Homemade Toothpaste - How to make toothpaste

Building a modern commercial toothpaste requires a high investment in scientific research and manufacturing equipment. Modern toothpastes have special features such as a variety of active ingredients to fight specific dental problems. Others have a more appealing taste, colours or stripes. But the main purpose of the toothpaste remains to help the mechanical removal of dental plaque and food debris from the teeth during brushing.

You can make make your own toothpaste that could provide a mechanical cleaning close to that of a commercial toothpaste. Unfortunately, your homemade toothpaste recipe will miss fluoride, a basic ingredient of modern toothpastes. Homemade toothpaste recipes are similar to those of the early toothpastes in the 18th century but they will be effective enough at cleaning the teeth.

The recipe for the homemade toothpaste described in this page is just something to begin with. You can give it a try and then progressively modify it, to adjust it to your own tastes.

The ingredients that you will need to make your own toothpaste are inexpensive and they can be found easily in your local grocery store and drug store. For your homemade toothpaste, you will need baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), glycerine, salt, food flavouring and coloring (optional).

Homemade Toothpaste Recipe - Ingredients

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/3 cup salt
• 3 teaspoons glycerin
• 10-20 drops of peppermint oil (or another flavouring if preferred)
• 1 drop of food coloring (optional)

The baking soda and the salt provide the abrasive qualities and the glycerine makes the mixture into a paste. Baking soda helps to freshen your breath as well as kill germs. The amount of glycerine you add will control how "pasty" is your toothpaste.

Homemade Toothpaste Recipe - How to mix the ingredients

• The salt and baking soda should be mixed together first of all.
• Add the glycerine to the mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Add enough water to make a thick paste.
• Finally, add the flavouring and the coloring.
• Put your homemade toothpaste into a small refillable plastic squeeze bottle or any container that dispenses easily and won't leak.

Use your homemade toothpaste the same way as any commercial toothpaste.

Now, that you know the basics on how to make toothpaste, you can learn some more tips on how to make it taste, feel and look better:

• Reduce the quantity of salt if the toothpaste feels too salty for you.
• Add a little more glycerine if you want to make your homemade toothpaste thicker.
• Toothpaste is traditionally minty, so peppermint oil is the first option, but different flavourings could be added. Alternative flavours that you can use in your homemade toothpaste include wintergreen, aniseed, cinnamon, clove, spearmint and more. Some flavours are stronger than others. Start with small amounts of flavouring and gradually add until you get the desired taste. You can also make toothpaste with your own natural flavouring by grinding dried lemon or orange rids.
• Do NOT add sugar to improve the taste.
• Be careful if you use food coloring, some food coloring will dye your gums if you use too much.
• Commercial toothpastes are made in a bacteria free environment and they also contain preservatives; unlike your homemade toothpaste. You can make your own toothpaste, but do not store it for a long time because it can be easily contaminated.
• Your homemade toothpaste does not contain chemical antimicrobial agents nor fluoride, which offer additional chemical protection to your mouth. Proper and regular brushing is extremely important in this case.

Give some time to experimentation by altering the basic toothpaste recipe. Finally you will end up with your ‘personal homemade toothpaste’ recipe. You could be surprised by how fresh and soothed will feel your mouth after using the homemade toothpaste that you made with your own recipe.

Daily oral hygiene is essential for maintaining oral health. It should also be combined with proper healthy diet and regular dental visits.