DIY 'Natural' Toothpaste

[Aggie]

I really like using some of the 'natural' toothpastes on the market right now, except for two things - one, they are terribly expensive, and two, half of them use the same questionable substances I don't like in the 'regular' brands!

So, I looked at the most common ingredients and whipped up a batch of homemade natural toothpaste!  Measurements are very approximate (I don't measure), but should give you an idea of how to get started.


Carragheen powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp
Boiling water - 2 or 3 tbsp
Myrrh (optional) - 2 or 3 small pieces

Xylitol - 1 tsp (or more)
Baking soda - 3 to 5 tbsp (or more)
Peppermint oil - 5 or more drops
Aloe gel (optional) - 1 tbsp


Mix together carragheen, myrrh and boiling water together in a very small bowl and let stand 5 - 10 minutes to dissolve myrrh and thicken.  Add xylitol and enough baking soda to form a moderately thick paste - it'll look a little runnier than normal toothpaste.  Add peppermint oil, and taste; adjust sweetness by adding more xylitol as necessary.  Aloe gel is often an ingredient in 'natural' toothpastes but is not necessary.  Store in the refrigerator.

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I've found that using this toothpaste makes my teeth feel *much* cleaner than regular toothpaste, and rinses cleaner from your mouth after brushing.  It is a little on the basic side due to the large amount of baking soda, and may not be suitable for people with sensitive teeth.  I'm thinking about adding ascorbic acid powder (Vitamin C) to the next batch to temper the pH a little and possibly act as a foaming agent (when mixed with the baking soda and wetted in the mouth).  Many natural toothpastes use calcium carbonate as an abrasive, but I've excluded it since I couldn't find it, and because it may cause tooth weardown.

Note that there is no fluoride in this recipe, so it's probably not recommended for children (one could probably add supplemental fluoride drops to compensate).

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

I really like using some of the 'natural' toothpastes on the market right now, except for two things - one, they are terribly expensive, and two, half of them use the same questionable substances I don't like in the 'regular' brands!

So, I looked at the most common ingredients and whipped up a batch of homemade natural toothpaste!  Measurements are very approximate (I don't measure), but should give you an idea of how to get started.


Carragheen powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp
Boiling water - 2 or 3 tbsp
Myrrh (optional) - 2 or 3 small pieces

Xylitol - 1 tsp (or more)
Baking soda - 3 to 5 tbsp (or more)
Peppermint oil - 5 or more drops
Aloe gel (optional) - 1 tbsp


Mix together carragheen, myrrh and boiling water together in a very small bowl and let stand 5 - 10 minutes to dissolve myrrh and thicken.  Add xylitol and enough baking soda to form a moderately thick paste - it'll look a little runnier than normal toothpaste.  Add peppermint oil, and taste; adjust sweetness by adding more xylitol as necessary.  Aloe gel is often an ingredient in 'natural' toothpastes but is not necessary.  Store in the refrigerator.

--------------

I've found that using this toothpaste makes my teeth feel *much* cleaner than regular toothpaste, and rinses cleaner from your mouth after brushing.  It is a little on the basic side due to the large amount of baking soda, and may not be suitable for people with sensitive teeth.  I'm thinking about adding ascorbic acid powder (Vitamin C) to the next batch to temper the pH a little and possibly act as a foaming agent (when mixed with the baking soda and wetted in the mouth).  Many natural toothpastes use calcium carbonate as an abrasive, but I've excluded it since I couldn't find it, and because it may cause tooth weardown.

Note that there is no fluoride in this recipe, so it's probably not recommended for children (one could probably add supplemental fluoride drops to compensate).

Calcium Carbonate?  Do you have any marble statues that you don't want any more?  (no, seriously... )¹

If not, look at the active ingredients in Roll-Aids or Tums. And, you should be able to get pure calcium carbonate tablets w/out any sugar or flavorings at the pharmacy.  It's often used as both a calcium supplement for women, and as an antacid (it's a buffer, similar to baking soda, and tends to neutralize both acids and bases).


___________________________

_{1. Marble is calcium carbonate, if my HS chemistry memory is good.  You can grind up that useless statue into a very fine powder.  This is what is done for antacid tablets, as it turns out ...}

[Aggie]

Hey.... I'm trying to have an excuse to buy oysters here (oyster shell is a common source for CaCO₃).

I hadn't been able to track down the stuff in bulk at my local alchemy (natural food) shops, but the main reason for adding it to toothpastes seems to be cosmetic/physical, not chemical - it bulks up the formulation, whitens it, and acts as an abrasive (good for stains, possibly bad for tooth wear).  I'd need a fairly pure form if I wanted to add it, so antacid tablets are out - possibly I could find a tablet form, but it'd have to be without binders (so basically marble chips).  Plenty of limestone in the hills.... ancient coral reef in your teef!

I usually buy more bioavailable forms of calcium for supplementing and other alchemical needs, such as calcium lactate (powder) or calcium citrate (tabs), but these would be too soluble to replace CaCO₃.

If one really desires an abrasive (I don't - the NaHCO₃ is sufficient), bamboo powder would be a second option.  I have some untreated bamboo kicking about that I could pulverize.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Hey.... I'm trying to have an excuse to buy oysters here (oyster shell is a common source for CaCO₃).

I hadn't been able to track down the stuff in bulk at my local alchemy (natural food) shops, but the main reason for adding it to toothpastes seems to be cosmetic/physical, not chemical - it bulks up the formulation, whitens it, and acts as an abrasive (good for stains, possibly bad for tooth wear).  I'd need a fairly pure form if I wanted to add it, so antacid tablets are out - possibly I could find a tablet form, but it'd have to be without binders (so basically marble chips).  Plenty of limestone in the hills.... ancient coral reef in your teef!

I usually buy more bioavailable forms of calcium for supplementing and other alchemical needs, such as calcium lactate (powder) or calcium citrate (tabs), but these would be too soluble to replace CaCO₃.

If one really desires an abrasive (I don't - the NaHCO₃ is sufficient), bamboo powder would be a second option.  I have some untreated bamboo kicking about that I could pulverize.

Believe it or not, certain forms of wood ash are abrasive, too.  You might want to experiment with burning completely different organics. 

On the other hand, there are fine particulate-plastics that work well, too.

As for a bulking agent--ever considered starches?

How about diatomaceous earth? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

[Bruder Cuzzen]

Hi Toadies!

All the dental people i've ever met tell me that baking soda is all one needs for healthy teeth.
I heard somewhere some time ago that brushing with salty water works as well, i'm not sure why.

[Aggie]

Hi Toadies!

All the dental people i've ever met tell me that baking soda is all one needs for healthy teeth.
I heard somewhere some time ago that brushing with salty water works as well, i'm not sure why.

Good to know! 

I recently made another batch of toothpaste and stuffed it into an old toothpaste tube - it didn't come out like a paste and tended to separate (also forgot to put the carragheen in initially, which didn't help).   

Since my biggest problem is with dispensing, I'm going to try doing a simple tooth powder this time, cutting out the water, carragheen and aloe.  I can keep it in an old salt shaker.

And I'm out of xylitol at the moment (so is the store I bought it from), so I'll have to add that in later.

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

I heard somewhere some time ago that brushing with salty water works as well, i'm not sure why.

Kills bacteria, maybe?

I know they told me to gargle with saltwater while my mouth was healing after my wisdom teeth were removed.

[Opsa]

Probably for the astringent properties.

I've heard that you can keep things really simple and rub wild strawberries on your teeth to clean them. Anyone else heard this?

[Aggie]

If I had enough wild strawberries to do that - I'd eat them!  But might be a good trick for camping.  I haven't heard this one, but it seems counter-intuitive since most fruit is high in acids and sugars.

Wild strawberries are beyond delicious.


I've been sticking with just NaHCO₃ and peppermint oil - it's working quite well for the moment.  Rinses much cleaner than toothpaste.

[Opsa]

I just found this on http://laurentiancenter.com/content/view/175/67/

"One of the most interesting uses for the wild strawberry is as a whitener for your smile. Taking the juice from the strawberry and applying it to your teeth for five minutes each day will help to whiten your teeth. The juice cleans, whitens, dissolves tartar and removes plaque."

Technically, I guess it's not a toothpaste, but a whitener.

[Aggie]

They are still remarkably rare here - many plants in the mountains and a few in the lowlands, but the berries are so small that even collecting a handful would be a challenge.

Saskatoons, OTOH, are EVERYWHERE.  Too bad they don't taste like wild strawberries.

[Bruder Cuzzen]

Wild strawbeerries will clean teeth ! This is fabulous news .Thanks.

[ivor]

That must explain why the bear that bit me had such fresh breath.   

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Now the question is who's meat was sweeter than usual?   

[ivor]

The bear licked his ass to get the taste out of his mouth so I guess it wasn't mine.