I’m fond of the maxim A woman who doesn’t change her mind doesn’t have one. This is particularly true when it comes to the subject of fluoride in toothpaste. When the kids were babes, I swore off fluoride, convinced it would poison their pristine minds. I pestered and poked through our food coop until I could find flouride-free toothpaste. Then Saoirse started with cavities a few years back, and the left-of-center dentist I finally found convinced me that, while perhaps fluoride supplements were unnecessary, a topical treatment with fluoride in the toothpaste would be worthwhile. I pestered and poked through our food coop until I could find toothpaste with fluoride. I instructed the kids they were to start using it…which they did.

And then Ula learned that fluoride could be poisonous if swallowed, and freaked out. (She’s the kid who, if you tell her not to stick her finger in a light socket, will feel a nearly uncontrollable compulsion to stick her finger in the light socket….if you say nothing, she won’t ever stick her finger near a light socket.) She didn’t want to brush her teeth anymore, because she didn’t feel she could resist the compulsion to swallow.

So to heck with the darn flouride. We decided to try making our own paste with the primary ingredients being hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. I put it in Ula’s control, as you can see. I don’t know where I stand on fluoride anymore.

But hey. This toothpaste doesn’t contain glycerin….which I’m told is the next “toxic” ingredient in toothpaste we should all be worried about. **sigh** Somedays I shrug my shoulders and think, no matter what, I’m destined to get this wrong.

At least when we make our own toothpaste, we can just put it in recycled glass jars, rather than blowing through those plastic tubes. The kids have fun with it, and even cynical Bob commented yesterday how bright and white my teeth looked (and it was an entirely unsolicited compliment!).

Comments

1. April 10, 2013 7:46 AM EDT
   Can you link to where you read this? I just started making toothpaste and was using dr. bronners in it. That’s glycerin isnt it?
   – Kelly
2. April 10, 2013 7:49 AM EDT
   Hi Shannon, I’ve had the same story! My homeopathic doctor said the same thing about topical flouride. But the news on glycerin is new to me. That must mean its not good to use a glycerin base to make kid-friendly herbal tinctures without alcohol. Now what?….
   – Ilene
3. April 10, 2013 8:15 AM EDT
   Oh, yes. We’ve been down that road and back again. Here is my record for an easy homemade toothpaste, if your kids are interested in whipping up a batch. That being said, we usually just brush with a bar of soap these days.

   http://lusaorganics.typepad.com/clean/2010/02/natural-toothpaste-tutorial.html

   – Rachel Wolf : : Clean.
4. April 10, 2013 8:26 AM EDT
   My recipe is similar to Rachel’s: 1/4 c baking soda, 1/3 c coconut oil, 2 T hydrogen peroxide, 25 drops stevia extract, 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract. Whip it all together and store in a covered glass jar.
   – Shannon
5. April 10, 2013 8:43 AM EDT
   Maybe people are avoiding the glycine cus it is derived from “vegetable” sources which usually means GMO soy?
   – Lizz Smith