For the last couple of years I’ve been making toothpaste and using it instead of store bought toothpaste. Why? Well, it’s not just the fluoride, because previously we’ve been using Tom’s of Maine fluoride free toothpaste as well as variety sold by Trader Joe’s. It’s just that even with those fluoride-free toothpastes that claim to be all natural there’s a warning to keep out of reach of children and to contact poison control if swallowed more than what is used for brushing:
Besides, the sweetness of xylitol combined with these other flavors of mint, myrrh and fennel, is certainly not unpleasant, but it feels more like I just had a mint candy instead of having my teeth and mouth cleaned. I really haven’t done any serious research on any of these ingredients, and I would be suspicious of any claims that say how exactly these ingredients work for or against our health. So for my own version of toothpaste, I chose ingredients that are “supposed to be good for teeth” – if that even means anything. But here’s the ingredient list!
- Coconut Oil;
- Sodium Bicarbonate (aka. baking soda);
- Sacred clay, calcium bentonite clay and/or diatomaceous earth, all of these should be “food grade”;
- Borax;
- Teatree and Peppermint essential oils.
I don’t usually measure these ingredients exactly, but rather approximately I would put three tablespoons of coconut oil, three tablespoons of baking soda, one tablespoon of sacred clay, one tablespoon of diatomaceous earth, one tablespoon bentonite clay, and a bit less of a tablespoon of Borax. Borax was added later to the formula when I found out about it’s health benefits (read about those here).
I would first melt coconut oil in a jar, mix dry ingredients in a bowl, add them to the liquefied oil, mix it all up and then add essential oils, about 7 drops each. If there’s too little oil and the paste is too thick, I’ll add some more oil, which will melt since the mixture is still pretty warm, then have it mixed well again. I used to only use sacred clay, but since I got diatomaceous earth and bentonite (all in powder form), I use those as well, why not? Those clays are supposed to work well for the detox, in fact I had sacred clay since the Fukushima disaster; it was recommended for minimizing radiation. So this toothpaste is edible, though I wouldn’t eat much of it, a little bit here and there seems to have worked fine and it will help with upset stomach due to action of baking soda, and the clays are alkaline as well. But do not go overboard, and don’t eat the toothpaste for too long, no longer than week at the time.
The name of this concoction naturally came from the jar I’ve been using to store it – and presto! here comes the tooth pesto 😉 Once cooled, this toothpaste becomes hard, so I scrape a bit of it off with metal fork or spoon, put it in my mouth and brush as if it’s regular toothpaste. What I like about it is that once I swish, the mouth feels perfectly clean, no residual sweetness or even mint flavor, but while brushing it is satisfyingly salty and minty with hint of coconut (but only when I use virgin coconut oil). This may not be as pleasant for everyone, but I’ve been enjoying it.
Also note that bentonite clay may be much finer than sacred clay and diatomaceous earth, so it will give a different texture and feel inside the mouth – kind of clingy to gums and teeth. But the saltiness of baking soda will invite in the saliva and at that point the brushing will be easy. I wouldn’t recommend getting any water into the container with this toothpaste, as it seems to react with the ingredients and may result in mold growth if left in there.