy.If you dont know what he sad go to Rockefeller file(educate-yourself.org),go to house of Rothschilds.They put flouride in our water supply to do genocide.
A good cleansing healing add is tea trea oil.
thank you Bob,
It’s better to have a natural way of cleaning gum and teeth. I also believe that fluoride is toxic, it probably reduce plaque and prevent tooth decay but that is the only good about it while the rest of your body suffer gradually from other deadly disease that it cause, say for instance cancer the cells of our body get sick from toxic that we take into our system plus more toxic that we get from any other unhealthy food that we eat. So for those who like to live the healthy way go natural it’s the best!
I did this for one month, it does not make my teeth bright white but help to cure little in bad breath.
Do you think I could use tea tree oil instead of the perioxide?
Instead of baking soda I would use food grade diatomaceous earth (I buy mine on ebay. It’s quite affordable). It has been proven to prevent cavities and preserve teeth by hardening the enamel. It also prevents bleeding gums, gum atrophy, and recession and lessens inflammation. It is abaisive enough to clean teeth yet still gentle so it won’t cause any damage. You can take it internally without a problem.
Oh and I stopped using flouride toothpaste over 10 years ago because I have perorial dermatitis and I get less cavities than my friends and family members who DO use flouride toothpase. At my most recent visit my denist said my teeth looked very strong.
“Do you think I could use tea tree oil instead of the perioxide?”
I don’t think that would be good. A drop of tea tree oil would be beneficial but to use as the actual liquid base? No tea tree is far too strong on it’s own and I think it you have any cuts along the gum line that would be very painful. HP is good because it is one of the most powerful oxidizers known. If you still don’t want to use it and perhaps want something a bit more gentle maybe try aloe vera juice.
I’ve just tried this mixture & my teeth feel clean but instead of table salt I used sea salt since its natural. I had a question about where I should store the toothpaste…..because I think I should put it in my refrigerator. So if anyone can tell me where I should store that would be alot of help. Thank you.
I also enjoy making my own toothpaste…..I never trust dentist
normal teeth was white+++a little bit of yellow…
well thanx 4 da lesson iam looking forward to making one too but the dis-advantages mentioned by one that it does over flow from the tube what do i do in order not toget that coz i will not be able to make it daily i need to store in something like a tin/tube thanx
http://www.fluoridealert.org there are several websites out there talking and teaching on the effects of fluoride on the teeth and body check it out be informed . Fluoride is not only in our toothpaste but in the medicines we take food we eat and drink and in our drinking water . Folks FLUORIDE IS A TOXIC WASTE PRODUCT . NOT MY FAMILY !!! Thank you for the toothpaste recipe.
Thank you so much for this . I cannot wait to make this
..My four year old will find this fun too 
This is also good for low income families who are on state support, a good bit of the ingrediants can be purchased with “Food-stamps” God Bless every one of you who are standing up against the unhealthy habbits our world today claims to be “healthy”. If God wanted floruide to be apart of our life style he would have created it naturally with what ever we use, eat, or drink and we wouldn’t have to add to our everyday livelyhood… Just like the dumb vaccines they try to pump into our systems……
I am bachelor of chemistry ,I want to make a natural dye(herbal colour for hair) ,can you help me ?
I stopped a long time ago using regular toothpaste. Thanks for the tips on making my own. I use BS but my kids hate that. They might like this with the stevia.
@Hassan “I am bachelor of chemistry ,I want to make a natural dye(herbal colour for hair) ,can you help me ?”
Henna and indigo are good herbs to dye hair with. Been used for a very long time. You just need to learn how to make the right color with them.
Hey,
I was researching about natural oral care and found this woman that sells natural products… I would suggest just copy whatever she uses to make these products and enjoy your healthy teeth