Homemade Toothpaste

Since the mouthwash experiment worked so well I decided to try toothpaste next. If you look at the ingredients in your toothpaste you will find a number of "what is that" ingredients. This is what caused me to try to make my own toothpaste. I used this recipe as a starting point, but made changes.

I decided that I didn’t want to make much, since I had no idea if I would like it or not. I also wanted to try it unflavored to see what that was like.

This first attempt was much more successful than I expected. Here is the recipe:

Homemade Toothpaste
Makes enough for approximately 4 uses

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of baking soda
enough vegetable glycerin to make a paste
a drop of two of essential oil for flavor – optional

Directions:

Put the baking soda in a bowl. Add a few drops of glycerin and stir. Continue to add glycerin a drop or two at a time and stir until a paste forms. Add a drop of mint or citrus essential oil if you want to flavor the paste. I used mine without flavor.

Comments:

The paste was not gritty, which really surprised me. It was smooth and very similar in texture to toothpaste. The flavor (without the essential oil) was very neutral. I found the flavor to be a pleasant clean experience.

If you are concerned about this being too abrasive I don't think you need to be. My 80 year old father has used baking soda for toothpaste for as long as I can remember. The dentist always remarks about how clean his teeth are. My father had his first filling when he was in his early 70's and has had no problem with his tooth enamel wearing down.

I drink a lot of green tea, which tends to stain my teeth (much to the chagrin of my dental hygienist). I was surprised by how well this worked to reduce the staining in one use. Also, my teeth had that very clean I just went to the dentist feeling. I will definitely be using this recipe until I find another recipe I want to try out. If I find another recipe I prefer I will post it.