Monthly grocery runs have gotten worse lately. The bills climb steadily, even though the number of things on your list are still the same. Scrimping and saving just to keep the necessities stocked, isn’t a viable option, if it makes you compromise on quality, which sadly a lot of us might have to face. But what if the quality of even these basics was in our control? What if we had the option of dodging unnecessary expenditure on dentist visits, cavities and fillings, and tube after tube of chemical laden toothpaste brands, all in one go? It’s that simple: Homemade toothpaste.
There’s not one good mother who won’t look after her family’s dental hygiene. But simply brushing and flossing isn’t enough. What you’re brushing with makes a huge difference. Store bought and commercial toothpastes are laden with fluoride, corrosive detergents, and artificial sweeteners, some of which have been proven to be carcinogenic, like saccharine. Caustic detergents for foaming can actually corrode the tooth surface, eroding the enamel that protects the tooth. And with vigorous brushing, this erosion gets accelerated. And fluoride, as we all know, is extremely toxic even in quantities of parts per million. And even after putting this in our mouths, and our kids’ mouths every day, twice a day, there’s still a multitude of problems like sensitivity to hot and cold food, tingling and toothaches, and cavities. When there’s such a simple alternative available. Homemade toothpaste can be made in large quantities at a fraction of the cost, while avoiding all these ingredients. The most basic recipe you can use is equal parts of baking soda and salt, used as a gentle but effective scrub for the teeth. That is really all you need to clean your teeth’s surface. And there’s so many ways to modify the recipe. You can add calcium and magnesium mineral powder to the recipe, in equal proportions, or in ratios up to 5:1, to increase the mineral content. Calcium is very essential for healthy teeth. Children might not take to the salty taste, so to cover it you can add Xylitol, which is a good substitute for all the artificial sweeteners in regular toothpaste. To make it easier to handle, equal parts of coconut oil help to make it a smooth paste that has the same texture as commercial toothpaste, and coconut oil is a very rich source of vitamin E as well. Flavoring can be of your choice, with myriad available essential oils like the more traditional peppermint oil, or if you feel like, grapeseed, orange, vanilla bean, cinnamon spice, really anything works. Just a few drops of essential oil suffice for the entire mix, and tastes refreshing and amazing. And it’s so much safer too. There’s no preservatives involved. No excess fluoride, so even children and infants can use it, no harm done if they swallow some, accidentally. There’s no chemicals, no bases, no detergents- just kitchen ingredients that you can mix, and store in an airtight container, or even make a tube yourself out of a tiny plastic bag, with a corner snipped for easy squeezing. Homemade toothpaste is one the simplest replacements for an entirely unnecessary and chemical laden expenditure!