Toothpaste has been a challenge because the commercial versions have corn or coconut or both in them. For a while, I was just using a baking soda and hydrogen peroxide paste, and it was gross. It worked to some extent, but I hated the taste every morning, and sometimes I cheated and used my husband’s toothpaste (which is a bad idea, don’t do that). Then I came up with the bright idea to put peppermint essential oil in my mix to see if it helped the taste. It tasted better, but the peroxide seemed to evaporate off quickly and/or the baking soda all settled to the bottom in a cement like layer. So then after playing on Pinterest and Google, I decided to try a batch with some bentonite clay in it, and I’d read something about clove essential oil being good for dental health, so I added them to the mix. This may be too much information, but you know how your teeth get sort of fuzzy with plaque as you go through the day? Well, I saw a drastic reduction in fuzzy buildup when using this toothpaste. At this writing, I brushed my teeth 8 hours ago and my teeth pretty much feel like I just had a cleaning at the dentist. I know that the toothpaste looks gross in the picture, but it seems to be working well. Let me know what you think.
Toothpaste (Corn-Free and Coconut-Free)
Makes about a 4 ounce jar.
- 2 Tablespoons baking soda (use a safe-for-you brand, some are corn-contaminated, watch out)
- 2 Tablespoons bentonite clay (I used Living Clay, the Detox Clay Power)
- 3 Tablespoons hydrogen peroxide
- 3-4 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 3-4 drops of clove essential oil
Put your baking soda and clay in your jar. Add the peroxide and mix it with the clay and baking soda until it is smooth. I used a Popsicle stick, but you could use a chopstick or a barbecue skewer or a fork, whatever will fit in the jar. Your mixture is going to want to bubble up and rise a bit from the reaction between the baking soda and peroxide. Mix it back down. Add the peppermint and clove essential oil and mix well. Cover your jar with a lid. I dip my toothbrush in the jar to get the toothpaste, but I’m fairly comfortable with being uncouth, and I’m not sharing my jar with anyone else. (If that bothers you, they have empty toothpaste tubes on Amazon, no affiliation, yada, yada, etc.) If the baking soda has not finished reacting to the peroxide, you might find that it has bubbled up again when you open it and it will look a bit dried. It isn’t, just mix it up again.
Enjoy reaction free clean teeth!