DIY Whitening Toothpaste Alternative & Why Fluoride May Be Causing More Harm Than Good
Hello, all!
These days, a more natural toothpaste without all the yucky chemicals conventional toothpastes contain can be upwards of $10 or more per tube! Yikes! Well, the good news is you don't have to keep buying expensive all-natural toothpaste because it's so cheap and easy to make at home. If you use conventional toothpaste, I am going to be detailing some reasons why I avoid most of them and perhaps it could be useful to you. You may want to make the switch to your own homemade, chemical-free toothpaste after reading!
I love the recipe below, but it can take some time to get used to if you’re making a switch from conventional toothpaste and can get messy due to the activated charcoal, but the trade-off is worth it. Your health is worth the very minimal inconvenience of using this great DIY toothpaste.
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons bentonite clay
-1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or Himalayan Pink Salt
-1 Tablespoon of softened or melted coconut oil
-2 Tablespoons of distilled water
-10 drops peppermint essential oil or clove. (optional)
-5-10 drops of liquid stevia (optional). I would start with 5. Powder is fine too. Not sure how much to add though with powder.
- 1 tsp of coconut shell activated charcoal
Steps:
1. Combine with all other ingredients in a glass container. Do not use plastic.
2. Mix with a silicon spatula or wooden spoon. Note: it may stain your wooden spoon.
3. Store in a glass with a lid & in a cool dark place.
Common questions:
- How long will it last?: If using distilled water, at least 3 weeks but if you use it every day, it probably won’t last long.
- Where did you buy your activated charcoal?: Amazon. I got the Organic Activated Coconut Shell Charcoal Powder by Dermomama. You can search for all the ingredients on Amazon.
- Can this replace my toothpaste?: Most definitely!
Click here to see a quick video of how it's made!
Now, let's talk about why I avoid Fluoride...
Ah, fluoride. A controversial compound, to say the least. It's in our public water systems, our conventional toothpaste, in many of our food products, and is recommended by most dentists. It seems that people are usually very much for it, or very much against it. I tend to steer clear of it as best as possible, although it's hard to do entirely because it seems like one of those compounds that are in everything. I do the best I can though.
This is a huge topic and I am not a scientist, but I can share some of what I have learned and why that has led me to avoid it when possible. The reasons I steer clear of it are because it is quite literally considered a poison and research has connected it to cancer, the breakdown of bones, and neurological impairment, to name a few reasons. Also, its effectiveness in actually reducing cavities has come under harsh scrutiny as more scientific research is conducted on fluoride.
If you read on the back of your conventional toothpaste box, you may find a paragraph that recommends calling the poison control center if your child swallows more than a pea size of toothpaste, because of the dangers of ingesting fluoride. And to think, the amount of fluoride used in dentists' offices for treatments is sometimes 1000 more times concentrated than in conventional toothpaste! Yikes. I'm just not comfortable with that. I encourage you to do a deep dive into the lasting harmful effects of fluoride on teeth and overall health. I made a lot of health-centered changes after doing so myself.
The good thing is, eliminating a heavy load of fluoride from your lifestyle isn't too difficult. One way to start is by making this DIY toothpaste! Even seemingly "small" steps toward a fluoride-free life can make a huge difference.
I also want to note that diet plays a huge roll in the overall health of our teeth. If you are slamming processed sugar a lot, you're probably going to have more dental issues and decay because of this. I am not saying I recommend not brushing your teeth, because I don't recommend that, but there have been more primitive cultures studied that don't brush their teeth and somehow have nearly perfect oral health. How so? Well, the prevailing thought is that this is because they don't eat processed junk food, or processed sugar, their bodies aren't laden with poisons, and don't have significant vitamin deficiencies that can cause tooth decay, breakage, gum disease, and tooth growth issues. Yes, even oral health comes back to diet!
Anyway, I do not want to overload you with too much information here, but I do think that this is an important topic and I always want to help you live the healthiest, closest-to-nature life possible. From skincare to toothpaste and all the other in-betweens.
With care,
Chelsea Henderson (Founder & Herbalist)