Remineralizing Tooth Powder For a Healthier Mouth

Katie Wells Avatar

Reading Time: 5 minutes

This post contains affiliate links.

Read my affiliate policy.

remineralizing tooth powder
Wellness Mama » Blog » Natural Remedies » Remineralizing Tooth Powder For a Healthier Mouth

My remineralizing toothpaste is one of the most visited posts at Wellness Mama. Over the years I’ve had a lot of emails from people who’ve switched and love it. After I remineralized my teeth and reversed cavities, I became a convert to natural toothpaste!

The only downfall to my homemade toothpaste is that it can leave residue on sinks. Plus there’s some concern with the coconut oil if you have a septic system (like we do). I also wanted to figure out how to incorporate the benefits of healing clays into our oral health regimen. However, there were some definite texture issues with the clays and coconut oil.

What resulted was this remineralizing tooth powder and I couldn’t be happier with the results. It’s even easier to make than homemade toothpaste. Plus you can use ground herbs and spices instead of essential oils if preferred.

Choosing a Natural Toothpaste

Over the past decade, more and more natural toothpastes have come on the market. They advertise fluoride-free, sulfate-free, and natural ingredients. Some are certainly better than others, but there are some good ones on the market. I compare different natural toothpastes in this article. Or you can find the toothpaste I helped develop here (we have tooth whitening toothpaste plus a kid’s strawberry flavor!).

You’ll still find DIY products in my bathroom though because I love being able to customize my oral care products.

Why Tooth Powder?

Natural tooth powder is less messy than a tube of toothpaste. This makes it easier to travel with or take camping. I don’t have to worry about toothpaste all over my clothes if it accidentally gets squished in my suitcase. And it has a much longer shelf life since we’re not introducing any liquids.

The main ingredient in this homemade tooth powder is bentonite clay. Years ago I became a big fan of bentonite clay for its amazing health properties. Not only does it bind and draw out heavy metals and toxins (a big plus for the mouth!), but it’s also mineral rich.

You can take bentonite internally to help remove toxins, so it’s safe to use in the mouth. Be sure to get food-grade bentonite clay though! The one I have linked in the recipe below is safe to use internally. In recent years there’s been talk about the lead naturally found in bentonite clay. While there is a tiny amount of lead (like many things), it’s bound within the clay and not bioavailable. You can read more about that here.

Bentonite is also rich in calcium, magnesium, and silica to help nourish teeth. So how does it work? Bentonite clay is unique because once mixed with water the molecules develop an electrical charge. This charge attracts and soaks up toxins, drawing them into the inside of the clay structure and holding them there.

To put it another way…

Bentonite is a swelling clay. When it becomes mixed with water it rapidly swells open like a highly porous sponge that traps toxins. It’s also very gentle and has a milder taste. I use it for facial masks, healing poultices, and even my hair.

Healthy Tooth Powder Ingredients

The other tooth powder ingredients also support a healthy oral microbiome. The blend of herbs and minerals fights bad breath and leaves your mouth feeling squeaky clean. For a pure mint flavor you can use more mint and omit the cinnamon and clove. You can adjust the amount of powder to your preferences. Personally, I love the balanced blend of organic peppermint powder, cinnamon, and refreshing clove.

  • Baking soda – Helps remove stains and whiten teeth but it’s gentle enough that it won’t harm enamel. Helps remove plaque and reduces gum bleeding and inflammation. Because it’s alkaline it supports a healthy mouth pH to discourage harmful bacteria.
  • Calcium Carbonate powder – Provides the calcium needed for strong enamel and can help reduce tooth sensitivity.
  • Ground cloves – Naturally antioxidant and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. Clove freshens breath, increases circulation for healthier gums, soothes inflammation, and can reduce the pain of sensitive teeth. It also gives the tooth powder a yummy taste.
  • Cinnamon – Also antimicrobial and antifungal (especially against candida). Tastes great and helps discourage bacterial growth in the mouth for fresh breath. Reduces gum inflammation and increases circulation.
  • Mint – Tastes great and soothes the gums. Mint is antimicrobial, helps relieve tooth pain, and freshens breath. There’s also some evidence it can help fight the virus that causes cold sores.
  • Xylitol – This sweetener adds to the tooth powder flavor but also has some impressive oral health benefits. Studies show it helps fight plaque and gingivitis inflammation. It also helps prevent cavities and binds with calcium to help remineralize teeth.

Adding Essential Oils

It’s completely optional, but you can add some essential oils to your tooth powder. They’re a potent way to increase the oral health benefits. Most antimicrobial essential oils are strong so a little goes a long way. When I add essential oils to this recipe, I just add a few drops total per batch.

Here are some essential oils to try in your DIY tooth powder!

The great thing about this tooth powder is you can customize the flavor however you want. You can add essential oils to increase the potency or leave them out for a milder taste (that even my kids like).

remineralizing tooth powder
Print
4.37 from 135 votes

Remineralizing Tooth Powder

This homemade tooth powder uses ingredients that rebuild enamel, freshen breath, and detox your mouth.
Author: Katie Wells

Materials

Instructions

  • Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Use a fork to mash any clumps and mix in any essential oils (if using).
  • Store in a small glass jar with a lid.
  • To use, place some powder in your palm and dip a wet toothbrush into the powder. Brush and rinse.

Notes

You can customize the powder to your taste and all of the herbal ingredients are optional. Create your own flavor with the herbs and essential oils of your choice.

How to Use Tooth Powder

Dump a little powder into your palm and dip the bristles of a wet toothbrush into the powder. Sometimes I’ll also add a few drops of the OraWellness Brushing Blend. Brush and rinse with cool water. Adults and kids can use this daily (or multiple times a day). Follow it up with some mouthwash or flossing if needed.

Shelf Life and Storage

This tooth powder will last for several years if stored properly. Store away from direct light and heat (like the car in summer). While it doesn’t have any water and the ingredients are antimicrobial, be sure to avoid getting the tooth powder jar wet. Always put a little powder into your palm before applying it to a wet toothbrush. Never dip the brush into the jar of powder as this introduces bacteria.

Oral Health Regimen

My teeth have never been whiter or healthier (according to my dentist) thanks to my oral health regimen. I eat foods that support oral health and use mouth-healthy products. I don’t do the same thing every single day, but here are some of the things I use. I’ve changed it up some since I reversed my cavities and often now I’ll just use Wellnesse toothpaste.

Have you ever had success reversing a cavity? What does your oral health routine look like? Leave a comment and share below!

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

743 responses to “Remineralizing Tooth Powder For a Healthier Mouth”

  1. michelle p Avatar
    michelle p

    Great article! This may be a silly question, but does the brand of baking soda matter? I noticed there were aluminum free kinds and didn’t know if that made a difference, or if regular old Arm & Hammer is fine? Thanks.

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      I prefer the aluminum free brands, but arm and hammer works too!

      1. Misty Avatar

        All baking soda is aluminum free. It is baking powder that can contain aluminum. The reason to use Bob’s Red Mill or others (not Arm & Hammer) is that Arm & Hammer is not naturally mined and others are.

        It always makes me smile when I read “We use Aluminum free baking soda”. Yeah, so does everyone else.

  2. Lirio Avatar

    Aloha! I have bentonite clay but it’s liquid. And I have CALM (ionic magnesium citrate) by Natural Vitality. Will these work?

  3. Janelle Avatar
    Janelle

    The link for the calcium magnesium powder takes me to a calcium citrate powder, is this the same thing?

  4. Gabe Gaskins Avatar
    Gabe Gaskins

    Can anyone confirm if Xylitol helps in re-mineralizing teeth? I have read that it does. Thanks.

  5. Jessica Grohowski Avatar
    Jessica Grohowski

    I just made this powder this week to help a tooth my dentist said had to be pulled because the cavity went below the gum line. I was told that a year ago(and the xrays from my previous dentist showed it too, that dentist just didn’t tell me about it) and I thought it’s not hurting so I’ll leave it be and try xylitol on it. Then a friend told me about the powder. I tried it for 2-3 days (1-2 times a day) My tooth got a little ahead of the game and broke the other night. I’m NOT blaming the powder at all. I bit something I think. So my tooth now is missing the outer chunk that was over the cavity and I have direct access to the cavity. I am going to make a paste of the clay with some coconut oil to put on it and let it soak in. Do you recommend anything else? No pain or discomfort so I thought it would be a good test for the powder. Has there been anyone with this issue before? Will the tooth regenerate from the remineralizing? Or will I have to get something done by a dentist too?? It’s the back inner corner of a six year molar I think? I’m avoiding chewing anything on that side to not mess with the poor thing anymore and let it heal. Any natural advice is welcome. Thanks.

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      I’m honestly not sure if it can regenerate or not. I know that you’d need some intensive dietary changes too if you aren’t already eating a diet to remineralize teeth, but I’d also check with a dentist on a tooth that bad!

    2. Wendy Avatar

      5 stars
      I had a piece of a tooth that broke (I bit a rock in some homegrown but hastily washed lettuce) below the gumline and was told it would need to be pulled, but my thinking was, like yours, “what do I have to lose?”
      I kept it very clean and worked with it for quite awhile using natural approaches similar to Wellness Mama’s (mostly keeping it very clean, packing herbs like mint and clove between my cheek and gums below the tooth each night, but also eating as well as I knew to do at the time).

      I’m not sure how eager I would be to recommend that just anyone leave a gaping hole in your tooth enamel, because it is a more open door right into your bloodstream, but the only times the tooth gave me any pain were when I was very short on sleep or otherwise immune compromised. Eventually the tooth broke again (mostly the softer tissues finally giving up) and I did go have it pulled. The dentist was flabbergasted that a hollow half of a tooth like that could be showing NO signs of infection. Additionally, a spot on the tooth directly behind it had been noticeably dark and had given me some slight pain about a year before, but when I asked the dentist about it, he said it would stay dark but had completely remineralized!

      […then I went and had a bridge put in to replace the pulled tooth, basically removing the enamel on that tooth AND the one across the gap to crown them… 🙁 the Carlson bridge looks like a far less invasive option, but I didn’t know about it then.]

      I don’t know how much healing is possible, or where the line is between “heal-able” and not; I was NOT utilizing the power of bone broths, yellow butter or liver at all and I was either pregnant or nursing during the time this tooth was in its compromised state, and it’s a GOOD thing that our bodies are smart enough to know when baby is a bigger priority than one lil’ old tooth.
      I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that more IS possible, but it can be a tough call and should be made very, very carefully. That can NOT be under-emphasized. You can NOT just fearfully wish a cavity away and go on with life as usual, but need to learn and make possible all the good news that you can about teeth if you’re going to turn anything around. Oh, for the day when every dentist will be equipped with a working knowledge of how to help teeth to heal!
      Sorry this is long; but I thought maybe my experience could be helpful for someone in a similar situation.

      Thank you, Wellness Mama for sharing your research and experiences and for this recipe–our family loves it!

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      If you use the proper technique, it will last a long time if you take care of it…

  6. Anna Avatar

    Hi Mama,
    i only have straight magnesium, not calcium magesium blend, is this still ok to use?

  7. Renee girard Avatar
    Renee girard

    Hello! Do you think the liquid bentonite clay is okay to use? I just bought some to make your toothpaste and realized as I went to make it that I got the wrong one. Thoughts? Thank soooo much!

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      If that is the only ingredient, it should work, but you won’t be able to add oil I don’t think…

  8. Jena Avatar

    Usually when I get my teeth cleaned she spends quite a bit of time scrapping .. UGH , but since using just baking soda the only area that required any time at all was the back of my bottom front teeth 🙂 ! she said that is an area that is always hard to clean. After a NO cavities visit I said “it’s the baking soda that I’ve been using.. ” !

  9. genevieve Avatar
    genevieve

    Hello, thank you for sharing this, I have been looking for something like this and I can’t wait to try it. I do have one quesitons thought. I was wondering would this be okay to use on porcelain veneers? Thanks!!!

  10. Samantha DenBleyker Avatar
    Samantha DenBleyker

    Hi,
    Is the bentonite safe to use even though it says on the Mountain Rose Herb website not to use it internally? Thanks!

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      I personally feel comfortable taking it internally after researching it, but I would definitely encourage you to research yourself and make sure you are comfortable with it too…

  11. Brittanie Parsons Avatar
    Brittanie Parsons

    I am buying the charcoal, brushing blend, and have everything to make the tooth powder. On the ora wellness site, they have this specific kind of toothbrush – a Bass toothbrush. Do you have any experience with this? I’d like to get one, hoping someone has tried it.

    I am 25 but starting to get a couple sensitive teeth and coffee stains on a few teeth around the gum line – I can’t wait to get started with this routine, I hope I can re mineralize!

  12. lynda thompson Avatar
    lynda thompson

    Xylitol is poisonous to pets, vets can confirm this. Pets do die from small amounts. Keep it high and closed away from pets, and I would say children. I do not allow any in my house.

    1. Jenn Avatar

      It gives me a headache…I’m waiting to hear more about it before I use it everyday.

      1. Sherri Lloyd Avatar
        Sherri Lloyd

        I’ve read other recipes that suggest using green stevia powder is you rather not use the xylitol.

  13. Lee Avatar

    Hi there, please can you tell me what I’m doing wrong. I made your tooth paste as directed by then after 12 hours it had totally set solid again like the coconut oil I used (before melting it). It’s not very usable in this way and certainly isn’t a paste. Please comment – it’s frustrating me terribly.

  14. angela Avatar

    So you don’t floss? That’s awesome!

    I got my first cavity in my 20’s AFTER I started flossing for the first time. Now I don’t anymore and my teeth and gums feel fine. (I didn’t watch the summit on the day this was talked about, if it was)

  15. Annalise Avatar

    Hi Wellness Mama. Thanks for everything. I am wondering if a tiny bit of Stevia would be ok as a slight sweetener instead of Xylitol. I know it says on the Amazon link for Xylitol that it is recommended for oral health, is that also the case with Stevia? I am just wanting to do a combination of ordering things online and get things locally where I can, and it may be easiest to get Stevia locally. I am so keen to get started on all of your great tips and recipes … baby steps:) Thanks.

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      You can definitely sub stevia, just experiment until you get it as sweet as you like.

  16. Katie Wiseman Spence Avatar
    Katie Wiseman Spence

    I realize this is an old post, but I hope you still check it… 🙂 I have a 10 month old daughter (who has teeth); is this brushing blend safe to use on her? If not, when will it be ok to use on her (age wise)? What would you recommend for someone her age? Thank you!!! 🙂

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      I’ve used it on my kids at that age… you just might want to reduce the spices to make it a little gentler for them.

    2. Nova Avatar

      This is not a safe recipe at all. Do not use the clay, it is not for internal use and can cause many health problems with children. And DO NOT use the Cassia cinnamon she links to, it is dangerous. Cassia is not real cinnamon and does not have the health benefits. It contains coumarin, a chemical which prevents blood from clotting. You do not have to swallow it to be harmed, the chemical is
      readily absorbed through the tissues in the mouth. Do not use it. Doubly more so for small children who can and do swallow toothpaste.

      1. Danny Sykes Avatar
        Danny Sykes

        Actually, bentonite clay has been used for internal and external health for centuries by many cultures. It is an excellent way to detox and so long as it has been treated as food-grade throughout it’s extraction and packaging process is also non toxic. Sodium bentonite absorbs more water than calcium bentonite though so be sure to drink lots of water if you choose to use it for detox. There is some argument on the internet about whether or not sodium bentonite should be used internally, but the websites I’ve found have been about fifty/fifty on the issue.

  17. Stefa folle Avatar
    Stefa folle

    I had tried a similar recipe from another site and the cinnamon and cloves were too strong for me and my husbands’ gums, so painful.
    I much prefere your toothpaste recipe and so do our kids. Can you just please tell me how can the coconut oil be a problem w/the septic?

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      It cans sometimes cause clogs in the septic system… but you can just spit in the trash can to avoid that….

  18. megan Avatar

    Do you replace your toothpaste with this? And also, I use one of those spin brushes & it’s kind of rough. Should i use a basic toothbrush for this ?

    1. Nova Avatar

      You should not use this recipe at all. It is harmful and dangerous. Bentonite
      clay should NOT be used in the mouth, ever. Extended use will cause
      serious problems for people with metal fillings. It can also dry out the
      mouth enough to cause damage. And, if it’s swallowed, a person will
      need to see a doctor because it can cause damage to the stomach and
      intestinal linings. And DO NOT use the Cassia cinnamon she links to, it is dangerous.
      Cassia is not real cinnamon and does not have the health benefits. It
      contains coumarin, a chemical which prevents blood from clotting. You do
      not have to swallow it to be harmed, the chemical is
      readily absorbed through the tissues in the mouth.

      1. Zahra Avatar

        Can you point to any literature that talks about bentonite clay being bad?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating