Toothpaste.

I’m ready to take the plunge. I don’t know what has made me hesitant to go down this path…unlike the other products in my house that I cannot WAIT to use up, I’ve been eeking out the last squeezes of paste from my current tube for weeks in order to avoid figuring out what to do next. I think it’s because I’m a wee bit obsessed with my teeth. I’ve had almost no cavities, wore my middle school retainer until a good couple years after college, and really, REALLY appreciate the value of starting with that “fresh from the dentist feeling” every morning. I’m not sure why I’m worried about natural paste not being able to accomplish this when all the other natural alternatives we’ve tried so far have proven to be just as good or better than their manufactured counterparts, but what can I say? My Colgate Total is a security blanket. (Also, it doesn’t help that my only experience with “natural” toothpaste to date is Tom’s of Maine–while I’m sure it cleans my teeth fine, about five minutes after I’m finished I can’t even remember brushing my teeth because the clean feeling (and fresh breath!) is already long gone. Plus it’s expensive. Not my ideal.)

But let’s take a hard look at the tube of paste that I am currently so attached to. Here is a breakdown of some ingredients in a typical tube of toothpaste. And here is a look at some commonly found ingredients in your kids’ neon pink princess toothpaste. And of course, there is the recent triclosan controversy, and even though the author I just linked to came down on the side of being semi-comfortable with its use, I have to say reading his summary of the research led me to the other conclusion (and of course it’s the precise ingredient that makes Colgate’s Total so effective! Gah!!).

All this is to say, the time has come to make a change. Partially because there is just no more paste coming out of that tube no matter how many credit cards I roll over it, and partially because Larms has hit on a similar theme on her own–must be fate! Her comment from yesterday’s post:

I’ve got another one lined up for us to try, too – home DIY hydrogen peroxide teeth whitening! Former smoking and much Diet Coke have left me with some less-than-pearly whites. http://hubpages.com/hub/Hydrogen-Peroxide-Teeth-Whitening

I am in a similar boat, whitening-wise. Back when I was pregnant and couldn’t eat or drink anything for 4 months straight, least of all plain water, I started drinking decaf tea and coffee like a fiend, and then kept it up basically until…now. (Well, I’ve weaned myself off the tea, but still can’t shake the coffee treat a couple times a week.) But dear lord do those things take a toll on one’s pearly whites!! My teeth have aged like, ten years in the last two.

So what to do? I love the hydrogen peroxide wash idea, and basically you can make your own toothpaste with just a few more ingredients. This was the first recipe that popped up in the search, and it looks like a winner to me! So as soon as I get a chance to hit up the drugstore for the peroxide (which should be tomorrow, since either way I need some toothpaste), I’m gonna try it all out.

(Oh, and here’s a recipe that is similar but does not include the hydrogen peroxide and does include coconut oil which I now have on hand from my deodorant recipe! Might whip that up for the munchkin, so I don’t have to worry about whether or not she swallows any of it.)

Update: I finally made the stuff! Full report here.