Has anyone here made their own toothpaste? There are different recipes online and I'm wondering if they are effective. What's your experience? Thanks.

Has anyone here made their own toothpaste? There are different recipes online and I'm wondering if they are effective. What's your experience? Thanks.

I'm just curious, but why would anyone want to make their own toothpaste when you can buy a tube already made for less than $1.00 which is likely superior to something you might make yourself?

I'm just curious, but why would anyone want to make their own toothpaste when you can buy a tube already made for less than $1.00 which is likely superior to something you might make yourself?

I have read up on fluoride and some people are saying it makes you stupid. I don't know what's in commercially bought products. And I just like the feeling of making things myself.

I have read up on fluoride and some people are saying it makes you stupid. I don't know what's in commercially bought products. And I just like the feeling of making things myself.

So you have been using fluoride toothpaste on a regular basis then?

I know you can use salt or baking soda if you are "roughing it" but they both leave something to be desired.

I remember seeing some sort of natural herbal toothpaste years ago; they may still make it.

You could probably google toothpaste recipes.

Here's one:

Recipe
3 T + 1 t. Baking Soda
5 t. sea salt
2 capsules of black walnut
1 capsule of white oak bark
The black walnut kills fungus and the white oak bark removes plaque.

http://healthyfrugalfamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/all-natural-homemade-tooth-powder.html

So you have been using fluoride toothpaste on a regular basis then?

I know you can use salt or baking soda if you are "roughing it" but they both leave something to be desired.

I remember seeing some sort of natural herbal toothpaste years ago; they may still make it.

You could probably google toothpaste recipes.

Here's one:

Recipe
3 T + 1 t. Baking Soda
5 t. sea salt
2 capsules of black walnut
1 capsule of white oak bark
The black walnut kills fungus and the white oak bark removes plaque.

http://healthyfrugalfamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/all-natural-homemade-tooth-powder.html

Thanks. Yes there are tons of different toothpaste recipes online. I was wondering if anyone had tried any of them and what their experience was. I've tried a number of homemade dish soap recipes but none have the sudsiness of commercial dish soap so I stick to using the commercial brand for that. Laundry detergent, most cleaning products, and most womens beauty products I make myself.

Baking soda. Nothing else. It neutralizes the cavity-causing acid produced by the bacteria in the mouth and creates an alkaline environment that the bacteria can't thrive in. Also brightens teeth.

Baking soda. Nothing else. It neutralizes the cavity-causing acid produced by the bacteria in the mouth and creates an alkaline environment that the bacteria can't thrive in. Also brightens teeth.

We've used Baking Soda and peroxide for the last 15 years or so. I worked with a man whose 85 yr. old aunt used the same all of her life with great success. She still had most her original teeth.

The peroxide comes in those squirt bottles now and I keep the baking soda in a plastic bottle like what they serve ketchup in at diners.

Cavities are caused by a virus:

As it turns out, studies about the transmission of cavity-causing bacteria from mom to baby have been published for 30 years. The primary culprit is Streptococcus mutans, a bacteria that can pass from person to person through the transfer of saliva, such as sharing utensils, blowing on food, and yes, even kissing that sweet little bundle of joy on the mouth.

According to a 2008 study in Pediatric Dentistry, “strong evidence demonstrated that mothers are a primary source of MS [mutans streptococci] colonization of their children; a few investigations showed other potential sources … notably fathers.”

“There have been many, many studies,” said Dr. Jane Soxman, a pediatric dentist from Allison Park, Pa. “It’s well-documented. You can’t blame it all on kissing a child on the lips — that’s one of several different factors that would have to be working together. But the main thing to know is that tooth decay is a bacterial infection and you can spread it from one person to another during the window of infectivity, which is during infancy and especially during the time of tooth eruption. That’s when the teeth are most vulnerable. It’s as if you had a bad cold and were kissing your child, you would spread the cold virus.”

Only parents (or caregivers) with active tooth decay can spread the Streptococcus mutans bacteria through the transfer of saliva. And Soxman stressed that the transmission of bacteria-laden saliva is just one piece of the puzzle. Tooth decay is caused by a combination of factors, including the transfer of infectious saliva, genetics, oral hygiene, and feeding practices, such as letting your baby constantly suck on a sippy cup full of juice or milk or other sugar-laden liquid. (Bacteria uses the sugar to produce acid, which breaks down enamel.) Baby teeth are particularly vulnerable to decay.

“When teeth first come into the mouth, when they first erupt, the enamel is very soft,” said Soxman. “They’re brand new virgin surfaces and are very susceptible.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35989527/ns/health-oral_health/t/moms-kiss-can-spread-cavities-baby/#.UNeXXXevS00

Haven't tried BS and peroxide only.

I do make lots of things, especially my own cleaners. Finally found a good cleaner.

I use:
Fresh rosemary
Lemon peel
Cinnamon sticks
Cloves
Eucalyptus oil

With one quart of water, Bring to boil everything but oil, let simmer for two or three hours, strain, put in quart jar, five drops of oil, lid and ring and it will seal off. Same herbs will make two more batches. Add 1/2 cup of this with two cups of water, great smelling cleaner! Add vinegar for glass cleaning. Mix a little with olive oil to make a wood cleaner.

Baking soda and peroxide.

Cavities are caused by a virus:

Fakins,

Can you not be bothered to read even the very first sentence of your snip 'n paste?

Fakins,

Can you not be bothered to read even the very first sentence of your snip 'n paste?

No, he loves to come into threads and take a huge shit in them.

A woman asks a sincere question, and you see what he does.

No, he loves to come into threads and take a huge shit in them.

A woman asks a sincere question, and you see what he does.

I know LOL. Is anyone really going to stop kissing their children for fear of giving them cavities?

I'm going to try brushing with baking soda. Does it help your breath smell good though? I love the smell of minty toothpaste.

I know LOL. Is anyone really going to stop kissing their children for fear of giving them cavities?

I'm going to try brushing with baking soda. Does it help your breath smell good though? I love the smell of minty toothpaste.

Maybe try some mint oil. I said baking soda and peroxide, because it sanitizes your mouth, and whitens your teeth.

Maybe try some mint oil. I said baking soda and peroxide, because it sanitizes your mouth, and whitens your teeth.

I know the OP asked for folks with experience in using off-mainstream products, but I only just came across this suggestion today and it seems to be getting rave reviews from those who've tried it. I am going to pick some up (Activated Charcoal) tomorrow, will let ya know how it goes ;)

Ps: she also has a nice-sounding toothpaste recipe in there.

http://wellnessmama.com/3662/best-way-to-whiten-teeth-naturally/

I did some research and found out that even though it temporarily makes the mouth look extremely black (see picture above!) it has the same effect as it does when ingested: it pulls toxins from the mouth and removes stains. (Fair warning: when you open your mouth, it is completely black and rather scary looking! Right after I did this the first time I was intensely worried that it would stain my teeth!)

To my surprise, all of the black washes away and it makes your teeth feel extremely clean and smooth. After a few uses, my teeth were noticeably whiter too (you can sort of tell in the picture above… the lighting didn’t do it justice!).

Further research I’ve done on this showed that activated charcoal can actually be helpful in changing the pH and health of the mouth, and as such is effective in preventing cavities and killing the bad bacteria present in tooth decay and gingivitis. For this reason, I now suggest and use it as part of my remineralizing protocol for teeth, along with my remineralizing toothpaste.

How to use on teeth: Dip a clean, wet toothbrush into the powdered charcoal (or dump a capsule of charcoal on the toothbrush). Lean over the container or charcoal and quickly put the charcoal covered toothbrush in the mouth (this is to protect your sink). Brush in small, gentle circles for 2 minutes, spit carefully and rinse really well. Your mouth will feel amazingly clean…. your sink, not so much! Use as often as needed.

That's interesting. I used to use activated charcoal in my aquarium's filter and noticed it lowered the pH in my tank. I never really thought about a human mouth in terms of pH. Interesting.

Has anyone here made their own toothpaste? There are different recipes online and I'm wondering if they are effective. What's your experience? Thanks.

I have not, but I supplement my brushing by also using some powdered herbs like goldenseal and neem on my gums.

For the ladies of VNN:

- olive oil for moisturizing (especially dry lips and hands)
- 3 cups lemon juice to 1 cup sugar simmered on the stove for 40ish minutes and cooled used as wax for removal of body hair (cut up an old sheet or better yet an old pair of jeans to use as waxing strips)

Five months ago, the group of homemade gun enthusiasts known as Defense Distributed set out to create a lethal firearm that could be downloaded and 3D-printed entirely from scratch, circumventing all gun control laws. But as new gun bills have been proposed in the wake of recent shootings, creating a bootleg weapon with digital pieces may soon be far easier: As simple as printing a spring-loaded plastic box.

Over the past weekend, Defense Distributed successfully 3D-printed and tested an ammunition magazine for an AR semi-automatic rifle, loading and firing 86 rounds from the 30-round clip.

That homemade chunk of curved plastic holds special significance: Between 1994 and 2004, so-called “high capacity magazines” capable of holding more than 10 bullets were banned from sale. And a new gun control bill proposed by California Senator Diane Feinstein would ban those larger ammo clips again. President Obama has also voiced support for the magazine restrictions.

But Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson says he hopes the group’s recent work demonstrates the futility of that proposed ban in the age of cheap 3D printing.

“We want to preempt Feinstein, to eat their lunch,” says Wilson. “This isn’t 1994. The Internet happened since the last assault weapons ban. This is a fledgling tech, but look what we’re able to do. We printed that magazine out.”

Here’s a video of Defense Distributed’s latest testing. The clip begins with a dry question from Wilson: “How’s that national conversation going?” a reference to Democratic House majority leader Nancy Pelosi’s call for a “national conversation” about gun control following the December massacre of schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut.

Defense Distributed uploaded its blueprint for the 3D-printable magazine to its website, Defcad.org, which aims to collect designs for gun components, many of which have been removed from other websites. In just the last six days, according to Wilson, 20,000 files have been downloaded from Defcad, including more than 2,200 downloads of files for printing the three pieces that are assembled to create the magazine.

“The liberty crowd loves it,” says Wilson.

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence does not. “High capacity magazines are part of the weapons of choice of mass murderers,” says the group’s executive director Josh Horwitz. The larger-sized ammo clips were used, for instance, by rogue Army Major Nidal Hasan and the Tucson, Arizona shootings that killed six people and wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Horwitz points out that Tucson shooter Jared Loughner was tackled while attempting to reload a new magazine into his Glock handgun. And police say that Newtown, Connecticut shooter Adam Lanza may have allowed some of his victims to escape while he reloaded his smaller clips.

“The more opportunities to stop a mass shooter, the better,” says Horwitz. “There’s absolutely no justification for 30, 50 or 100 round magazines. And there’s a very good public health reason to get rid of them.”

Defense Distributed’s Wilson calls those arguments a “pernicious ideological mechanism. This isn’t a matter of public safety,” he says, so much as a matter of state control versus individual freedoms. “If [a firearm technology] is used by law enforcement or military, you can bet they say it shouldn’t be used by you,” he adds.

Wilson argues that the high capacity magazine ban wouldn’t just be wrong, but also impossible to enforce, as his project aims to show. Even if Defense Distributed’s original goal of printing a gun from scratch remains out of reach, the restrictions on magazine could be far more easily bypassed, he says. “[Lawmakers] are taking a giant step backward, and it makes everything we’ve talked about more practical,” says Wilson. “There’s more opportunity to demonstate the usefulness, the consequences of our project. I can already print this magazine and show that prohibition has run up against a problem.”

Defense Distributed has already drummed up plenty of controversy: It’s been banned from the fundraising website Indiegogo, had its rented printer seized by the 3D-printing firm Stratasys, and been name-checked by Congressman Steve Israel in a speech calling for a renewal of the Undetectable Firearms Act.

After the group released YouTube videos of tests of 3D-printed lower receivers for AR-15 rifles, the popular 3D-printing community website Thingiverse began purging gun designs. Defense Distributed followed up by creating its own site for the censored designs at Defcad.org.

But the group has so far held off on attempting to print an entire gun while it waits for a legal license to manufacture guns from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. In the mean time, it’s been busy creating and refining its firearm components. The magazine, for instance, failed after three to five rounds in the group’s first test but worked reliably in subsequent tests.

In a recent blog post, Wilson posted a photo (at right) of dozens of high capacity clips arranged in a CAD file, ready for printing.

“Here’s something to keep the prohibitionists up,” he added.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/01/14/gunsmiths-3d-print-high-capacity-ammo-clips-to-thwart-proposed-gun-laws/

Just to repeat myself. Baking soda.

I actually learned about it here on vnn. Glad to say in three years since then I haven't developed any new tooth decay.

My wife finished a long term knitting project yesterday and I helped her block it.

http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j477/mimmyjarr/IMG_4634.jpg

My wife finished a long term knitting project yesterday and I helped her block it.

Kudos to the Missus, Jimmy. It looks terrific.

That's interesting. I used to use activated charcoal in my aquarium's filter and noticed it lowered the pH in my tank. I never really thought about a human mouth in terms of pH. Interesting.

So just to follow up I finally got around to buying some activated charcoal and I have been using it now for 2 weeks.

Result: very good, but as I am a coffee drinker (usually about 5 cups-plus a day), I don't think my results are as good as someone who doesn't drink the black gold to the extent that I do.
Still, the stuff really works. I noticed a big difference even after the first two days and the process isn't anywhere near as big a production as I hard feared it might be. I just keep my bottle of charcoal right under the sink and open a capsule into a little dish, then just wet my brush, dip it in, and off we go.

Looks just like this:

Natural Teeth Whitening with Activated Charcoal - YouTube

Charcoal as a flavor enhancer in coffee. Charcoal can also be used for diarrhea and upset stomach.

Coffee Charcoal.m4v - YouTube

Hey that's wild Keifer! Was that actual activated charcoal in the coffee though? (I don't think so?) Watching that made me want to make some, it looked good :)

Hey that's wild Keifer! Was that actual activated charcoal in the coffee though? (I don't think so?) Watching that made me want to make some, it looked good :)

I don't know. I found that video by coincidence while searching for a link on the medicinal properties of charcoal. I really don't appreciate burnt taste in food, and I must be the only one who does not like the taste of Mesquite in food from BBQ.