Homemade toothpaste and other stuff

[veggiechicken]

Like many of us, I'm trying to cut back on plastic. Food packaging, plastic bags, cups and straws are relatively easy but there are so many things in everyday use that don't get much of a mention.
At the moment, I'm thinking about toothpaste tubes - yes, I know

Does anyone make their own toothpaste? There seem to be a few recipes around - like this one.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...ts-environment

[Ananke]

I have been using bicarb with water but don't put peppermint etc into it. Instead of mouthwash I use 3% hydrogen peroxide diluted with water 1:5. Been doing it for a week now and was at the hygienist today and she was really surprised that my gums were much better than she expected. I'm sure it's using these that has made the difference.

I've also made moisturiser and soap on occasion but my favorite is homemade liquid laundry detergent, it's every bit as good as the store bought stuff and saves loads of money

[Nicos]

Nice thread VC!

I'd be really interested in seeing 'recipes' too!

[Small pumpkin]

That's brilliant . Anything that reduces plastic is good. I'm going to try the toothpaste. Wonder how long a batch lasts when it's made up.

Any chance of the laundry detergent recipe Ananke

[veggiechicken]

I was thinking of you, Ananke, when I started this thread!. If anyone has made their own toothpaste, it will be you.

There's a detergent recipe in here somewhere - https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ighlight=gloop
Worth reading the whole thread as there are some differing views about using it.
I never did try it, or buy borax substitute.

[Jimny14]

As a dentist I feel I have to be serious for a minute and talk about the thorny issue of fluoride. Homemade toothpastes don't contain fluoride which is an important part of most toothpastes. It is important as it helps enamel remineralise and reduces the risk of decay. If you choose not to use fluoride please ensure you are brushing 2x daily and are using floss (properly, it's more difficult than you might think) or interdental-brushes at least once a day to get the areas of your teeth the toothbrush doesnt. Also above all these the most important part of good oral hygiene arguably is diet. Try to keep sugar (and carbohydrate) attacks to 3 a day, e.g no carbs in snacks between meals including drinks.

[Nicos]

Presumably you could add a few drops of fluoride to the mix too?
No idea in what amount though?

[veggiechicken]

Thanks Jimny Its good to have a professional view on this.

My Mum, who is 98, told me that, as a child, they used soot and salt to clean their teeth. Seemed to work as she still doesn't need dentures!
I remember using a toothpaste in a round tin - ?Gibb's Dentifrice?. We had to dip the toothbrush in water, then scrub it round the ?green block in the tin, to make a bit of a lather, then, brush our teeth with it. The whole family used the same tin but we did have our own brushes (I think ).

Found this site Victorian and Edwardian dental care: cleaning teeth and the dentist Interesting how simple things have developed, been repackaged and always end in in plastic.

[Jimny14]

Yes nicos, you could, the problem is getting hold of fluoride drops (many pharmacies round here don't stock them any more) and then as you rightly surmised calculating the correct concentration. The recommended concentration is no less than 1350ppm but 1450ppm is the usual standard. My concern there would be making sure it is held in suspension with the slurry and doesn't sink out/float on top.

[Nannysally99]

Cor VC, I remember that dentifrice stuff

[ESBkevin]

The victorians used soot as toothpast. It's sterile carbon and mildly abrasive. Not sure I'd want to use it even if I had a chimney to sweep.

[Nicos]

Bouncing off the toothpaste info, I spotted 'wooden eco toothbrushes' on Amazon.
Not much difference in price from a typical one either....

Might think about giving those a try.

[Small pumpkin]

Bouncing off the toothpaste info, I spotted 'wooden eco toothbrushes' on Amazon.
Not much difference in price from a typical one either....

Might think about giving those a try.

I've just seen them on fb. Did Amazon say what the bristles were made from? The ones on fb still looked like plastic.

[Nicos]

Looks like the natural bristles don't get a high score...the others seem to say 'BPA free'....have a goooogle...it says that's not necessarily a good thing.

Why are things so complicated...no wonder people tend to stick with what they 'know'

[Birdie Wife]

I've made tooth powder before, which I really liked and meant to make more but ran out of ingredients. It has the added benefit that it doesn't count as a paste or liquid when you're flying, so it doesn't count as part of your allowance and goes right through airport security

This is something like the recipe I used:

https://www.diynatural.com/whitening-tooth-powder/

This recipe doesn't contain fluoride but you could always add that as Nicos suggests.