I want to immediately address the elephant in the room before we go any further…

YES, this toothpaste is brown. And NO, it is not the loveliest looking.

But hey, we all know not to judge a book by its cover!

And those perfectly white toothpastes that you are comparing it to may look pretty, but they’re chock-full-o’-nasties.

This DIY toothpaste on the other hand contains ingredients that help both naturally whiten and remineralize teeth while not contributing to your body burden. What more could we really ask for?

DIY All-Natural Whitening + Remineralizing Toothpaste

Ingredients:

Makes roughly 4 oz of toothpaste

• 4 tbs coconut oil
• 3 tbs sesame oil
• 4 tsp bentonite clay
• 4 tsp calcium magnesium powder
• 3 tbs baking soda
• 15 drops TOTAL essential oils (choose from these 5 essential oils for healthy teeth and gums)
• 12 drops trace minerals

You’ll also need a small jar or squeezable silicone tube to store your toothpaste.

Directions:

1. In a double boiler, melt the 4 tbs of coconut oil. Or… if you are like me and don’t have a double boiler, you can simply stick a jar in a pot filled with shallow water, set the burner on medium-low, and put the coconut oil in the jar for it to melt (be sure not to get water in the jar).
2. After the coconut oil is melted, remove the jar from the pot, wipe the water off the bottom, and set it on the counter.
3. Next, add all of the other ingredients using a plastic or wooden spoon since a metal spoon will negate the effects of the bentonite clay.
4. Stir everything together. The consistency will be runny but uniform, but it will harden into a thicker paste once it cools.
5. So pop the jar into the fridge to set, stirring every five minutes to keep everything uniform.
6. After about 15 minutes, you should see it start to thicken.

And there you have it! Your very own all-natural whitening & remineralizing toothpaste!

Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients:

Coconut oil

Coconut oil acts as the base for the toothpaste, keeping everything together. More importantly, the lauric acid in coconut oil is a natural antibacterial.

Sesame oil

Sesame oil also acts as the base for the toothpaste, helping to soften the paste since coconut oil can get pretty hard. This was important to me since I wanted to be able to squeeze my toothpaste rather than keep it in a jar. (If you don’t care about squeezability, you can simply replace the sesame oil with more coconut oil). Sesame oil is traditionally used for oil pulling (a practice I will cover more soon!) and also has antibacterial properties.

Bentonite clay

Bentonite clay is a staple in my house. This “healing clay” binds to and draws out impurities, helping to not only detox the mouth but also whiten teeth by removing stains. Bentonite clay is also high in calcium, magnesium, and silica which help remineralize teeth.

Calcium magnesium powder

Calcium and magnesium are critical for bone and teeth health. Calcium is obvious here, and magnesium is critical for calcium to be properly absorbed. This calcium magnesium powder contains the optimal balance of both.

Baking soda

Baking soda is alkaline, helps clean teeth and remove stains, and wards off bacteria.

Essential oils

After doing the research, I consider peppermint, cinnamon, spearmint, clove, and myrrh essential oils to be the top five essential oils for healthy teeth and gums (though I’m sure there are certainly more!).

Trace minerals

Trace minerals help restore and remineralize tooth enamel.

[Side note: I know this seems like a TON of ingredients but most of us already have coconut oil, sesame oil, and baking soda in our kitchens. Most also likely have at least peppermint EO, which can be used alone in the recipe if you’d like. If you don’t have bentonite clay, I suggest you get some ASAP since it’s so multipurpose and amazing (check out how I use it every day, week, and month). Trace minerals and calcium magnesium powder are both fantastic supplements so a great investment as well.]

When you use it for the first time…

The consistency and taste are certainly not what you are used to. I use more of this toothpaste than I would with a “normal” store-bought paste since it does not foam, probably about double. The coconut oil will melt rather quickly in your mouth since it has a melting point of 76º turning the paste into a thick liquid. Also it is definitely salty! I don’t mind, but you can add liquid stevia or xylitol if it does bother you (or if you are trying to get your kids to use it!).

P.S. Like my toothbrush?

It’s bamboo! As you know, I kinda sorta HATE plastic. And we sure do use a lot of toothbrushes, which (along with their plastic packaging) just end up in landfills.

These toothbrushes have bamboo handles and the packaging is completely biodegradable. In other words, they’re awesome.