I am a firm believer that most things are better for you if you make them yourself. I like knowing every ingredient and it’s function within the product, how it will effect my body… things like that. I am also a sucker for quirks. Unusual tastes or general cringe-factors? NBD. In fact, most of the time I will prefer said product to it’s far less endearing counterpart.
M is not as easily wooed. I have a feeling some of you are the same way.
So, what’s wrong with regular toothpaste?
1. Apparently store bought toothpastes block your enamel from recoating itself while you sleep at night (which might explain my sensitive teeth). What about organic ones? Glycerine is in all tooth pastes and is so sticky that it takes 27 washes to get it off. Teeth brushed with any tooth paste are coated with a film and cannot properly re-enamelize.
2. If you are using a flouride-free toothpaste without SLS and other yucky ingredients, you are likely paying a lot for toothpaste. (If you don’t understand why someone would want toothpaste without flouride, then you may want to check into it. When I found out that Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Austria, France and The Netherlands have banned fluoride, I figured it was something worth looking into. Here are a few articles to get you started: Weston A. Price Foundation articles and Dr. Mercola’s site .)
3. You didn’t make it!
The best part of about Make It Yourself Tooth Powder is customization through experimentation. Here is a basic recipe with a few suggestions for modifications. Got any other ideas or a fun story? Please share.
MIY Tooth Powder
1/4 cup Baking Soda*1 tsp Salt (we use Himalayan pink salt)
2 – 20 drops essential oil (experiment!)
optional: coconut oil for creamy consistency, myrrh powder for superpowers, ground lemon peel for flava, hydrogen peroxide to kill the bacteria, stevia for sweetness
Now all you have to do is wet your brush and dip it in your concoction, brush, and then feel like you just had a professional cleaning. Easy enough, yeah? If you’re not into dipping, try using a scooping device to brace and smear your creation.
While baking soda cleans teeth and removes stains without damaging tooth enamel, salt helps draw out agents that contribute to decay, lessen the reactions of sensitive teeth from hot or cold, and curb gum bleeding. Baking Soda also acts as an anti fungal agent and neutralizes plaque acids.
Yes! We can now check off number 3 of our ten things.
*Other cool uses for baking soda
4 Comments
I’m generally a baby about stuff like this, but I would like to say that the tooth powder isn’t bad at all. I am actually starting to like it more than Tom’s of Maine (which I’ve used almost forever).
This is my personal favorite for the last year or so: http://www.peelu.com/PeeluToothpaste.html
They stopped carrying it at New Seasons but you can custom order it too. I’m not the normal custom order your toothpaste kind of guy normally but I like it a lot. Cole had some in his house when we stopped by last December. It’s very very kind on the gums and is kind of bubbly in a gentle, but not annoying, way. I excited to try this out when my tube runs out.
That is a great toothpaste! I am also a fan of the Peelu gum. CUSTOM TOOTHPASTE! So rad.
I really like the baking soda texture. It’s so soft but abrasive and your teeth feel SO CLEAN. I have yet to try it with hydrogen peroxide, but I would image a nice foam chemical reaction.
Taking it a little bit deeper, what kind of toothbrush do you guys use? I use whatever and focus on the paste but my friend Chris recently applauded the Sonicare. He said that it didn’t matter what kind of toothpaste he used as long as he used the Sonicare. He also said something about it sending sonic frequencies into your teeth that made it unique and great or something but I can’t yet seem to find that proof anywhere.