This toothpaste recipe is simply the best! I have experimented with different ingredients and different proportions time and time again, and I finally nailed it with this recipe. Everyone in our family enjoys using this all natural toothpaste that is free from the harmful ingredients found in commercial toothpaste, and it works great!

When my five children were young and we started to use the training toothpaste from the store (loaded with sugar) they just wanted to squeeze it out of the tube and eat it. That’s when I knew I had to make my own toothpaste! It was an easy transition, and to this day they all still love using my homemade toothpaste.

Ingredients

If you’re going to the trouble and mess of making this recipe, I suggest making a large batch. This toothpaste should have a shelf life of about a year (or longer if you keep them in the refrigerator), so they can last for a long time.

4 cups Coconut Oil (Anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal)
1 cup Hot Water (Melts the coconut oil and makes the toothpaste squeezable)
1 cup Baking Soda (Slightly abrasive, gently cleanses, tastes salty)
1 cup Diatomaceous Earth (Slightly abrasive, gently cleanses, kills parasites, no flavor)
2 cups Calcium Carbonate (Remineralizes teeth)
2 teaspoons Liquid Stevia (A sugar free sweetener, add more or less depending on taste preference)
2 teaspoons Strawberry Extract or Peppermint Extract (with the peppermint, I like to add an extra teaspoon of flavor)

My Toothpaste Making Station

Ingredient Notes

Baking Soda: Not only does slightly abrasive powder help to eliminate plaque, it also whitens your teeth, helps eliminates harmful bacteria, and encourages a more alkaline (rather than acidic) environment in your mouth. (Read more here about the benefits of baking soda.)
Diatomaceous Earth: This is slightly abrasive just like the baking soda, but without the salty taste and with the added benefit of killing parasites in the digestive tract by shredding and dehydrating them.
Calcium Carbonate: If you have active decay, demineralization (indicated by white spots), or sensitive teeth, then this ingredient is for you! This alone will not remineralize your teeth as much as diet, however, so check out this amazing book by Ramiel Nagel called Cure Tooth Decay to learn how eating a healthy diet based on Weston Price principles (such as avoiding processed foods and adding nutrient dense foods to your diet like pastured meat and eggs as well as raw milk and properly prepared grains). Increased saliva also helps to keep teeth clean, and chewing this Trident Recaldent Sugar-Free Calcium Gum might help you to do that while getting some extra minerals.
Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, and gives the toothpaste a nice creamy consistency.
Stevia: Stevia is derived from plant in South America called Stevia Rebaudiana. It is extremely sweet, so not much is needed and it’s calorie and sugar free. Some people like using xylitol, which is extracted from fruits and vegetables and is also calorie and sugar free, so it’s just a matter of personal preference. (Read more about stevia versus xylitol here.)
Flavoring: I really like the peppermint extract because it has a nice minty flavor, but lately the kids have really been enjoying this strawberry extract flavoring. You could also use cinnamon extract or orange extract depending on your taste preference. *FYI: Don’t use essential oils for the toothpaste unless you are 100% certain it won’t be ingested.

Directions

Coconut oil and water: Add the 4 cups of coconut oil (generous cups) and mix with the hot water until nice and creamy. You can mix by hand or with a mixer.
Baking soda, diatomaceous earth, and calcium carbonate: I like adding 1 cup of baking soda, one cup of diatomaceous earth, and 2 cups of calcium carbonate, but you can play around with this mixture. Because I have five young children using this toothpaste, I try to go as light as I can with the baking soda so it’s not too salty. Once you add these ingredients, mix well with a mixer.
Stevia and flavoring: You really have to go by taste here. Just add a little, mix, taste, add a little more, etc. Just remember that you can’t take the flavoring out if you add too much!
Tube it: I like using this baby food making system to store my squeezable toothpaste. You could also use small glass canning jars or even a disposable storage container. I basically just scoop the toothpaste into the containers, remove as much air as I can, rinse under hot water, remove even more air, and dry.
To use: Add a pea sized amount to your toothbrush and use like you would any other toothpaste. Feel free to spit or swallow!
Toothpaste in Use

Tips and Tricks

Even though I try to mask it as much as I can with the other ingredients, the baking soda has a salty taste to it that you may notice at first. If this bothers you, either start with a very small amount at first or mix with some other toothpaste that you have as you transition away from it. This might be really helpful for young children.
This toothpaste doesn’t foam or lather, so you may want to dip a little more on your toothbrush before you finish brushing to get your teeth extra clean.
For some reason, we all tend to drool a lot when using this, so you may want to make sure you’re standing over a sink.
Although it’s a pretty hard habit to break, you don’t have to spit this toothpaste out. The diatomaceous earth kills parasites and the coconut oil is anti-fungal, so by swallowing this toothpaste on a regular basis, you can help to prevent and eliminate any candida or parasite issues.

The Most Important Reason to Avoid Commercial Toothpaste…Fluoride!

By making our own toothpaste, we can avoid the worst toxin of all – sodium flouride, which is a toxic chemical that has not even been proven to prevent tooth decay. If you look at your tube of Crest toothpaste, it actually says to contact poison control if more than the amount needed to brush your teeth is ingested. If a 2 year old were to ingest 42% of a tube of toothpaste, it would kill him.

Among other things, ingesting too much fluoride can cause dental fluorosis, which can permanently discolor the teeth, (especially children who have yet to get their permanent teeth), cause damage to the brain and alter mental behavior, result in a lowered IQ, produce impairment of the pineal gland which is linked to early onset puberty, lowers thyroid function, causes arthritis, damages the bones, and causes reproductive failures.

Other Harmful Ingredients Found in Commercial Toothpaste

Triclosan – An antibacterial compound found in antibacterial soaps, toothpaste, deodorant, and many other household products that can lead to disruption of the thyroid hormone and endrocine system and creates a dangerous antibiotic and bacterial resistance. Many companies are banning its use.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – A foaming agent that is present in nearly all shampoos, laundry detergents, and toothpastes that can lead to organ, reproductive, and neural toxicity, endrocine disruption, cellular mutations and changes, and even cancer.
DEA (diethanolomine) – Formulated into soaps, detergents and surfactants, it has been linked with kidney, liver, and other organ damage according to several government-funded research studies, and has been proven to cause cancer in rats when applied to the skin.
Propylene Glycol – A colorless, viscous, hygroscopic liquid used in anti-freeze solutions, in brake and hydraulic fluids, as a de-icer, and as a solvent. It’s even found in some pet foods, processed foods and cosmetics, toothpastes, shampoos, deodorants and lotions. It is implicated in contact dermatitis, kidney damage and liver abnormalities. It can inhibit skin cell growth in human tests, can cause gastro-intestinal disturbances, nausea, headache and vomiting, central nervous system depression and can damage cell membranes causing rashes, dry skin and surface damage.