Recently I had a good reason to change my toothpaste habits. Keith was away over the weekend and he took the toothpaste with him! I kept meaning to go out to get more but I just never made it. So the end of the day came,–time for me to brush my teeth. And there was no toothpaste in the house! Emergency? Perhaps. Opportunity? Definitely!
I had been using a natural toothpaste – Weleda Sea Salt. I really like that toothpaste, but it is expensive. I also like the Eco-Dent tooth powder (especially the fennel flavor!). I searched through the cabinets and there was none to be found. Then I remembered my reading about natural approaches to oral hygeine. It was time to get creative.
In my head, I ran down the list of items I had in the house I might be able to use for a “toothpaste”:
Baking Soda (too blech)
Essential Oils (maybe-too strong to use by themselves though)
Hydrogen Peroxide (too strong by itself, and should not be used with silver fillings)
Sea Salt (a definite possibility, although a bit too salty)
Various herbal liquids (soothing and healing, but not terribly cleansing)
Apple Cider Vinegar (some people gargle with it)
Phosfood Liquid (a Standard Process supplement – will take off tartar really well but should only be used VERY infrequently)
Coconut Oil (hmmm, couldn’t think of a downside here)
I finally settled on coconut oil to to brush with. It’s anti-microbial, soothing, healing, and goopy enough to take off the residue of the day (gross!). Plus you can eat it! So it’s completely safe. And I had it on my kitchen counter. So without having to mix anything together or do anything fussy, I scooped a a few tablespoons into a little dish and took it upstairs to the sink. Then I put a fava-bean-sized amount on my toothbrush and brushed away. It felt great! My teeth felt smooth and it actually freshened my mouth! I imagine I could have easily added a couple of drops of peppermint oil. I could have mixed a few ingredients together from the above list to be creative. But I am satisfied with straight coconut oil. Plus, it saved me a trip to the health food store.
I also like oil pulling, and I recommend it to my clients. You can read more about this interesting oral hygeine technique here.
I hope you learned a little bit about how you can take care of your mouth…naturally!
