Brush Teeth Without Toothpaste

Whether you are hoping to avoid a trip to the store or trying to eliminate industrial additives from your hygiene regimen, you'll be pleased to learn that there are many safe and easy alternatives to commercial toothpaste. Making homemade toothpaste is not complicated; a number of single-ingredient options are also viable ways to clean your teeth. In addition, you may try using natural or high-tech products that eliminate the need for toothpaste altogether.

Steps

Making Homemade Toothpaste

1. Understand the components of homemade toothpaste. Homemade toothpaste can be adapted to your specific needs and tastes, but ensure you are including the following types of ingredients:
   • A cleaning substance.
   • An abrasive to loosen plaque.
   • An emulsifier to help the various ingredients mix well.
   • A sweetening agent to make the toothpaste palatable.
   • A flavoring agent (optional, but helpful both for taste and freshening your breath).
2. Try a basic recipe. Start with a proven method and experiment from there to determine your tastes and preferences. One common recipe includes the following ingredients:
   • 1/2 teaspoon glycerin (a sweetener)
   • 1/8 teaspoon mild neutral soap powder (a cleanser)
   • 1 tablespoon calcium carbonate, which is often sold as chalk of Paris White (an abrasive)
   • 1/2 teaspoon gum arabic, commonly sold at health food stores (an emulsifier)
   • A couple drops of peppermint oil (a flavoring agent)
   • 1/8 cup water
3. Cook your ingredients to form a paste. Combine all ingredients, then heat and stir for five minutes over medium heat, or until your mixture has achieved a paste-like appearance. You can make a year's supply of homemade toothpaste for one-tenth the price of purchasing a market brand.
   • Experiment with different flavorings. Making your own toothpaste can be an especially useful solution if you harbor a strong dislike of the mint flavoring used in most commercial toothpastes.
   • As your homemade toothpaste doesn't have all the ingredients found in commercial toothpaste (for better and for worse), consider alternating between your homemade toothpaste and a commercial toothpaste every two weeks.
   • When using a homemade toothpaste, consider following with a mouthwash.

Making Homemade Tooth Powder

1. Recognize the benefits of tooth powder ingredients. As with homemade toothpaste, tooth powder can be made using a variety of recipes. Often these natural products may sound a bit baffling — clay on your teeth? — so understanding the reasoning behind the ingredients in a sample tooth powder recipe is important:
   • Bentonite clay: this natural clay can bind to toxins in your body — including the mercury that may be found in dental fillings. It is also rich in materials that can nourish teeth and gums.
   • Baking soda: baking soda is a wonderful natural abrasive, and its alkaline qualities neutralize damaging acid.
   • Sage: sage is a natural tooth-whitener and astringent.
   • Xylitol: this natural sweetener is an important pH neutralizer and will help make homemade tooth powder more palatable. Be aware that xylitol is toxic to cats and dogs, so keep it out of your pet's reach.
   • Sea salt: sea salt contains tooth-strengthening minerals and can alleviate gum inflammation. Don't use too much salt as large amounts may lead to swollen gums.
   • Peppermint: peppermint has antibacterial, antiseptic, and pain-relieving properties in addition to its breath-freshening qualities.
2. Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly. Use a non-metal spoon as some metals may react with your ingredients.
   • Mix 2 tablespoons bentonite clay, 2 tablespoons baking soda, 1 tablespoon dried, finely ground sage leaf, 1 tablespoon xylitol, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.
   • Drip 15 to 20 drops of peppermint essential oil into mixture and stir thoroughly to combine.
   • Place in a container or jar with a tight-fitting lid, or consider placing in a squirt-top container (the grain of your mixture will be fine enough to "squirt"). Avoid metal containers.
   • Store in a dry location.
3. Apply the dry mixture to your toothbrush. Dip your toothbrush in the powder, or squirt from your squirt-top bottle onto your damp toothbrush. Use just as you would commercial toothpaste.

Using Single-Ingredient Alternatives

1. Scrub with sea salt. Sea salt contains trace minerals such as calcium, magnesium, silicon, phosphorus, sodium, nickel, and iron that can strengthen your gums, fight tartar build-up, freshen your breath, and possibly even whiten your teeth over time. The iodine in sea salt has antibacterial properties and can neutralize acids that cause tooth decay.
   • Dip a wet toothbrush into 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and brush very gently. Try to avoid your gums, as sea salt may cause your gums to become inflamed and painful — especially if you are not used to this method. Use extra caution the first time you try this method.
   • Alternatively, try rinsing your mouth with a saltwater solution. Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in 4 ounces of warm water, then swish for 30 seconds. Spit out the solution when you're done. This saltwater rinse can help heal swollen or inflamed gums and rinse away bacteria.
2. Brush with baking soda. Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, has long been recognized as a natural way to clean and whiten your teeth. Because baking soda is highly alkaline, it works to neutralize acids that can cause tooth decay. It also kills bacteria and freshens your breath.
   • Mix baking soda with water until it reaches a paste-like consistency, then use it to brush as you normally would.
   • You may also consider combining baking soda with sea salt to make a variation on homemade toothpaste.
3. Use a natural soap. While we aren't usually accustomed to the taste of soap in our mouths, natural soaps are an effective tooth cleanser. Try a mild product such as unscented olive oil soap.
4. Try coconut oil. Coconut oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties — and it tastes, of course, like coconut. You may also consider combining it with ingredients such as baking soda.

Pursuing Alternatives to Traditional Tooth-Brushing

1. Use a miswak stick. Humans have used the sticks of the Salvadora persica tree to clean their teeth for over 4,000 years. The fibers of this tree contain sodium bicarbonate and silica — both abrasive enough to remove stains. These twigs also contain natural antiseptics, resin that may form a protective barrier over your teeth, and essential oils to freshen your breath.
   • To use a miswak stick, use your back molars to chew the bark off the end of one of the sticks and separate the fibrous "bristles" by chewing on the pulp. Use the resulting bristles to clean your teeth.
   • Never bite hard things with your front teeth, as they are not able to support high-pressure forces and can easily chip or break.
2. Irrigate your mouth with a water pick. A water pick is a kind of a pressure washer for your teeth, commonly recommended by orthodontists to supplement brushing for patients with braces. Anyone, however, can benefit from using a water pick. Oral irrigation cleanses below the surface of your gums to reduce harmful bacteria and eliminate loose plaque.
   • A water pick massages your gums, which increases blood flow. This can help protect your gums from bacteria — follow up with mouthwash.
3. Try oil pulling. Oil pulling is an old wellness technique for detoxifying and cleaning your teeth and gums. Vegetable oils such as olive or coconut oil can whiten your teeth, reduce sensitivity and alleviate bad breath. They also bear some antibacterial properties.
   • Swish with a teaspoonful of oil for approximately 20 minutes, then spit into a trash can to avoid clogging your drains with oil.
4. Purchase a Misoka toothbrush. The Misoka toothbrush uses nanotechnology to clean your teeth. These brushes are made with extremely fine bristles coated in mineral ions. When you dampen the brush and pass it over your teeth, the ions remove stains and form a protective coating over your tooth enamel.

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