toothpaste?

[Canadian_Eco_Ma]

Hey Everyone

I am an organic farmin Mama of 4 in Ontario Canada...and we have started our journey to being completly self sufficient. Our plan is that as we run out of things, we are not going to buy new to replace it if we can make it ourselves or if we are to buy new it will be organic and planet sustaining...well we ran out of shampoo today, found a really great bar of shampoo and body soap that we are going to try ( we bathe in our creek rather then in the tub at this time of year so its also bio and totally organic, of course) Though I would love to make my own soaps..I am not even sure of where to start , so I am going to use the organic stuff as I figure that out.
Tonight it was brought to my attention that we are ALMOST out of toothpaste........*gasp*
so here is my question..does anyone know how to make toothpaste that the kids will use? I know that I would use baking soda...but I dont think the kids will fly with that..*gag* of course I will buy the organic natural stuff if need be, but, I would rather figure out how to make it.
thanks Everyone!!!

Phoenix

[His Own]

For a year or so now I have used no toothpaste at all, only SOAP. Yep, it works great. :

First I bought the fancy 'toothsoap' that you can buy online, but it is outrageously expensive, so I did a little research and switched to a plain, handmade, low-glycerin pure soap (not detergent bars like most commercial 'soaps' actually are.) The soap leaves your teeth and mouth cleaner than toothpaste can, allows your teeth to naturally re-mineralize, and is better in numerous other, healthful ways as well.

Give it a try. At first the genuine soap suds are strange, but you learn how much to use, and it is then easy to control. Now, taste; this takes some getting used to, but once you are used to it you will hate the taste and feel of toothpaste! Honestly! I like it so much better, and of course, unless you feel that you need the fancy stuff, it is WAY cheaper than toothpaste.

You can research this yourself, or if asked, I can get off my lazy butt and answer any questions you may have. (I'm out all day every Sunday, but any other day is good.)

[margob73]

I too am using plain ol' soap right now. I checked out the tooth soap and decided there is no way that I will spend $25 on tooth soap. I agree with pp that it really isn't that bad (especially if you block out any memories of having your mouth washed out with soap! ). I have a hard time though when it comes to brushing my tongue. Like, I'm really glad I'm not pg or I would throw up every morning. Sometimes if I want a minty taste I'll put a drop of peppermint essential oil on my brush too. I'm planning on making a small batch of peppermint soap next time I make soap.

His Own-
I was wondering about the glycerin deal. So tooth soap says that its ingredients are saponified oils, etc. Now the soap I make has glycerin in it from my understanding of it. Many commercial soaps have the glycerin taken out of it b/c the manufacturers can get more $ for the straight glycerin. Do you know anything about this? I've been meaning to see if I could get some more info from tooth soap but haven't gotten around to it.

[jeca]

Doesn't it taste like ummmmm soap?

[sprouthead]

i also want to try using soap.. does anyone know of some good soaps i could try?

[His Own]

Hi!

The toothsoap people explain that it is important to use soap 'without any added glycerin', so I am using a natural castille soap that is sold in shredded form from MoSoap. They sell it this way so that one could melt it down and make their own soap (this is not 'melt and pour' soap, but soap that can be used in a similar way.) Anyway, I bought it because it is natural and in shreds (like the toothsoap), but is very, very much cheaper than the toothsoap found online. So I imagine your handmade soap is probably fine to use as well. I do wonder though if one could find (or make) a pure soap with all the glycerin removed. Would not that be better yet? I am no soap expert.

Also, as to the shreds, I am not sure there is any real advantage to using soap in this form rather than simply rubbing your toothbrush on a bar of appropriate soap. I have done that too, and I think it works just as well. Perhaps the toothsoap sellers sell it in shreds because it will cause you to use it up more quickly, therefore producing greater sales for them.

I spent a LOT of time reading about this on the internet, but as I don't make soap myself, experimenting with various soaps can become expensive, so I am using what I have, and am pretty happy with it. I will no doubt want to learn more about natural soap that is glycerin-free sometime in the future. If you learn or do anything along these lines, please let me know. In the mean time I have LOTS of my soap shreds to use up. I have given some away to friends who want to try this idea, but still, using up two pounds of shredded soap takes a long time!

As to tongue cleaning, I too find that the taste makes it difficult to brush the tongue with soap. I do brush it (and the roof of my mouth) very, very quickly and lightly, then use a tongue cleaner tool to finish the job on the tongue itself. This works well and keeps the soapy taste to a minimum.

I hope this is helpful and not just a rambling, confusing reply. If I can clarify anything, please feel free to ask. And, since you are a soapmaker, if you have anything you can clarify for me, please chime in.

[sprouthead]

so dr. bronners soap should work, right? does it really have to be bar soap as opposed to liquid soap?

[Canadian_Eco_Ma]

wow....I have never ever ever heard of toothsoap....*blinks* what an amazing concept. I am not sure I could get my kids to get over the taste though....or even the mental block of eating soap?
Mind you , the mental block is proably more mine then theirs.....so let me get this straight....just using plain , non perfumed soap..works? I am using an all natural soap bar for my hair and body right now...I am going to try no poo after this organic bar is gone..I bath mostly in my creek , so it will work well for me I think.
hmmm....I just dont know how I would get the kids to eat it.

[His Own]

Originally Posted by Canadian_Eco_Ma

wow....I have never ever ever heard of toothsoap....*blinks* what an amazing concept. I am not sure I could get my kids to get over the taste though....or even the mental block of eating soap?
Mind you , the mental block is probably more mine then theirs.....so let me get this straight....just using plain , non perfumed soap..works? I am using an all natural soap bar for my hair and body right now...I am going to try no poo after this organic bar is gone..I bath mostly in my creek , so it will work well for me I think.
hmmm....I just dont know how I would get the kids to eat it.

Well, hopefully they won't eat it!!

But yes. It works great for brushing your teeth. Most folks find that their teeth feel much cleaner, I certainly do. I think for children, it may be all in how you present it to them. If you can make it seem fun and adventurous to try, they will likely think it is a fun and adventurous thing to do, and will then at least try it. I would make sure you have a pretty much tasteless, all natural, low glycerin soap. You can of course experiment on yourself first.

Of course you will need to like doing it yourself first, so try it yourself before you worry about whether the kids will do it.

[His Own]

Originally Posted by sprouthead

so Dr. bronners soap should work, right? does it really have to be bar soap as opposed to liquid soap?

I have used Dr. Bronners with peppermint a few times. It seems to work just fine too, except that it leaves my mouth a little dry. Maybe that's the peppermint though. If that's the dryness-causing factor, I imagine the unscented would work quite well.

[yummymummy2hannah]

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this yet or not, but I use baking soda and a couple drops of peppermint oil on it. It's very cleansing and minty fresh. I also use peroxide as a mouth wash.

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by yummymummy2hannah

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this yet or not, but I use baking soda and a couple drops of peppermint oil on it. It's very cleansing and minty fresh. I also use peroxide as a mouth wash.

Wouldn't this combo cause wear on the enamel? At least I imagine the peroxide would?

[yummymummy2hannah]

Originally Posted by FlutterBee

Wouldn't this combo cause wear on the enamel? At least I imagine the peroxide would?

Baking soda has been used for years and years as a tooth cleaner. I use the peroxide very diluted, but have wondered about that. It has been recommended on some natural sites I have visited though.

[Canadian_Eco_Ma]

Wow
so I tried it, yesterday and today! Its really not that bad! I thought for sure you would get this awful soapy feeling on your teeth and you really dont! HUbby tried it last night and said the same thing. Were just using a plain bar of pure, organic soap that I was using for my hair, and it really made our mouths feel fresh! I must admit I am impressed.
Our oldest daughter tried it as well, and didnt care for the taste. I think I am going to look into something with some peppermint in it..that might help her to adjust.
Thank you all for your input!

[Marni]

On the DENTAL forum a lot of people DON'T use baking soda. I think it has something to do with the gums. Might want to check that forum out if you are into alternatives.

[His Own]

Originally Posted by Canadian_Eco_Ma

Wow
so I tried it, yesterday and today! Its really not that bad! I thought for sure you would get this awful soapy feeling on your teeth and you really dont! HUbby tried it last night and said the same thing. Were just using a plain bar of pure, organic soap that I was using for my hair, and it really made our mouths feel fresh! I must admit I am impressed.
Our oldest daughter tried it as well, and didnt care for the taste. I think I am going to look into something with some peppermint in it..that might help her to adjust.
Thank you all for your input!

I'm glad that you are liking it so far. I bet you'll never go back to toothpaste! I know I won't. Hope you can find something your children will like too.

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by yummymummy2hannah

Baking soda has been used for years and years as a tooth cleaner. I use the peroxide very diluted, but have wondered about that. It has been recommended on some natural sites I have visited though.

Yeah, I did a search on it and saw that it was recommended too, but I still wouldn't use it too often. If you just want to kill bacteria I'd swish with water and a couple drops of GSE.

[tulip4me]

I buy liquid toothsoap(grape flavored) w/honey. For me, the honey they put in it makes it much more palatable. So if you all are using liquid soap you could try putting a dab of honey in there if you can't stand it straight. HTH.

[margob73]

About the baking soda- I went to the dentist yesterday and didn't go into full details of my soap use becuase I didn't want the lecture but the dentist said that baking soda can be too abrasive. So maybe if you're using baking soda use an extra soft brush or an electric toothbrush.