Toothpaste

All my life, until this winter, I have used commercially prepared tooth cleaning products. From tooth powder in the '50s the  and 60s to the "brightening and whitening" national brands.  I have tried them all. Some are as advertised but at what cost - read the ingredients. Some "natural" brands have been better but are very expensive.

This fall I came across a very simple recipe and decided to try making our own toothpaste. One of the main ingredients is coconut oil. I have not jumped on the coconut oil band wagon because it is not local to where I live. Coconuts trees do not grow naturally in the Pacific NW, but I decided to give it a try for the sake of our dental health.

The recipe is:

6 tbls organic coconut oil
6 tbls baking soda
Stevia to taste (the baking soda tastes very salty)
Peppermint essential oil for taste and antibacterial properties

First blend the dry ingredients and then add the coconut oil, stirring briskly. Then add the Peppermint essential oil (you can use other essential oils) to taste and stir until evenly combined. We like quite a bit of peppermint.

We store this on the bathroom counter in a 1/4 pint canning jar. For the two of us this jar will last a little over a month.

Homemade toothpaste

Since using our homemade toothpaste I have no more bleeding of gums and less plaque build up (some plaque has come off during flossing to my surprise). This is a very soothing and gentle cleaning paste with good over all results.

Yesterday was time to mix a new batch but by evening I was too tired to make it. I am recovering from a broken shoulder and kneecap with just returning to work so evenings are very slow.

 In desperation we used commercial toothpaste and it was horrible. "I was hit immediately with a metallic smell and taste. It made we wonder if we were experiencing an electrical fire in our bathroom. It was an industrial smell", my husband said. I seem to have experienced an allergic reaction. I had trouble swallowing and breathing for a couple of hours after use. 

We will not do that again. From now on homemade will be the only toothpaste we use.