If you are a big fan of one-ingredient solutions, then you want to make barely anything.
Use baking soda with xylitol and a bar of soap.
Brush with a bamboo toothbrush.
We promise it won’t cause you a cavity, and your dental routine will be pretty much unchanged. Baking soda is a buffering agent, so it reduces decay-causing acid in the mouth.
Do you want braces to get rid of dog teeth, but no dentist will let you? Do you just want that Hollywood smile?
A lot of people don’t floss. Read the tips below about ways to remineralize without fluoride, the abrasivity of baking soda vs. conventional toothpaste.
Use swiss chard fiber instead, or human/horse hair gathered during grooming, then cleaned.
We tried radish green fiber, and it’s tough enough to work, but we don’t know if it leaves too much sugar between teeth.
Others unravel thread from silk (Bea from Zero Waste Home does this), which you could do with secondhand silk.
For siwak, separate the bristles before using them exactly like floss between your teeth, scrubbing back and forth in a C formation along the teeth and gums.
You can use a neem stick, which freshens breath, the same way, although you’re really supposed to chew them for hours. Or you can try our recipe for zero-waste mouthwash.
Dentists recommend a water pik in conjunction with some type of floss or interdental brush.
Grandparents always washed and reused dental floss.
Some sell disposable flossers marketed as biodegradable, but we can’t figure out what they’re made of or if they actually decompose promptly. With crowded teeth, siwak works.
Choose plastic-free silk floss from a refillable glass container. Just see images of marine life choking or being half-decapitated by plastic floss…
Use Aleppo soap once a day for brushing (baking soda in the morning, Aleppo at night), and your dentist will be happy.
Use soap once a day. Many used to have sensitive teeth and enamel, which were destroyed by Sensodyne. You can brush with baking soda for decades with no problems. Teeth and gums will actually get stronger!
Some sell unpackaged minty tooth tablets, and other companies offer dentrifice unpackaged or in glass, made from ingredients like trace minerals and kaolin clay.
Some zero-wasters report yellowing teeth after quitting conventional toothpaste. Coconut oil, turmeric, or activated charcoal are effective whiteners. Neem and siwak have whitening properties, but you really need to chew the sticks several times a day, for a long time.
In Korea, they use broth made from pine cones to heal dental problems, such as infected teeth. Some people have amazing results, but if you try this: 5 green pine cones, or 5 fallen pine cones, boiled three times in a liter of water- you need to stop drinking alcohol for it to work (drinking matcha will actually help).
Baking soda and/or sea salt are also recommended for gum health in Korea, but only once a day, because too much can be overly harsh.
White sesame seeds, neem, fennel, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, and licorice root can remedy tooth and gum problems and improve oral hygiene in general. Chew the ingredients and brush with water afterward.
