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Our family has now completely switched to a natural oral health routine. We eat to boost oral health and even make our own remineralizing toothpaste. Next on the list to try was a homemade mouthwash recipe.
This natural mouthwash combines herbs that are naturally cleansing and healing to teeth and gums. Because it’s in a convenient tincture, it’s easy to use and won’t spoil quickly. I get fresh breath while it naturally kills germs and alkalizes the mouth.
Why Use Herbal Homemade Mouthwash?
Commercial mouthwash is often filled with sweeteners, harmful chemicals, and artificial colors and flavors. Some of the natural options aren’t my first choice either. Many of these contain glycerine, which can coat the teeth. That’s one of the reasons why I came up with my own toothpastes for oral hygiene that are glycerin free.
For a DIY mouthwash, I knew I needed something that would tackle bad breath, dry mouth, and gum disease without the potential side effects.
Conventional vs Homemade Mouthwash
Prescription mouthwashes contain the chemical chlorhexidine to help fight gingivitis. But their success with periodontal disease is limited. And there’s also the risk of tooth staining, mouth irritation, and rare life-threatening reactions.
Good oral hygiene doesn’t have to mean opting for irritating mouthwash!
Even some the run of the mill mouthwash on the local grocery and drug store shelves have SLS, which can cause or irritate canker sores. Making your own mouthwash helps fight bad bacteria and improve dental health in a much gentler way.
Herbs and Spices For a Healthy Mouth
- Cloves – are used in oral care for their natural antiseptic, antibacterial and antiviral properties. Clove oil even helps soothe toothache or minor cavities until they can be healed or filled.
- Peppermint – adds the traditional mint flavor, but is also antibacterial and cooling to the mouth. We use it in our Wellnesse Charcoal Toothpaste.
- Plantain – is antibacterial and antimicrobial and is used in preparations for its ability to speed wound healing. It’s also a mild demulcent and anti-inflammatory to help soothe sore tissues.
- Rosemary – an aromatic and cooling herb that is also antibacterial and soothing to sore gums.
- Cinnamon Essential Oil – This helps to give the mouthwash a nice warming flavor while it fights microbes in the mouth. Cinnamon bark is more irritating than cinnamon leaf so the leaf is the preferred option here. Cinnamon is antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral.
- Peppermint Essential Oil – You can use this with or instead of the cinnamon essential oil for a refreshing flavor. It’s also antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiviral. Spearmint is similar, but not quite as pungent if you prefer to use that.
- Tea Tree Essential Oil – This has a unique taste in mouthwash so I like combining it with mint when I use it. Tea tree oil is helpful against a wide array of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. If you don’t like the taste though it’s totally optional.
No Time to DIY?
If you’re short on time and want some premade, healthy mouthcare options, then try some of these from Wellnesse.
- Silk Floss
- Charcoal Toothpaste
- Whitening Toothpaste
- Strawberry Toothpaste
- Biodegradable Toothbrushes
Herbal Homemade Mouthwash
Yield
Materials
- 1 tsp whole cloves (or ground cloves)
- 2 TBSP dried peppermint leaf
- 2 TBSP dried plantain leaf
- 1 TBSP dried rosemary leaf
- 8 oz rum or vodka at least 80 proof
- 15 drops peppermint essential oil (or cinnamon leaf essential oil)
- 5 drops tea tree essential oil optional
Instructions
- Place the herbs in a pint size mason jar.
- Pour the rum or vodka into the jar with the herbs.
- Cover tightly and place in a cool dark place for 2-3 weeks, shaking about once a day to help the herbs infuse.
- After 2-3 weeks, use a cheesecloth or a very fine mesh strainer to strain the herbs out of the tincture.
- Discard the herbs and pour the tincture into small dropper bottles or another glass jar to store.
- Add the essential oils, return lid and shake well.
Notes
- To use: Combine 40 drops of mouth wash with 2-3 tablespoons of water and swish in mouth for 30 seconds.
- Storage: Away from sunlight and heat and we recommend storing in an amber or cobalt tinted glass bottle to avoid degradation from light.
How to Use Homemade Mouthwash
- Keep a glass bottle with herbal tincture on the bathroom counter with a small cup or glass.
- For each use, mix a mouthful of water with about 40 drops of the tincture and swish well for 30 seconds.
- For extra cleansing, add 40 drops of the tincture to a half and half mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water instead of plain water and swish for 30 seconds.
Mouthwash Alternatives
If you’d prefer to avoid the hassle of making mouthwash, oil pulling can be a simple one-ingredient alternative. The basic idea is that oil, like unrefined coconut oil, is swished in the mouth for up to 20 minutes. This can help remove plaque and support gum and tooth health. There’s even some evidence coconut oil may be effective against the streptococcus mutans bacteria that cause tooth decay.
Oil pulling is somewhat controversial and experts debate its ability to whiten teeth or benefit other parts of the body. However, they all seem to agree it’s a safe and effective alternative to mouthwash.
Other DIY Products for A Healthy Mouth:
If you enjoyed this recipe and like making your own products, you might also enjoy these other natural oral health products:
- Homemade remineralizing toothpaste
- Simple whitening toothpaste recipe
- How to whiten teeth with charcoal
- How to remineralize teeth naturally
This article was medically reviewed by Jessica Meyers, MPAP, PA-C, RH(AHG), who specializes in herbal protocols and functional medicine. You can also find Jessica on Instagram. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.
Ever made your own homemade mouthwash? Share below!
Do your kids use this mouthwash? Katie Kimball at Kitchen Stewardship recently blogged about bug spray and said peppermint EO isn’t safe under the age of 6. Is it ok in this concentration?
Hi there,
Was just wondering if I could make this mouthwash with essential oil instead of making the tincture first.
Thanks for your wonderful informative blog 🙂
Mojdeh
Can this be used while nursing?
Hi I love all your recipes and have been using several of them thank you so much 🙂 I was wondering if there was a way to make this a bit more kid friendly? My daughter totally hates mint so trying to find another way..Thank you!
Mercy, My daughter’s chronic mouth ulcers went away when she gave up wheat. It is a common side effect for people who have a gluten intolerance. She used to mix equal parts benedryl and pepto bismal and swish in mouth, it was very effective.
Hi,
Could you possibly assist, i am having a challenge with recurring mouth ulcers. What can you recommend? they attack on the tongue or inside the cheeks, i cant eat right now. Please help
Hi there. First, I’d like to mention how much I love your site, next, I’d like to ask if I could use something other than alcohol? You see, I have the misfortune to be deathly allergic to alcohol, so for obvious reasons, I can’t use that for a tincture base. Is there anything else you could recommend instead? Thanks a lot! You’re awesome for sharing all this.
Possibly salt water? It would definitely not taste as good but a salt water rinse is great for the mouth and you could add herbs to it?
Hi
Has this mouthwash helped you with receding gums? Or is it the tooth paste that you make? I have read apple cider vinegar is not good for one’s teeth – how about alcohol?
Alcohol isn’t acidic like ACV, so I would guess that would be the difference and alcohol is used in all dentist approved mouthwash, so I’ve never had aproblemw ith it.
Katie I read a couple of years ago that incidences of mouth cancer were rocketing and it was being put down to the alcohol in mouthwashes!!! Can you comment on that please or offer any advice?
Many thanks
Kindest Regards
Trudy x
hello. im a graduating student and i will be doing a feasibilty study about guava leaf mouthwash. i will use the same procedure as yours but the ingredients that i will use are
• 6-10 young tender guava leaves
• 8 ounces of rum or vodka
• 15 drops of Cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons dried Peppermint Leaf
• Filtered/distilled/mineral water
im having difficulties in researching whether the ingredients will go along with each other. do you think the ingredients will make a good mouthwash or do i need to add/omit something? im also wondering about the exact measurements of the ingredients that i will need to use. thank you in advance.
Hi! Is it possible to use hydrogen peroxide in the tincture as opposed to rum or vodka? I’m only 19, so I can’t purchase alcohol that would be used for drinking, and I already have hydrogen peroxide in my house. Thanks!
Emma-many people have suggested using apple cider vinegar in place of the alcohol. If you do a little internet research for alternative tincture bases (or something similar to that) you should find more info!
I know this has been asked, but I never saw the answer. Can you add water to the alcohol tincture as a whole instead of each time you swish? If so, what ratios would you recommend? Thanks so much for the help!
Hello, I was reading that some people wrote that they want alternative to alchohol in ingredients list and was wandering why? is this because alchohol is bad. I mean its only for mouthwash so your not going to swallow it, its just to gargle/rinse. I would have thought alchohol was a good cleanser, or is it bad full stop,? cause some people use it to relieve of pain in teeth or any other ailment in body probably acts as a relaxer, but I just thought that it would be a good cleanser along with other ingredients due to possibly its heatness properties would burn bad bacteria and act as a cleaner, make mouth feel fresh, but of course not to drink, just gargel/rinse.
I think some people have children who may accidently swallow.
can we replace the alcohool by apple cider vinaigre?
Thanks
Thank you very much for this great idea.
Can you suggest any non alcoholic alternative to the rum and vodka?
Will appreciate your answer on this.
Thanks.
Apple cider Vinegar works too apparently
I use a lot of your recipes and love them. I like the tooth powder than the toothpaste and my kids do too. I have been toying with the idea of making my own mouthwash, so naturally came here to look for a recipe. I actually have bee thinking of making a mouthwash without alcohol but with a carrier oil, such as sunflower or sesame oil with a little (very few drops) of tea tree or oil of oregeno with peppermint. I know it wouldnt be a “mouthwash” but I think it would do the trick to freshen the mouth in a safe and non alcoholic way. What do you think?
Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!
Can I use witch hazel instead of Alcohol and hydrogen peroxide?
Well, witch hazel is an astringent, but it’s not antibacterial. It’s also not designed for ingestion.
My tincture is ready! Now what is the water, peroxide ratio if I were to mix it with the tincture and store everything in a dark glass bottle? Thank!
What Wellness Mama has given directions for is how to make an alcohol based herbal tincture, which should keep at least for a year in a cool place/room temperature, out of direct sunlight. The alcohol has preservative properties that keep the mix from going bad. If you add additional water or other liquids to it, that would probably change the lifespan of the end product, and perhaps also make it so you had to store it in the refrigerator, vice at normal room temperature.
Hi Wellness Mama, I love your site and have adopted quite a lot of your ideas….. my acne cleared up almost overnight by making the diet changes. Thanks so much!! I recommend your website to anyone who will listen!
I have a question about Hydrogen Peroxide. I went onto Amazon (UK) to buy some, but I found various types with differing food grade percentages (usually 3% or 35%). I want to use HP as part of my oral routine but also for cleaning purposes and the different % have varying price tags. Can anyone advise what % I need to use for oral health please? I may decide to buy two lots, with a lower % for cleaning depending on what recommendations I receive. Thanks!
I use 3%
Is it okay to use fresh mint leaves if I can’t find dried peppermint?
Yes
Hi. First of all I wanted to say I absolutely love your site. I am a new reader and I can´t stop reading it. I love every recipe. And I learn A LOT. Before paleo I was crazy cosmetics purchaser. I think I know every label in the market. I am serious. I loved going to Sephora. Now I have very simple routine and I can´t be happier (my budget is very happy too) but truth be told from time to time I miss the fancy little bottles and the smell of some cosmetics although most of them make me sick now.
Thanks to you I learn to prepare my own cosmetics and all of them are absolute hit. Even my family and friends adore it. They are like: “ohhh please I want to try a new mask already”. It really makes me happy and I really get creative. Once you have basic knowledge the possibilities are infinite.
Soooooo, I wanted to prepare this mouth wash but I live in Spain and I am not able to find plantain leaf. Unfortunatly the shipping costs are very high if I order it abroad. Please can you reccomend me another herb???
Kisses,
Sel
You can just omit or add extra mint.
Hi Selime
I have the same problem I cannot find plantain leaf here in Thailand. But I have done some research in to the other herbs beneficial for oral health and after reading an article I decided to use sage (salvia officinalis) instead of plantain. I have often issues with inflamed gums around my crowns and small ulcers on the palate and I am sure that sage will be a great help!
Love your site Katie, it has been single most useful site for my transition to healthy / green lifestyle, Thank you so much for all your research!
Love
Andrea
I’ve just used watered down tea tree oil.