I am one who has always enjoyed oral hygiene. I actually remember how this happened to me. When I was six and seven my dad’s friend would come visit us. The sad thing is that he visited more than my dad in those days. We called him “Uncle Duck”. To this day I don’t really know what his name is, but the special thing about “Uncle Duck” is that his teeth were rotten and nasty. Every time he would leave he would tell us, “You need to make sure you brush your teeth or they will look like mine!”. That definitely did the trick.
My mom had me do some research for her to find out if toothpaste could be making her sick. The answer was yes. Fluoride just isn’t very good for us. It does help protect the teeth, but if you eat a balanced diet and especially if you live in areas that add fluoride to the water. You don’t really need it in your toothpaste. Plus the glycerin that gives toothpaste such a great texture is really bad for your teeth.
So…me and my family stopped using toothpaste. The great thing…I love it! This doesn’t really mean that I (or my family) have stopped brushing their teeth. In fact, our teeth look better than ever before.
My recipe for tooth powder:
I made a recipe for tooth powder that we have been using instead of toothpaste. I take 1 cup of baking soda and add 1 teaspoon of tea tree oil. The baking soda is good for cleaning and it also helps to kill germs. The tea tree oil is an anti-bacterial. To that I had 1 teaspoon of mint extract and 2 teaspoons of vanilla for a more pleasant flavor. I stir it all together and bag it up. I keep a plastic bag in the fridge and then scoop out a small dish full of it.
At first the toothpaste taste really salty and it is hard to get over. However, brushing your teeth is important so you can get used to it. After awhile it is even enjoyable and with a good mouthwash (I make our own, but I have nothing against Listerine other than the cost) you will probably come to enjoy it even more. I know I do because there are many advantages:
- Cost…Okay so toothpaste isn’t really expensive when you consider how long a tube lasts. However, baking soda is really, really cheap.
- Healthier…I really like the fact that I feel it is healthier.
- Teeth feel great…My teeth feel really smooth and clean.
- Less worry…My kids brush their teeth a lot and love tooth powder. I know that if we used toothpaste they would also love it. However, I don’t have to worry about the fact that they don’t spit well. Instead, I just let them brush their teeth and make them shiny as my five year old would say.
In the end, I definitely don’t regret getting rid of toothpaste. I like my tooth powder and will keep using it…probably forever. 
