Plant Nations

I began brushing my teeth with baking powder about 9 months ago, because I think the price of natural toothpastes is insanely high. I did some research online about baking soda as a tooth cleaner and, satisfied with what I found out, decided to use it. (even though I was not all that fond of the taste) Super! I have never wanted to turn back to commercial toothpaste of any kind! My teeth feel cleaner longer and the soda seems to counteract stains as well. But my 12 year old son got tired of the taste and has been bugging for me to buy him some toothpaste.

On Herbmentor.com I read that you can brush your teeth with cinnamon! “Whoa,” I thought, “let’s try this!” I mixed 1 T. cinnamon powder with about 1/3 cup of baking soda. My son likes this tooth powder! His only complaint: it has stained the bristles of his brand new toothbrush brown. (It doesn’t stain your teeth though!)

I got a recipe from Heather Nic an Fhleisdeir (again, from Herbmentor.com) for a tooth powder as well:

1/4 C. kaolin clay

1/4 C. baking soda

1/4 C. sea salt

1 T. ground sage

30 drops spearmint essential oil

Since I can’t find and food grade essential oil, (and we are always warned never to take essential oils internally as some can be fatal) and I have so far not found any kaolin clay, I have adapted this recipe by leaving the kaolin clay out, and adding 1 T. cinnamon instead of the spearmint oil.

I like it! My teeth are clean and shiny and it tastes pretty good, if a little salty. Plus, cinnamon is a competent antiseptic that kills decay and disease causing bacteria. Sage is in the tooth powder for a reason too. Used by traditional cultures to stimulate gums and to clean and whiten teeth, sage is endorsed by the German Commission E as a treatment for gingivitis. Cool, no?!

Baking soda is an effective tooth cleaner and low in abrasiveness. It penetrates cracks in tooth enamel that other cleaning agents can’t reach and effectively removes food particles and stains.  It’s also a good mouth deodorizer!

If you want flouride, drink green tea. Green tea is known to counteract tooth decay and it does contain flouride.