I am not a dentist. I am merely sharing my own experience, not dispensing medical advice.
Now that I have that out of the way…
Full-On Hippie Ingredient: Eggshell Calcium Powder
For a while now, I have wanted to make toothpaste with calcium powder but simply could not find calcium powder in bulk. So I made my own out of eggshells. I ground up sterilized, dried shells into a very fine powder and have not found it abrasive.
I don’t know if eggshell calcium offers dental benefits. If you Google something like “remineralize teeth eggshell calcium” a pile of links to videos and websites will pop up, which all claim you can reverse cavities if you brush your teeth with eggshell powder, or eat the stuff. I’m skeptical.
What I can claim is that my homemade tooth powder cleans my teeth well while it both reduces my waste and saves me money.
Other Ingredients
Bentonite clay
I have very sensitive teeth. A few years ago, they had reached the point where I experienced pain drinking room-temperature water. A couple of years ago, I bought plastic-free tooth powder from Aquarian Bath, which I highly recommend. If you don’t have time to make your own toothpaste alternative or can’t find bentonite powder, consider buying tooth powder from Aquarian Bath. Cory, the owner, is awesome, and so are her products.
When my tooth powder ran out I decided to make toothpaste that included bentonite clay, one of the main ingredients in the Aquarian Bath tooth powder. After several months of brushing my teeth with these bentonite clay-based products, one day I realized my teeth no longer hurt! I have zero scientific proof that brushing with bentonite clay reduces tooth sensitivity but I’m sticking with what works. My teeth feel better.
Cinnamon and cloves
These leave my mouth feeling fresh. They cost less than essential oils and I can buy them in bulk. My boyfriend grinds up organic cinnamon sticks in a second-hand coffee grinder he reserves just for that purpose. It. Is. The. Best. Cinnamon. Ever.
Baking soda
Occasionally I brush my teeth with plain baking soda but find it a little harsh on my teeth. I included a small amount in this recipe. If you don’t like baking soda, just omit it.
Coconut oil
When I ground up my eggshells, I had planned on using them for a paste not a powder but:
a. I rather like tooth powder
b. I would prefer to eat the small amount of it’s-so-not-local coconut oil I have on hand and
c. Coconut oil leaves some residue on the sink and I’m lazy about cleaning the sink.
So I decided to make tooth powder this time rather than toothpaste. If you prefer a paste, stir in, oh let’s say 6–8 tablespoons of coconut oil (or more) and, to make your toothpaste more palatable, 20 drops of essential peppermint oil.
How to use
Avoid dipping your bacteria-filled toothbrush into the jar. Instead, grab a pinch of tooth powder between your thumb and forefinger and place onto your brush. You need only a little. Brush as usual. Rinse thoroughly and spit. (By the way, I use a bamboo toothbrush and love it.)
If desired, follow with homemade mouthwash.
Bentonite-Calcium Tooth Powder
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons bentonite clay
- 3 tbsp calcium powder
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp cloves
Directions
1. To make tooth powder, combine ingredients in a jar. Wide, shallow jars work best—you can easily get out your powder (or paste).
2. To make a paste, add 6 tbsp coconut oil or more until you achieve desired consistency and, if desired, 20 drops essential peppermint oil to improve the flavor.
3. Avoid dipping your bacteria-filled toothbrush into the jar. Instead, grab a pinch of tooth powder between your thumb and forefinger and place onto your brush. You need only a little. Brush as usual. Rinse thoroughly and spit.
4. If desired, follow with homemade mouthwash.
Oh goodie, I have toothpaste questions. I make my own toothpaste too but it’s baking soda (2/3 cup), water for consistency and peppermint oil. I tried coconut oil but didn’t like it at all. I’ve found the peppermint oil seems to evaporate out of my jar after a while and then the breath is not so fresh. I really like the idea of using spices (cinnamon and clove) which should counteract that but I have no access to bentonite clay (not planning to order that from overseas). You think I can make your version without the clay? I’m guessing the cinnamon and clove should stay dry (powder as opposed to paste) or I’d just add it to my recipe.
I would say go for it Alisa! I have also made this with coconut oil but no calcium (I couldn’t find it) and that worked well. I really like the addition of cinnamon and cloves. They are refreshing. If you’re not sure how they spices will behave wet, you can make a small batch and see how you like it. It sounds like it would work though. ~ Anne Marie
I tried it. There’s an adjustment curve for the brown colour sloshing around the mouth, plus I damaged my nutribullet cup when I ground the cloves. Will have to purchase ground cloves to try it again. Not bad!
Lol. Yes, that’s true. I forgot about the adjustment curve, I’m so used to it now. The bentonite clay also adds to the brownish color. Sorry to hear about your nutribullet cup :/ I am on the lookout for a coffee grinder for spices. It works well.
Hi Anne Marie,
I was making a toothpaste using coconut oil but I have a feeling it is not good for the bathroom pipes. It sets solid in cold weather and I imagine it gradually coats your pipes as well as the sink. I do love your older tooth powder recipe, and it is so inexpensive compared to the AUD$12 for organic toothpaste and my teeth feel really good.
Madeleine.x
Hi Madeleine. I hadn’t even thought of the oil going down the drain and clogging the pipes. That makes a lot of sense. Another good reason to use tooth powder! Organic toothpaste is very expensive here also and I’ve only seen it in a plastic tube. I’m glad the homemade stuff works well for you 🙂 ~ Anne Marie
I made your bentonite recipe and also found it helped sensitivity. I suspect that is more due to the cloves than the bentonite since cloves are an anaesthetic.
Ahhh, that makes sense Hilda. Meg commented on here that clove oil cleared up an infection she developed after an extraction. It’s good stuff!
Lovely to see these recipes. Anything mildly abrasive will do the job – as recently as the early 1900s people used ground up charcoal! I tend to use bicarbonate of soda or rhassoul clay – as I use that for my shampoo anyway. I love the idea of adding ground up cloves as oil of cloves is naturally antiseptic and has been used down the ages for tooth ache! Several years ago I had a crown implant combined with an extraction of the adjacent tooth. The dentist gave me loads of antibiotics before the procedure to stave off infection. I took it, had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics and got an infection anyway. I went back to the dental surgery and saw a locum. She popped cotton wool drenched in clove of oils in the gums and the infection cleared up within 36 hours. LIke you, I’m not a medical person, but I have the greatest respect for cloves where dental matters are concerned.
I had some tooth powder with charcoal and it worked well. I hadn’t heard of rhassoul clay so I looked it up just now. I’d like to try that on my hair. Thank you also for the info about clove oil. I need some dental work done and might get some to have on hand.
I use a very similar recipe, minus cloves and with less soda. I too would prefer to eat the coconut oil and never found the paste it made to be of much benefit. I refilled my calcium carbonate at The Soap Dispensary in Canada, but will be trying out this eggshell DIY when I run out now that I’m back in Australia. Is there anything eggshells can’t do?! I assume that you were able to get the eggshells to quite a fine consistency?
Wow, I have never seen calcium carbonate in bulk. Is that store in Vancouver? I ground the eggshells up very finely. They are like a powder. I am only now discovering the many uses of eggshells. Do you have other ideas for them? Someone on here suggested cleaning the sink and tub with them and another reader puts them around seedlings to deter slugs.
Yep, it’s the best store in Vancouver. It introduced me to so many ideas and local ingredients. Now I’m curious if the calcium carbonate I bought was made from eggshells. It’s also a very fine powder.
I put large pieces of eggshells around my kale to deter the white butterflies that otherwise love to make it their home. I’ve seen the half shells used to start seedlings, but haven’t ever done it myself. Gippsland Unwrapped shared a neat trick, which is moderately crushed shells to clean the inside of bottles – shake the shells inside the bottle to do the work of a bottle cleaner.
Next time I’m up there, I’ll visit. Thanks for the eggshell ideas! I love making ginger beer and kombucha but I don’t love cleaning the bottles. I will try the eggshell trick next time 😉
You are so inspiring and innovative Anne Marie ! Thanks for sharing so many recipes and experiences…
De rien 😉 Thank you for following and reading! ~ Anne Marie
Hi! I found Now calcium carbonate powder online, would this work?
Hello,
Not sure if you are still reading this article but what if instead of using coconut oil, what if I used activated coconut charcoal?