How To Make Your Own Bentonite Clay Tooth Powder

6 Minute Read

“What’s in your toothpaste?” Survey Says! A TON! Additives such as sorbitol (sweetener), sodium laurel sulfate (skin irritant), and cellulose gum (filler) are prevalent in all of the major toothpaste brands. And most of them aren’t even needed to clean your teeth, so why are they in there? Hmmm . . . good question.

“What about the tube that it comes in . . . is it recyclable?” Nope! It’s too hard to clean, and therefore, doesn’t get recycled.

Well that sucks! Considering the average person goes through about 389 tubes of toothpaste in their life, is there an alternative that has less fillers and won’t end up (NOT) rotting in a landfill? You betcha! And you can incorporate these alternatives into your eco friendly bathroom routine with no effort at all.

Last year, I set out to create a powdered toothpaste that was free of additives and chemicals, and would eliminate any packaging that couldn’t be recycled/reused. I realized I could make an effective powdered toothpaste with just a few ingredients, most of which were already in my kitchen. I tried several tooth powder recipes along the way, but they either tasted horribly, were too harsh for my sensitive teeth (I had been brushing with Sensodyne for over a decade), or they required so many ingredients that it defeated the purpose of trying to lower my waste.

After experimenting with different ratios, I finally arrived at my 3-Ingredient Bentonite Clay Tooth Powder (i.e. toothpaste minus the paste part). It cleans your teeth and gums, has a hint of cinnamon, and isn’t overpowering (like most toothpastes which obliterate your taste buds for at least an hour). Months after using it, I visited my dentist to get his stamp of approval. And so said, so done! He said my teeth looked great, giving me the confidence to keep doin’ ma thang!

But what good is a recipe if you can’t share it?!?! So here it is:

My Homemade Bentonite Clay Tooth Powder Recipe

(P.S. Did I mention it takes less than a minute to make?)

Ingredients:

• 2 pt Bentonite Clay (removes toxins & alkalizes your mouth)
• 1 pt Organic Cinnamon (fights bacteria & adds flavor)
• 1 pt Baking Soda (helps remove stains, bacteria and plaque; reduces irritation; exfoliates & alkalizes your teeth)

**For a small test size, you can use 1 teaspoon for each ‘pt’

Instructions:

1. Pour each ingredient into a glass jar and mix with a non-metal utensil (see why in the disclosure below). Store with a lid.
2. To use: wet your toothbrush and apply a pea sized amount of tooth powder onto your brush. Brush as usual.

**If you want an extra punch of mintiness, you can add a drop of Peppermint Oil to your brush.

see all my bathroom essentials

If DIY just ain’t your thing, you can also buy a bentonite clay tooth powder on Amazon. I’ve tried this brand called ‘The Dirt’ and it’s delicious! Plus, you can reuse the glass jar once it’s finished.

The Dirt Tooth Powder

Aside from toothpaste, there are tons of ways to make your dental routine a little more eco friendly. Here are some of my favorites:

Compostable Floss

Mainstream floss is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is not biodegradable. Another not-so-fun-fact: PTFE is also know as Teflon in its other applications (e.g. the coating on your nonstick pan), which has been proven to emit toxins. When it comes to getting in between your chompers, compostable dental floss is your eco-friendly solution. It’s made of biodegradable silk, so you don’t have to worry about its effects on the environment after using it.

Tongue Scrapper

Dental hygiene isn’t just about clean teeth. Our tongues harbor and expel toxins and bacteria, which is why scraping your tongue is the best way of getting that gunk out. To learn more, check out: 5 Reasons to Scrape Your Tongue Every Day. I’ve had my eye on one of these tongue scrapers for a while now, but I actually have a spoon from Ikea that does the trick just fine. I scrape my tongue every time I brush my teeth, and its amazing what comes off of it. If you don’t have a spoon with thin enough edges to get a good scrape, this tongue scraper will fix you right up.

Compostable Toothbrush

To say that I’ve tested out a lot of compostable toothbrushes would be an understatement, but even with so many brands on the market, woobamboo toothbrushes come out on top, time and time again. Their toothbrush is the only compostable toothbrush that feels just as smooth as a plastic toothbrush. I’ll never forget the first bamboo toothbrush I tried. It felt like I had popped a piece of plywood in my mouth and could feel the wood grain going against the inside of my mouth. It almost turned me off of compostable toothbrushes forever, but I eventually had the courage to try a different brand, which ended up being woobamboo and I’m so glad I did. Eliminating plastic toothbrushes from your dental routine is a significant sustainable swap that’s super simple.

Bamboo Toothbrush Case

No one wants their toothbrush rolling around in their bag. That’s just nasty, but instead of getting a plastic toothbrush holder, you can get a bamboo toothbrush case, which is not only lightweight and biodegradable, it’s naturally antibacterial, so your toothbrush will be C-L-E-A-N.

See my eco-friendly faves on Amazon

Disclosures:

• This tooth powder recipe works great for sensitive teeth, but knowing that everyone’s body chemistry is different, you may wanna tinker with the recipe to find something that works well for you.
• Do not allow the bentonite clay to come into contact with metal as it reduces its effectiveness. Avoid metal containers or metal measuring spoons when making and storing this recipe.

Resources:

• National Geographic
• Natural Life Magazine

Whaddya think? You gonna give this tooth powder recipe a try?

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