Hi,
Just wonder when do you start using toothpaste?
Some suggest to wait until baby knows how to spit whilst others suggest as soon as baby starts teething.
Would be grateful for your advice.
I use Dr Christopher’s tooth powder with my little ones as soon as we practically can. It’s good for their teeth, and because they are just herbs, it’s completely safe and even good for them to swallow it. When they are older I teach them how to spit and use toothpaste, but even though my 5-year-old can, we still usually use the tooth powder just because its convenient.
We used only water until 6 months and then we started using a special toothpaste with less components in its formula. It was recommended by the doctor and dentist. With 6 months my son had already a lot of teeth.
Here is an all natural toothpaste that we like. Since it has no chemicals that are dangerous to swallow, you can use it at any age!
http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Bentonite-Clay-Toothpaste-Kit?s=toothpaste
Here is an article about the toothpaste. http://www.bulkherbstore.com/articles/bentonite-clay-toothpaste?s=toothpaste
I prefer to use other flavoring instead of cinnamon, but you can be creative there.
Tamsyn, THANK YOU for your suggestion, it seems like a great tooth powder that also works for gums. I checked out ingredients and it looks wonderful. Do you have your favorite place where you get it? I use Vitacost.com a lot for getting vitamins and natural products (good discounts on the regular basis), but they are out of stock now.
CVMomma, we’ve done this, and love it. I like cinnamon flavor, but we also did peppermint one for hubby :yes: I would like combining it with Tamsyn’s suggestion, as I prefer to not use the baking soda on my teeth more then twice a week ( sensitivity).
I think Herbal Powder and Bentonite Clay toothpaste is great combination! We also do herbal rinse.
Oh, and I found someone listing the recipe for Herbal Tooth Powder recipe: http://www.herbalencounter.com/tag/diy-recipe/, want to try making it, but need to figure out where to get oak bark…
I guess I’m lucky, I get it at the local Shangri La store. Dr Christopher was from Utah so I guess it’s a perk that they carry it. But I’ll ask around for a good online place and get back with you.
Homemade tooth powder looks like an attractive option too! I tried making homemade tooth soap once and the kids and hubby hated it. 
Haha, same story here with the tooth soap lol
Tamsyn, the directions for the powder says "Suggested use: Boil 16 oz water, add 1 level tsp herbal tooth powder and let steep. Add 4 drops Hyssop Essential oil and 4 drops Frankincense Essential oil. Let cool down, but use warm once a day as follows. Brush teeth with a good natural toothpaste that contains Tea Tree Oil. Use the prepared mixture to rinse the mouth between brushing. End with swishing throughly several times until used up. Mix new batch daily. This helps to heal the gums and remineralize the teeth as well as helping small cavities to fill back in. ’
Which looks great! But you also mentioned just brushing your teeth straight with it, right? Do you simply dip your toothbrush in it, how does it feel?
My 3 year old still does not just toothpaste. He can’t spit yet and I don’t want him swallowing flouride. And many of the natural Florida free toothpastes still have things like sorbitol in them.
Acoording to the dentist though, it isn’t the product that does the good. It is the scrubbing.
I like the idea of a tooth powder. Going to look around for one now.
We used good old fashioned baking soda. No harm if they swallow it and it is good for neutralizing their pH. Oh, and should I mention you probably already have some in your cupboard?
Thank you soo much for all your suggestions!!
Love the idea of herbal toothpaste and DIY toothpaste! Never thought of making own toothpaste.
As living outside US, so don’t think I can get Dr. Christopher toothpaste, but will try to look at locals for herbal toothpaste!
Many thanks.
Huh, that’s even less than what I pay for it locally, about $19.00 It’s not cheap, but it does last a long time so we’re happy to use it. It has a nice, sweet herbish flavor that my kids like. I don’t think they would appreciate baking soda as much, although my husband and I often use baking soda. Each kid has their own little tupperware, we get their toothbrush wet and dip it in the powder and they are ready to go.
Tamsyn, I was looking into ingredients and got conflicting information – some sources claim that this is the recipe:
6 parts Comfrey root powder
3 parts White Oak bark powder
3 parts Horsetail powder
3 parts Peppermint powder
1 part Clove powder
1 part Lobelia powder
But then when I look at the website, it lists these ingredients on the box: White Oak Bark, Prickly Ash, Bayberry bark, Horsetail, Slippery Elm bark, Cloves, Peppermint and Stevia.
So I just wanted to check with you, as you have the actual product 
which is the correct one? I was puzzled about the first option, as it lists comfrey, which although an excellent healer and regenerator, is not considered as a safe herb for children.
I use normal toothpaste :ohmy: lol
My kids didn’t get teeth til 11 months and they could spit by then. We used whatever children’s toothpaste the health nurse gave us as a freebie :yes:
Dentist said my kids have strong and healthy as well as unusually clean teeth. I have no fillings myself so I am not in a hurry to change anything.
Listen to Amanda here. I can’t say I haven’t had any fillings, last December was a bad month for my teeth. I think it had more to do with having 4 kid close together and not being on top of my vitamins than my oral hygiene though.
The second list is correct. The first is their recipe for making it yourself, and the recipe that they used to use before the FDA came out and made comfrey be illegal. In my herbal class from them, they asserted that comfrey is completely safe, but that there is a component of comfrey that, if isolated, CAN be dangerous. But it has to be isolated away from the rest of the herb. Anyway, they had to change a lot of their formulas and that is why there is conflicting information.
lol lol 
Well, I never had good teeth (hereditary) and I always had to take an exceptionally good care of them. My problem with commercial toothpastes was not even how great it would be for the teeth, but how much side effects it would cause to the rest of the body ( I have multiple allergies to chemicals), so we have to be choosy in our family. :rolleyes:
Tamsyn, thank you so much for clarification, that makes total sense. And… I am going ahead and purchasing bulk ingredients to make my own! Will let you know how it goes
Ahh teeth.
I have never had a cavity. I grew up in tank water with no flouride and we brushed with baking soda, salt and peroxide.
However I have badly shaped and missing teeth, my folks couldn’t afford braces when I was a kid. I need them! And I have a genetic quirk which means I don’t get certain adult teeth so I am missing 4 plus I never got my wisdom.