Making homemade toothpaste

We made our own toothpaste!!! It was fun, easy, frugal, and tasty! I'm totally hooked.

I have been wanting to make some more natural toothpaste, but all of the recipes I had seen online called for glycerin or other ingredients that I didn't have on hand. When I came across Julie's post [1] about making toothpaste, I was excited!

Here is how I made my homemade toothpaste:

2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons baking soda
1/2 small packet of stevia powder
20-25 drops of peppermint oil*

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl, using a fork.

*Add about half of the amount of peppermint oil to start, and test the toothpaste to see how much you want/like. I used NOW brand peppermint oil, and ended up stopping at 25 drops which is still not as strong as I am used to, though it does taste nice and minty! Julie noted in her instructions that using part spearmint oil will make the toothpaste not as "hot" as using all peppermint oil.

I also made a cinnamon variation. Instead of using peppermint oil, I added a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a few drops of clove oil. This did turn out a little bit hot for the children, and I'm not sure if I like the ground cinnamon the paste -- cinnamon oil might be a better choice, but I don't own any. :)

This toothpaste recipe is very easy to experiment with as far as flavoring, and I'm thinking of making up some with cayenne pepper in it, which is supposed to be good for the gums!

This is what the finished toothpaste looks like:

The peppermint one is snowy-white! It looks and feels (to the fingers) just like store-bought toothpaste. The coconut oil is really a fabulous base for the toothpaste.

It tastes good, too. The stevia gives a sweet taste (which most toothpastes have). The baking soda taste isn't over-powering, but it is there -- and the toothpaste definitely works well! It doesn't foam, of course, but I actually like it that way.

Since coconut oil melts at 76 degrees, the toothpaste becomes liquid when you brush, and coats the teeth well. The oil is very runny, though, and doesn't leave the mouth feeling greasy in the least. It will, however, stick to your bathroom sink if you use cold water to rinse. I definitely recommend using warm water with this toothpaste! (It was only when I used the cinnamon one that I saw where the toothpaste actually ended up/stayed!)

Our bathroom toothpastes: Containers of homemade, and a half-tube of fluoride-free Nature's Gate. The Nature's Gate is rather hot-tasting, so I may finish that one for the children. ;) And, I won't be buying more! :)

Since the homemade toothpaste was so inexpensive to make, I won't have to watch quite so closely when they brush, to make sure they only use a small amount. (I usually brush their teeth at night, and they brush themselves during the day.)

And what's even better? This homemade toothpaste made me decide to just toss the rest my free-after-rebate tube from Rite-Aid which I had been using for myself. I never had been comfortable with the ingredients, but it was free and it was what I had...

I welcome comments on the toothpaste topic, but I won't publish comments seeking to debate fluoride use. Thanks. :)

Disclaimer: I have not used this toothpaste extensively. (I will update here when I have!) I am fairly certain that this toothpaste is safe and will not harm your teeth. There are no studies or statistics comparing it to commercial toothpaste, so I am not out to "prove" its effectiveness in any way. This recipe and information is provided for those who want it and I make no claims about its long-term use. I'm still studying and learning about dental care! :)