I’ve been interested in making my own toothpaste for a long time. I’m not a fan of fluoridated pastes, and Tom’s is quite expensive. Add to that, neither of those two options contain remineralizing ingredients, which, as someone with terrible, terrible teeth, is important to me.
Still, making my own actual paste is a little more involved than I was willing to go with my first foray into the field. I mean, it’s kind of a commitment because to make using it easy, you need to buy squeeze tubes (call me a wimp – I don’t want to try to wrangle paste from a jar onto my toothbrush), Plus you’re using more expensive ingredients what with the essential oils and all. So I kept putting it off.
Then I went to a nearby trade show and ran across a booth where they were selling tooth powder. Genius! It was super, super expensive though (as many high quality hand-made products are), and contained a little more charcoal than I was comfortable with (I could just see it in my mind’s eye, running down the kid’s chins and onto their shirts). so I resolved to make my own.
I never did find a recipe I was completely happy with, so I after doing some research, and taking inspiration from several recipes, this is what I settled on, and why.
Bentonite clay draws toxins out of the body, and has the ability to absorbs heavy metals and other impurities. It also contains many minerals, and is alkalizing. See mountain Rose Farms for more informations.
Charcoal. Yes, I did add a little charcoal to my tooth powder. This one is probably pretty obvious as charcoal is fairly well known for its ability to draw toxins out of the body. Using it is a huge step toward having a clean mouth!
Baking Soda. We’re probably all familiar with using baking soda to clean teeth. Even commercial tooth pastes often incorporate it! So I’m sure it’s not surprise to see it here. It’s abrasives helps remove plaque and stains, plus, like bentonite clay, it is both alkaline, and packed with minerals.
Cinnamon is antibacterial, and helps give the tooth powder a pleasant flavor.
Xylitol helps the mouth keep a neutral ph, and prevents bacteria from sticking to the teeth. It also adds sweetness to the tooth powder. It is, however, completely optional. You can read more about it here.
Essential oils. Optional, but definitely beneficial, for antibacterial purposes, and for making the tooth powder taste good!
With just a little bit of upfront investment, you can make a LOT of tooth powder for the price of one tube of tooth paste. Don’t you just love how you can have the healthiest options for even less than the price of conventional equivalents when you’re willing to make it from scratch?
I can honestly say that I have been very happy with how my teeth feel and look after using this homemade tooth power for over a month.
Homemade Tooth Powder
Ingredients:
- 3 Tablespoons Bentonite Clay
- 1 Tablespoon activated charcoal (I opened 8 capsules)
- 1 Tablespoons Baking Soda
- 1 Tablespoons Cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoons Xylitol
- 10 – 15 drops of essential oil (peppermint or Thieves would be excellent!)
Instructions:
*This recipes makes four ounces by volume.
- Mix all ingredients together until well incorporated. A food processor is nice for making sure the essential oil are evenly distributed, but a fork works just as well if you work at it. 🙂
- Store in an airtight container.
To use: Dip your damp tooth brush into the container and brush! Rinse well.
If the possibility of germ sharing within the family bothers you, you may want to consider buying travel containers like these to store each family member’s personal tooth powder.
Since there are a lot of germ fighting ingredients in this recipe, and since my kids are still little enough that I dip their tooth brushes for them, I just keep one family container on our bathroom cabinet… for now.
Enjoy!
Recipes everyone can make!
Nourish your body with ingredients you already have in your kitchen!
Are there any good bentonite clay’s out there, not affected by the recall?
Great info. Thanks, but please do not dip the wet or damp toothbrush into the powdered mix but take some powder out of the container first.
Bentonite clay and water cause bacterias to form unless you have a preservative.
Do you find bentonite clay problematic to fillings due to it drawing out metals? Is it suitable to use in a tooth powder if you have metal fillings?
my understanding is that yes, it is safe to use even with metal fillings. What mercury it may draw out will be absorbed into the clay and then spit out.
From personal experience, I can say that I have a few metal fillings, and haven’t had any problems using this tooth powder.
Hope that helps! 🙂
My recipe is similar. I just had my 6 month teeth cleaning. The hygienist said my teeth were great! Very clean!
You should look into adding one simple ingredient to this. Diatomaceous Earth (also known as DE. It is AMAZING just using it by itself to brush your teeth. Your teeth feel like you just had your teeth cleaned at the dentist. It helps with remineralizing and it’s super healthy to put in water and drink to clean the walls of your intestines do your body absorbs all the good stuff it’s suppose to.
Where can you buy it?
You can buy it on Amazon. You want to make sure you’re getting Food Grade DIatomacious Earth. It is great for many things, but you want stuff made for gardening, etc. You can use food grade in the garden (kills slugs, and other soft-bodied bugs, for instance), you just don’t want to use farm/garden grade in your toothpaste.
Be advised Xylitol is lethal for dogs. Please be very careful if you have this product and dogs.
I have dogs so purchased stevia instead.
Do you have any suggestions for sensitive teeth. I’ve more understanding for the phrase long in the tooth these days
Add clove oil or powder! It’s a natural numbing/desensitizing agent.
Hello
For the tooth powder, may I leave out the Bentonite Clay? Will it still be as effective? I make toothpaste with coconut oil and it’s a pain to struggle to get the toothpaste onto the toothbrush, esp in winter. Coconut oil can get real hard.
Thanks
Yes, I’ve seen a number of recipes that don’t use bentonite clay. It won’t have the same detoxifying/mineralizing affect without, but it wills till clean your teeth! 🙂
I notice that this doesn’t say food grade for the clay. Os it still that safe to use then?
I was inspired to search online for a recipe such as yours, as I saw a pre-made one being sold on Amazon, with the charcoal and xylitol, had great reviews. Can you tell me if your tooth paste recipe keeps your teeth white? I have tried brushing with just charcoal alone, using capsules that I break open. Apparently adding xylitol adds a boost to the charcoal for more whitening power?
Just made a batch and I’m so excited! Just had a thought though, is there any reason my daughter who has braces should use it? Thanks!
Just made a batch but added calcium carbonate and coconut oil. I have soft teeth so crossing my fingers this will keep the pain merchant, I mean dentist at bay.