How To Make Turmeric Coconut Oil Toothpaste In 3 Simple Steps

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Want to switch to a more natural oral healthcare routine with this homemade turmeric coconut oil toothpaste recipe?

It’s really easy to make, contains only a handful of natural ingredients and doesn’t contain any ingredients that are almost impossible to pronounce.

Why Use A Homemade Toothpaste?

Many popular brands of toothpaste contain chemicals and additives that have been linked with possible health concerns. Most of us brush out teeth twice a day and even though we don’t swallow the tooth paste, chemical ingredients can still get absorbed into our body orally.

Here are 4 common ingredients in many brands of toothpaste, which have been linked with potential health issues.

• Fluoride – linked to fluorosis in children
• Propylene Glycol – an irritant
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – a neurotoxin
• Artificial sweeteners – some children’s toothpastes contain sweeteners such as aspartame, which has been linked with a range of health issues.

Research is ongoing with regards to some of the chemicals in toothpastes and personal hygiene products and the science complex – even scientists are sometimes divided on the safety of artificial sweeteners, for example. You’ll also often hear the argument that certain chemicals are safe in small doses.

However, if you decide you’d rather avoid them, a DIY toothpaste is an easy switch to make. It’s affordable too.

In fact, this turmeric coconut oil toothpaste contains only 3 ingredients (natural flavouring is optional), which you may already have sitting in your food cupboard.

1. turmeric (use organic if you can)
2. coconut oil (again organic if you can)
3. and baking soda (try this one).

Keep in mind, although it’s 100% natural, you ‘may’ find this homemade toothpaste takes a bit of getting used to, as the texture is a little different to commercial toothpaste.

Benefits of Coconut Oil & Turmeric For Oral Health

According to the Indian Society of Periodontology, turmeric has comparable anti-plaque, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties to more traditional mouthwashes.

In fact, turmeric was shown to be very effective at preventing plaque build-up and bad breath, due to it’s anti bacterial properties (source).

And with regards to coconut oil, 50% of the fat in coconut oil is comprised of something called lauric acid.

In terms of the sciency bit, lauric acid is a medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) and is well known for its antimicrobial actions. It also inhibits Strep mutans – the primary bacteria that cause tooth decay (source).

It’s interesting to note, as well, that lauric acid is just one of 4 MCTs (or medium-chain triglycerides) in coconut oil and the other 3 are also considered very beneficial to health.

Here’s how to whip up your own turmeric coconut oil toothpaste in 3 simple steps.

How To Make Turmeric Coconut Oil Toothpaste

Turmeric Coconut Oil Toothpaste – What You’ll Need:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (organic is best)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric (again, organic is best)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda*
• few drops food grade peppermint oil (optional for minty freshness)

*The baking soda acts as a gentle abrasive, but you can leave this out if you prefer.

Turmeric Coconut Oil Toothpaste: Instructions:

Step 1

Place your coconut oil, turmeric and baking soda into a bowl and mash well with a fork. until you get a smooth consistency. Make sure all the ingredients are well combined.

Note: Make sure the coconut oil is at room temperature, so it’s a softish consistency. Otherwise, you’ll have trouble mixing it into the other ingredients.

Step 2

Put the paste into a small airtight container (small Kilner jars work well) and your turmeric coconut oil toothpaste is ready to use.

It’s that easy.

As with any ingredients, fresher is better. So whilst the ingredients in this homemade toothpaste all have a decent shelf life, it’s recommended you make a smallish amount of turmeric coconut oil toothpaste, then make more every week or so. Or as required.

Optional Step 3

You can also add a few drops of food grade peppermint or spearmint oil for a fresher taste.

Will I End Up With Yellow Teeth?

Turmeric can indeed stain. So use the toothpaste with care. However, it won’t stain your teeth.

In fact, used on a regular basis, turmeric is considered a natural way to help whiten your teeth (as an alternative to many of the harsher mainstream teeth whitening methods.) Just make sure you rinse your mouth well and don’t expect the same results as commercial tooth whiteners!

If you’d prefer not to use turmeric, though, coconut oil, baking soda and a few drops of  peppermint oil will also work perfectly well as a homemade toothpaste.

Like anything, it’s best to try it out, see what you think and adapt to suit your own personal preference.

Still Not Sure? Try a Tooth Powder Instead

Turmeric coconut oil toothpaste is both completely natural and affordable to make.

But if you’re not sure it’s for you, another option is a remineralising tooth powder or toothpaste.

Remineralizing tooth powders and pastes may help to naturally restore strength and function within tooth structure, by gently nourishing the teeth with minerals.

This study found that the remineralizing ability of the toothpastes trialled in the study were found to be ‘significantly higher’ than that of some of the ‘conventional’ fluoride based brands.

You can buy remineralizing tooth powders and pastes ready made or try making your own.

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