my recipe for homemade toothpaste.

I've mentioned before that we don't use store-bought toothpaste at our house.  Long story short, toothpaste can coat your teeth with glycerin and weird chemicals, preventing the teeth from remineralizing.  And if it can seal out minerals, I'm presuming it can actually seal in cavities.  (But I'm no tooth scientist; just a common-sense mom, if that hasn't been clear.)  Plus, with as much as our kids swallow it, I didn't love reading the ingredient lists on even the natural toothpastes and wondering what the crap I was even looking at.

A while ago, I mentioned on the blog that I brush my teeth with soap and baking soda. No morning breath, fewer coffee stains, no weird chemicals in my mouth - win/win/win! This is my new favorite kind to use.

A post shared by Paige Van Voorst (@theminivanvoorsts) on Feb 5, 2018 at 9:53am PST

So we've been using bar soap to brush our teeth and I've really been liking it.  It has kept our teeth really clean.  But with only one bar of soap between us, we were running into the problem of extensive germ-sharing.  We would each run our toothbrushes along the surface of the soap before brushing, and I strongly suspect it was cycling sickness amongst us.  I was trying to figure out a way to give everyone a separate bar of soap, and to keep them all separate and organized, but a noncomplicated solution was proving elusive. 

My best idea involved a couple baskets hung on the inside of the cupboard doors, with a color-coded water cup holding a color-coded soap dish and toothbrush for each kid.  It's still not out of the realm of possibility that a system like this might someday be unveiled at Chez V.V., but for the time being, I didn't want to spend the time and money hunting around for all the supplies I'd need.  Luckily, a better solution presented itself in the meantime.

I follow The Clementine Bee on Instagram because of the adorable eco-friendly products they offer, and a couple weeks ago, Melissa (the owner) posted the ingredients she was gathering together to make some remineralizing toothpaste for her family.  As it turned out, I had every ingredient in my possession - ironically, from the time four years ago that I had purchased all the supplies to make remineralizing toothpaste... and then promptly forgot about them.  (I have issues with follow-through.)

So the other day, I pulled out everything I'd be using.

Coconut oil
Bentonite clay
Baking soda (OPTIONAL: see note)
Essential oils (I used peppermint and tea tree)
Stevia (liquid or powder)
Trace mineral drops (optional)

I mixed together about 1 part coconut oil, 1/2 part clay, and 1/2 part baking soda.  There is really very little science to this - you really can't mess it up.  Just going by consistency, and keeping in mind that the upcoming summer months would make the coconut oil extra runny, I opted for a bit more clay to keep things stiff.  (In the winter, when coconut oil tends to stay hard in the cooler temperatures, I'll use less clay.)  Note on baking soda: you may be worried about it being too abrasive on your enamel to brush with baking soda, and that's fine!  Just leave it out and increase the clay.

Once I got a consistency that looked good - soft, but able to hold its shape on a toothbrush - I added  a few drops of trace minerals, a few drops of each essential oil, and a few drops of stevia.  (If you're using powdered stevia, add small amounts at a time and taste as you go.)

Once it was mixed, I was back to navigating the germ dilemma.  Did it really accomplish anything for me to put it all in a communal jar that we'd dip our toothbrushes into?  Or, alternatively, did I really want to have to have eight separate jars of toothpaste floating around the bathroom, potentially getting mixed up with each other anyway?

I wanted something sanitary but simple to store.  Like a tube of toothpaste.  But what could I buy that would function like a tube of toothpaste?  Then I remembered I had one lone refillable squeeze pouch a friend had given me last year.  I hadn't found a use for it, so it had just been languishing in the kitchen drawer, all alone and purposeless.  Bingo bango.

It has worked well.  We did have one incident where the toothpaste kind of hardened in the spout for a little while, but once it resolved itself, we haven't had the same issue since.  I also had to duct tape the bottom closed since it did pop open once when the kids were trying to squeeze it.  So it's not a fail-proof system, but it does seem to be working well enough for me to consider it a win!

Honestly, it tastes like toothpaste.  Sweet and minty.  It does have a bit of saltiness from the baking soda, but I could easily add a bit more stevia to cover that up if I minded it, but I don't.

Unfortunately, Penelope and Finneas seem to hate the stronger taste of mint than they're used to, and we've had to overcome some tears and gagging during the transition.  So I promised Penelope that the next time I make this, we'll try lemon essential oil instead of mint.

Overall, I'm really, really happy with this toothpaste, and I'm really hoping it helps keep the kids' teeth healthy and strong.  It tastes good, and cleans SO well.  The only drawbacks I am noticing are that you need to rinse it out well when you're done brushing (it can kind of overstay its welcome), and unlike normal toothpaste residue that creates a white film in the sink, this stuff (being clay-based) can leave a brown, muddy-looking residue.  But since we wipe down the counters and sink daily, it hasn't been horrible to keep on top of.

There you have it!  Who knew you could concoct toothpaste at home?  If you'd like to give it a go yourself, here are the supplies I used:






Okay, okay. I didn't actually use the animal pouches in the bottom list, but HOW CUTE ARE THEY?!?!?!?! I just had to include them. Maybe at some point, I'll make each kid their own tube of toothpaste to keep track of, each with a different animal pouch. Adorable.

I will mention - these affiliate Amazon links are to the smallest packages of the products I already had on hand. You will likely be able to find many of them cheaper or in smaller quantities at your local health food store, or even Aldi!