Most "natural" toothpastes like Tom's and Natures Gate also have sodium laural sulfate in them, (the ingredient that makes it sudsy) which is an industrial cleaning chemical! Of course, I'm one to talk - I just bought a tube of Tom's today out of desparation!
This one sounds good and easy, but the more I thought on it, a couple questions came to mind: Obviously, I would be mixing more than a toothbrushing's worth at a time - any recommendations on storage methods for the rest? Also, (and I might just be dumb here) I've never tried using essential oils for taste... it seems like it might be strong or weird... what about using a couple drops of an organic kitchen extract instead? Oh well, I'll try the oil for the hell of it!
i would mix it dry in a little widemouthed jar & maybe add some H2O when i was using that way you could just dip your brush into the jar some essential oils are ok for internal use even (like peppermint) so i would think a drop or two would be ok for flavor b/c the baking soda is sooo salty just start out small i'm unsure what extracts you were thinking, but i'd still stick with the eo (only a drop or so though) that shouldn't be too strong
you're right it is made out of indian herbs BUT it does have sodium laureyl in it (sure i didn't spell that correctly) i checked the label yesterday at the health food store. i know this product is derived from coconut (which is not bad) but i have still read in MANY sources that it is not good for teeth however, this is a VERY yummy Ayurvedic toothpaste. if you were going to buy a commercial blend, it IS a good one to choose i used it many times with good results. but at this point i am trying to save money, become more self sufficient, & use less commercial products, as well avoid certain ingredients
baking soda, powdered sage, horsetail, neem, and myrrh, sea salt, essential oils of peppermint, sage, tea tree, eucalyptus, all or any of these will be greal for tooth and gum health. If anyone is interested i do custom Herbal Body Care and have a tooth powder that I offer. Good Luck! Be Kind to Others, to Earth, to Yourself.
hm. I was wondering, why use toothpaste anyway? lately I've been using no toothpaste at all, seems like fine to me? even better really, cause with toothpaste your mouth feels fresh after like one second, and without it you really need to brush and floss and stuff very good and carefully to get that fresh clean feeling.. I like the idea of making my own goodnessly toothpaste but.. what's the use anyway? not being sceptic, just wondering really!
Personally for me, I feel like I need to use toothpaste because I never brushed my teeth up until I was about 14(I always hated the taste and feel of toothpaste). Most of the time my family couldn't afford for me to go to a dentist, and when we could, I was soooo scared to go. Anyways, I have horrible teeth. I have a couple that have broken off and a couple of dead teeth. I went to a dentist recently for the first time(I had an extremely painful toothache, worse one I've ever had). Turns out I need 4 teeth pulled and 4 that need filling. If I had been a good little child(haha) and brushed my teeth like I should have done, I probably wouldn't be in as bad of shape as I am now. Though I will say that I read this thread last week and bought some Burt's Bees Lavender toothpaste(as well as some other Burt's Bees products). I really like the stuff. Doesn't burn my mouth as much as standard toothpaste does. I'm kind of concerned that it doesn't say anything about cavaties and preventing them(though there's no telling how many I already have), so I might do a weekly brushing with my regular Aquafresh :X I also found out from my visit to the dentist that I have 10 extra teeth I'm not supposed to have. I am a freak of nature.
haha that's cool. ok after some time without toothpaste my teeth hurt! the cold and warmth hurts them.. even breething hurts cause the air is cold :S I didn't make toothpaste yet though. but I was thinking that I should still use fluoride, I read up on it and it seems essential. umm, is fluoride something you buy in the store? I think not! so, what now? please help me everyone that knows what he's talking about unlike me!
Actually I think you can buy flouride drops. At least you can in Canda. When I was a kid I took flouride drops because I used Tom's of Maine toothpaste (which didn't have flouride in it at the time).
yeah I wanted to buy those little fluoride pills that I used to take as a kid, but they don't sell em anymore because toothpaste contains enough fluoride.. :S but on the other hand.. fluoride is a gross nasty chemical poison too so.. if I finally get to making my own toothpaste with tea tree and stuff, I think I'll be fine.. right?
My parents were in the military when fluoride was first being considered. They were both "volunteered" as human test subjects for floridated toothpaste & water experimentation. Well something in their testing must've turned them off to fluoride, because we moved out into the country when I was 4 and onto our own well-water. And I brushed with baking soda, rather than toothpaste. The only fluoride I ever received growing up was my twice-annual tooth-dunk at the dentists. And that made me sick for days, so at about 12 my mom quit making them do even that. I lived at home with my parents, in this fluoride-free environment until I was 19. I moved in to the city & on city water at 19, but still only use "natural" toothpastes. And all that time without fluoride didn't seem to bother me at all. I was 27 before I got my 1st cavity. I got 3 small ones all at once & in the same place, but the dentist says I had a "soft spot" there, and there was very little I could have done to prevent them. So at least for me, I'd say that fluoride is a complete joke! love, mom
huzzah! thanks for the story, very encouraging! one day I'll finally know what baking soda is and brushing will be such a party haha
Check your toothpaste's label of inactive ingredients and you might be surprised by what you find. Any of yours list Sodium Saccharin? Here's a bit of info you never knew; some toothpastes contain Sweet'n'Low, a SUGAR substitute. WTF?!?! Crest and Colgate both use it, I don't know about other companies. Anyone else disturbed?! That's why I switched to Burt's Bees Lavender Mint toothpaste again. I know what's in that... Peace & Love
ewwww...you silly beautiful freak! aren't you at least using soap or baking soda or SOMEthing? i'm just teasing you