Making your own toothpaste?

[TopHatFox]

I've been using a small cube slice of a homemade castille soap bar (bought from eBay) as toothpaste. I simply wet my toothbrush, brush it on the cube, brush my teeth, rinse the brush, and place it upright in an airy space until tomorrow.

I've found some other recipes for homemade toothpaste that I might like to try. One that seems particularly easy is simply 1 part baking soda to 1 part coconut oil, and some essential oil to taste. I think it'd be neat to try, but I am concerned that the baking soda might be too abrasive and wear off enamel.

Do any of you have any experience using baking soda + coconut oil as toothpaste, or something similar? Or maybe a reliable source that can speak on its effectiveness or lack thereof?

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On the fluoride debate, I still can never truly determine whether it's good for one or not. Many people say it'll slowly kill you, and dentists say it's the saving grace for teeth. Oh, and whether you're at one end of the spectrum or the other, it's deliberately placed in water. *throws hands up in air*

Even if I did want to add fluoride to homemade toothpaste, I don't yet know a way to acquire fluoride as a 100% powder to apply in proportion to a homemade toothpaste recipe. I can find fluoride in commercial toothpastes like Toms, but those often have other synthetic ingredients (e.g. sodium lauryl sulfate) that I do know are toxic or at the very least unnecessary.

[TopHatFox]

oh ho ho! Howbout castille soap AND coconut oil?

Example from this giddy post: http://almostexactlyblog.com/tag/castil ... oothpaste/

[chenda]

Is it worth it cost wise ? Toothpaste is very cheap.

[slsdly]

Since you don't swallow toothpaste, I doubt the fluoride is worth worrying about. I concur with it being cheap.

But brushing in and of itself is beneficial, even without toothpaste. What does the castile soap add?

[jacob]

Ha! I'm semi-pleased that I'm not the most extreme in this department.

(I did use baking soda for a while, but I prefer spending a few bucks for the taste/apparent breath supplied by a commercial product.)

Things like toothpaste, soap, and inegar are so cheap that I just won't bother with DIYing. It's one of the good things to come out of the chemical industry.

But if you must/want, ...

Mechanical brushing is 9/10 of the law.

Anything that kills bacteria helps: baking soda, salt, soap, ... heck, I suppose even (diluted, obviously) chlorine .. but I don't know. In any case, you can google tons of recipes.

[jennypenny]

Both of our dentists suggest brushing with toothpaste and baking soda in equal parts. It's not just about getting the teeth clean, but maintaining the correct Ph level in your mouth.

[Scrubby]

Oh, and whether you're at one end of the spectrum or the other, it's deliberately placed in water.

Most of the world doesn't do that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoridation_by_country

[jennypenny]

Oh, and whether you're at one end of the spectrum or the other, it's deliberately placed in water.

Most of the world doesn't do that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoridation_by_country

Some municipalities in the US don't do it either. Stepford doesn't. It factored into our decision to move here.

[BeyondtheWrap]

Even if DIY toothpaste is cheaper, I'll consider paying a little extra for toothpaste to be a health investment, considering the benefits of flouride.