I’ve recently started making my own toothpaste from a mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide and it’s working wonders. Also, I can make three months’ supply for three bucks, and you can’t beat that. But it’s kind of harsh on my lips and gums, I imagine from the salinity and basicity of the baking soda. My questions are:
would there be any serious damage to my gums and teeth from brushing with baking soda on a daily basis?
is there something I can add to this mix that will cut down on the harshness? I’m not so much worried about flavor, as I am about neutralizing the pH and cutting down on the sodium. Adding something acidic, like citrus juice, might work, but the sugar content would probably defeat the purpose and I’d still have the sodium chapping the hell out of my lips and making my gums shrink like garden slugs.
on a slightly-tangential note, I was warned that I shouldn’t gargle regularly with hydrogen peroxide, even diluted. Is there something to this?
Yes you are. You’re only supposed to do a direct mixture of those twice a week or else that shit will eat your tooth enamel. I don’t know the damage done to your gums, but I imagine it’s greater than zero.
You can buy a mouthwash that contains the mixture diluted down enough to where you can use it daily without worry.
I use that mixture to clean my dogs after they have been sprayed by a skunk. Works wonders for that purpose, but it leaves my hands stinging if I do not use gloves when applying the concoction. I cannot imagine the effect of applying it the mucus membranes of the mouth on a daily basis.
On review–what Covered_In_Bees! said. Dilute, dilute, dilute.
It’s worth mentioning that while the abrasion and antimicrobial properties of baking soda and H2O2 will surely clean your mouth in the moment, much of conventional toothpaste’s anticavity action comes from fluoride. Fluoride chemically changes the surface of your tooth, making it more resistant to decay.
Any particular reason why you’ve decided to eschew “real” toothpaste?
ETA: Unless you’re a chemist or have a hazardous materials license, you won’t be buying hydrogen peroxide in any concentration that could be acutely dangerous. But, as others have mentioned, it’ll surely oxidize off and debride your mouth and throat if you overdo it. Honestly I’d just play it by ear; constantly raw and tingling and tender, maybe slow it down a bit.
I haven’t eschewed ‘real’ toothpaste at all; I just like making things.
But I figure, anything that’ll take off nicotine and coffee stains that well will probably take off a few layers of enamel with it, too, so advice taken: use sparingly, like once a week at most, and regular toothpaste the rest of the time. Play it by ear: if my mouth feels like it got mauled by a tiny wolverine, slow down.
That being said, I’d love to make ‘regular’ toothpaste, at least, something more suited to daily use than my present recipe (which involves basically nothing more than ‘dump a bunch of baking soda into a sake cup, add hydrogen peroxide until you got a paste, then brush thoroughly’). Anyone know some good recipes?
First of all, that actually doesn’t sound all that cheap. I buy Crest or Colgate toothpaste on sale for about three bucks for a tube that seems to last for a few months.
Second if you want to make “real toothpaste”, the main ingredient in this stuff (Crest, Colgate and Tom’s of Maine) is “hydrated silica” which is basically very fine sand made into a paste with water, along with some other stuff to flavor it.
I brushed with baking soda for a couple years. Never with peroxide or a combination of the two. I don’t think peroxide is a good choice for everyday use, just for occasional stain removal. I found a very small amount of soda was all that was needed, too much is pretty abrasive on your gums. Peppermint extract added to the soda made a nice refreshing experience.
It did clean my teeth really well - but then I tried some of that cinnamon Toms of Maine and well cinnamon is just too good. Haven’t seen the cinnamon Tom’s for years but the crest stuff is pretty good .
mouthwashing with an antimicrobial (peroxide, alcohol) kills every thing in your mouth. there are benign organisms as well as harmful living in a balance. after decimation all the populations reestablish. in a healthy mouth the benign organisms out compete the harmful. if you kill everything the harmful might get a stronger foothold on the rebound in problem areas.
better to floss and do things specific to the harmful organism environment.
I brush about half the time with just baking soda (dip a wet toothbrush in the box) and have done so for years. It will clean the hell out of them and dental hygienists always comment on hell well I must brush because there is very little buildup. I don’t get cavities either. I have read that it is hard on your enamel but I haven’t seen any evidence of that for me.
enamel hardness varies between people. i think that hard brushing with a hard bristled brush can leave marks that can be seen. baking soda might be too abrasive to some and not others.
I used to brush with only baking soda, did it for a few weeks I guess. My teeth had become sensitive to cold (something that simply never happened to me), and after a bit of googling I realized it was probably due to the baking soda, so I stopped and my teeth are all good now.
As to the question about gargling with H2O2, it’s not recommended because of the emetic properties of it and the risk of accidental ingestion while gargling. Some people will swallow a little of that they’re gargling, and with H2O2 it’s very likely that will make you vomit.
Swish with it, but back-of-the-throat gargling isn’t recommended.