Maybe it sounds odd to make your own. There’s no shortage of tooth cleaning products to be from the store, but I’ve pondered customizing my toothpaste to preserve my teeth another few decades.

This is the same recipe, whether you end up scooping toothpaste into a refillable tube (check your camping outfitter) or dipping the end of a moist brush into a pile of powder. I make it in this quantity for so I can vary the essential oils and to have frequent fresh cleaner.

Remineralizing Tooth Powder or Toothpaste

Ingredients

1 TBSP calcium carbonate powder
1 TBSP bentonite clay
1 TBSP baking soda
1 TBSP salt, finely powdered in your spice mill
5 – 20 drops essential oil

Place the dry ingredients in a canning jar, cap, and shake.

Dribble in one or more essential oils. Start with a total of 10 drops and adjust up or down to taste.

Essential oils give a sweetish flavor, making the basic mixture sweetly salty. If you like a sweeter powder or paste, I’m told ¼ tsp stevia powder does the trick.

This is tooth powder. Use it by dipping your damp toothbrush in.

To make toothpaste, carefully add plain old water and mix until you have the right consistency, then load into a tube or other container. Of course, the more essential oil you add, the less water you’ll need.

Before you load the powder or paste with your favorite essential oil, though, check whether the oil is food-grade. It wouldn’t hurt to consult someone knowledgeable in the uses of essential oils as you decide blends and other roles your favorite oils might play in your overall health – though the amounts in tooth cleaners are very small.

Essential oil possibilities:

• Peppermint or lemon to aid digestion
• Lavender or bergamot to relieve stress
• Rose or chamomile to improve your mood
• Cinnamon or fennel for digestion and to fight infection

A few to avoid, even from the best “you can eat our oils” vendors:

• Tea tree
• Wintergreen (edible, but must be in super small portions. Better to avoid in home mixes.)
• Camphor
• Eucalyptus