homemade toothpaste?

[sebarnes]

I am looking for a homemade toothpaste recipe. Anyone have one??:

[HappiLeigh]

I think you can just use baking soda?

[sweetpea333]

ive heard about using baking soda too!

[leximom]

Baking soda is what I thought, too, when I saw the thread title. Never tried it though

[Altair]

it's very abrasive, and should only be used every once in awhile.

[Wolfmeis]

Baking soda is reallly painful if you use it too much.

[mamato2sweeties]

I've been using baking soda 3x a week now. It is very abrasive, so use it sparingly. I'd love to get a recipe for everyday toothpaste as well.

[Spastica]

Baking soda is actually very safe for teeth. You need to get the kind that is for baking, not for cleaning, which has bigger particles. You can look on the side of the box and it'll say "for baking, cleaning, and antacids". The kind you CAN'T use as an antacid or says "Cannot be used as a dentrifice," is the one you should stay away from - that's used for major cleaning. The particles are bigger so that it doesn't dissolve as much in water and so it pours freely from the container like regular AJAX or Comet or other cleaners, and even table salt does, and doesn't clump in the bottle.

If you dip a wet brush in baking soda and then brush your teeth with baking soda, it does not hurt the enamel at all. It breaks down into really small particles that actually get in between teeth too. It's actually less abrasive than the other abrasives used in commercial toothpaste like hydrated silica and it breaks down better than calcium carbonate (chalk).

The term "abrasive" can be a noun or an adjective, so don't be confused. Silica, baking soda, calcium carbonate, kelp, seaweed, mica, etc are considered abrasives in toothpaste, but not all of them are 'abrasive' and ruin teeth. Tom's of Maine is a company that uses least abrasive abrasives out there, one of which is baking soda.

http://www.tomsofmaine.com/toms/ifs/...icarbonate.asp

The point of having an abrasive (rather than just swishing with some mouthwash) is to get into the tiny ridges in your teeth and scrape off plaque and to get in between teeth where your brush may not reach or where people are negligent about reaching. Also, soft and medium brushes are the best to use, never, ever hard bristles. Add to that - if you find that your brushes are splayed wide apart after using for a while, you're brushing WAY too hard.

Baking to baking soda. Baking soda also reduces the pH of your mouth so that plaque acids don't attack your teeth. It's a very good choice actually.

You can add peppermint or tea tree oil to your baking soda for added breath freshness and antibacterial properties. Don't swallow.

I'm pretty much parrotting a lot of articles I've read on this subject, because I wondered if baking soda was harsh for my teeth as well and I was happy to find that it's not. There's a lot of dentists that actually recommend baking soda for keeping plaque acids down and because people really enjoy brushing with baking soda and baking soda toothpastes, which encourages them to brush longer.

http://www.drbunn.com/tthpste.htm

Per this site, from a dentist's perspective:

"Baking soda is very low on abrasion (even plain baking soda is less abrasive than Crest or Colgate). It's primary function is to kill bacteria; however, at least 26% baking soda is required. Only Arm & Hammer Multi-Benefit Peroxicare toothpaste has enough at 51% (the only toothpaste I recommend)."

Out of the Arm and Hammer line of toothpastes, I use the DentalCare, since it does not have silica and it has the least amount of ingredients out of all the Arm and Hammer products.

There was another few posts on homemade toothpaste recipes, but of course we HAVE NO SEARCH FUNCTION, and looking it up via google or yahoo doesn't always work....

[Sihaya]

Spastica, do you know how exactly to add the eo to your baking soda (like what ratios)? Would you put some drops in the box/container, add a drop to your brush (seems like a lot of eo), or something else?

[mommaduck]

Originally Posted by Spastica

There was another few posts on homemade toothpaste recipes, but of course we HAVE NO SEARCH FUNCTION, and looking it up via google or yahoo doesn't always work....

SOMETHINGS are DESPERATELY NEEDED

(Think we'll ever get it back?)

[Siana]

Can't one just use a castile soap grated as a toothpaste alternative, though actually 100% castile will likely be too soft...
I'm thinking of the line of products from Tooth Soap which are vegetable based without glycerine or other unecessary or nasty additions:

Perfect Prescription Tooth SoapTM Ingredients are: Specially formulated soap made from saponified coconut, palm, and olive oils and essential oil. NO added glycerin, sweeteners, silicates (sand), fluoride, dyes, stabilizers or other materials that can damage teeth. No animal testing. 100% Kid and Mom tested and approved by both. Certified Kosher (Parve) by Star-K.

If you make your own soap, I'm sure you can find a recipe fairly close to the ingredients above and experiment a little from there if needed.

I know some MDC memebers (regulars on Health and Healing and Dental) who rave about their products. Glycerine (which most toothpastes have) forms a coating on our teeth which inhibits remineralization. It takes a fair bit of effort to remove the glycerine. Soap on the other hand washes away easily and leaves no residue.

[aolinsmama]

i have been using baking soda and adding a bit of powdered sage. we usually use eco-dent but are out at the moment. my MIL's dentist back in the day would *recommend* using baking soda & salt.

[Spastica]

Yep, I've heard of baking soda and salt for toothpowder. Not totally sure what the salt is for.

I would imagine you can add essential oils to baking soda as you would for carpet freshener: drop the essential oils in the baking soda, shake it up, let it sit for a few days and use it. I would think making a paste of baking soda and water and adding EO's would be better. The baking soda will dry, but the EO's may disperse better. I'm sure the baking soda particles will dissolve more too.

[staceyshoe]

I've been experimenting with a mixture of baking soda, a sprinkle of salt, enough water/glycerin to make a paste and a few drops of peppermint oil. It isn't quite the same as commercial toothpaste, but I like it much better than tooth powder. My teeth feel very clean afterward, and the mint freshen my breath.

[Spastica]

If you don't mind the glycerin, you may as well use the Arm and Hammer Dental Care toothpaste. I've been happy with it.

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp15337_33...aking_soda.htm


Ingredients:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Active Ingredients: Contains: Sodium Fluoride 0.24% (Anticavity Toothpaste)

Inactive Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda), Water, Glycerin, Sodium Saccharin, PEG-8, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Flavor, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate