You may be interested in “where there is no doctor’ and ‘where there is no dentist’ by Hesperian. The older versions were ‘digital commons’ for free download and if you search around you can find them. The new versions are paid.
In there, they recommend just using a rag wrapped around your finger as a toothbrush and string/cotton as floss.
I only go through 1 toothbrush a year. So while I admire your desire to save plastic, for me it would hardly be a saving. However, one of the other nuns discovered Terracycle who you can send old toiletries to and they will recycle them. Plus, if you have a not for profit they can receive points for recycling and use it as a fundraiser. They have programs for other items too. recyclingnearyou.com.au is also a good resource for finding where to send all sorts of items which can’t be put in your curbside system.
If only there were palm fronds in Canada ! It’s a great idea. Thank you for sharing Ayya.
Small steps make a lifetime of difference
(I wish I had good sticks I could use that had the fibrous texture like the palm…hmm…lots of sappy and sticky deciduous and evergreens where I live… have to experiment or I’ll end up looking like Darth Sidious/ Emperor Palpatine …)
I started using an electric brush years ago and only change the brush head when it’s fraying apart.( which is way more than a year since it’s so efficient at cleaning and doesn’t wear down easily). Cleaning them with vinegar and baking soda works well.
All this hard work… I’m just waiting until all my teeth fall out . Yay for anicca in this case!
Is there risk for the bristles to be stuck into the mouth, like small splinter of wood stuck in the skin which becomes very painful and hard to take out?
Is your toothpaste tube plastic? Is there an alternative non plastic toothpaste tube?
While reading the topic I coincidentally had the answer to your question.
There are these toothpaste tablets sold in glass containers which you could use for other things once its empty, I guess they would also be available where Venerable @Suvira lives.
Is there risk for the bristles to be stuck into the mouth, like small splinter of wood stuck in the skin which becomes very painful and hard to take out?
It’s more like fibre than bristles, they are soft, so no splinters. There is a tiny bit of inoffensive cellulose pulp that can just be spat out when chewing one the very first time, after that the pulp is gone.
What about oil pulling? Do you have access to coconut oil for cleaning the mouth? Most brands come in glass not plastic. Or is that considered too much of a food item to be left on hand?
I would think that use inside the mouth would make it better considered a tonic. But opinions will differ.
Toothpaste is really an optional thing, outside of possible benefits of fluoride for children (please lets not get into a debate about that, though). It’s a modern thing, I believe.
I’m allergic/sensitive to sodium laureth sulfate so I can’t use most tooth pastes out there. The only benefit I see for toothpaste is the breath freshening. And chewing on cardamom seeds can serve that purpose.
Where I used to live there were some natural food stores that sold neem sticks in bulk.
You could also construct the argument that toothpaste (and all variants thereof) are like the medicinal part of the neem toothwood, and therefore is like toothwood, which doesn’t need to be formally offered, than coconut oil for consumption, which does…life is likely to go on in any case.
Ficus, I checked your link to another thread, and am copying here part of your message
“Bentonite clay for teeth reduces the number of tubes of toothpaste immensely”
What an interesting idea!. I tried various things from just tootbrush and water, saline solution, to soap but reverted back to herbal toothpaste in a plastic tube.
But now, having checked online, I found that at my local Source Bulk Foods shop down the street, they sell food-grade Bentonite clay powder and very cheap. Before I didn’t even notice it there.
So I will try it out. It is food grade so should be safe enough.
But I hope it doesn’t erode tooth enamel though?
It could make a nice Xmas gift, in a jar, or just in a home-made origami box.
Hi @Dana, there are two types of Bentonite clay; Sodium Bentonite and Calcium Bentonite. If it’s being used internally (ie. mouth) then calcium is recommended.
Some companies are a bit cheeky and sell SB as food grade, it won’t kill you but it can swell in the stomach (water follows salt) causing dehydration and digestive issues. If used in the mouth only, I suspect the sodium could erode the teeth or enamel over a long period of time. So my advice, don’t always trust food grade, verify that it is indeed CB before using internally.
Another alternative is xylitol (birch sugar). This is a natural sugar that is a dentist recommended alternative to fluoride. Once you get over the feeling of brushing your teeth with sugar it’s great. Could also blend with Bentonite or coconut oil.
It will! As will all toothpastes, but this is very abrasive. I use teeny sprinkle on my brush ( I have it stored in a spice bottle ).
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol so caution using it as it can cause digestive issues if u consume too much. And it is generally found in basically sugar-like granules which will sandpaper your teeth. My partner is allergic to it, so be cautious as it may not work for everyone.
I do this but I grind it to a very fine powder b4 mixing.
I have sourced toothbrushes with either beech wood or bamboo handles, both of which use boar bristles for the cleaning bit - 100% compostable. Yay! If they work out, I’ll be offering them locally the next time I have the opportunity.
I’ll also try going toothpaste free for a while and see how I get on. My water company doesn’t fluoridate our water, but there are natural low quantities of fluoride in our supply, and I’m guessing that I’m a bit old for it to make much difference anyway.
Thank you Ayya Suvira, for starting this thread and everyone for sharing their experiences and thoughts. It helped me to reflect more deeply and widely on the dental care issue, and consider various option I did not see before.
But walking through my local park where I could take a piece of a palm frond lying on the ground, and seeing dogs off-leash and many pigeons I decided against making a tooth-cleaning device from local palm fronds. But having seen Ayya’s photo I still think it is a great option to know about, it may come handy if camping somewhere. I will ask my Aboriginal friend what things and plants they used to keep their teeth clean.
Fully biodegradable toothbrush and packaged in paper/cardboard is (as far as I am aware at present) impossible to buy. There is one out now at Coles by OralB, that claims to be natural, biodegradable. Box is cardboard, handle is bamboo, but bristles are only 60% natural plant based. Why they don’t make the bristles 100% plant-based I don’t know. Still, that is far better than all with plastic handles.
Having read here feedback on Bentonite, I decided to try again soap, but this time pure Castile soap - and I bought some that is without any perfumes, or essential oils added - so very neutral even in taste.
So far I tried it for 2 days and it is fine, no aftertaste, and all I needed was just one little drop on a toothbrush. So as Ficus said
Here I am sharing a photo with you of my current dental-care kit, now without a tooth-paste but with a little glass container to hold the castile soap and a piece of a marine shell to get drop of it out. Could use an end of a tea-spoon equally well. But a shell is useful to cut a piece of the bamboo-charcoal dental floss, when travelling. I keep the glass dispenser at home, and just take a a meter or more wound on a piece of paper.
Besides, the shell reminds me of my goal - for the Australian White Ibis (sadly called by some people Bin Chicken) and for the marine and shore birds - so I don’t contribute to them accidentally getting tangled in plastics threads and swallow them or larger pieces of plastic and so they don’t feed it to their young, mistaking it for food … and of cause for the purer world for everyone …
The fragments come from this shell of the local marine mollusc. It reminded me of first spoons of our ancestors and native people living by the lakes and sea shores.
Ayya Suvira, if you would like to try some organic liquid Castile soap and/or the Bamboo dental floss you are welcome to let me know via PM.
I’d encourage caution on using castile soap in the mouth. The mucus membranes in the body are both important and delicate. Even though castile soap is billed as natural and gentle, it’s still going to be very harsh on the lining of the mouth.
What is the problem you are trying to solve by using it? Other than the problem of needing a substitute for toothpaste?
Problem is twofold - using plastic tubes and also Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, which is in all toothpastes I have seen in the shops, even a ‘natural herbal toothpaste’ I have been using recently.
Pure soap, just a minimal amount, seems ideal, because it is multipurpose - we can buy a large amount, and use some also for washing hands, dishes and cleaning the kitchen surfaces in a harmless way.
I wouldn’t swallow it, just as I would not swallow a toothpaste. But thank you for pointing out the possible dangers. I will be more mindful of the effects. I should know in a week or two the impact on my mouth skin lining and then re-evaluate.
Even if it turns out in the long term not as good for cleaning teeth as initially thought, I will remain happy for having tried it out, even if it fails the test, and for having replaced a dishwashing detergent with it. Better for the people and animals at the other end of the water pipes. -
I guess when I said “problem” what I meant was what dental health problem were you trying to solve
As far as I know, toothpaste as we know it serves no purpose. We brush for the physical removal of gunk from the teeth. And whatever side benefits that toothpaste might solve (fresh breath, etc) won’t be gotten from castile soap.
As I understand the issue with SLS is that it is also a type of soap. I did try using castile soap for brushing a long, long time ago. It tasted horrible (because it’s soap!) As I understand it, the action of castile soap is to bind to fats. That’s not a problem we need to solve in our mouths.
But I’m all for experimentation! I just think that it’s good to examine what problem we are trying to solve when we do it. Otherwise we won’t know how to measure the results.
All of these dental things are highly individual, too. We know that genetically some people have very strong teeth and some people very weak. And different people form plaque in different quantities. So brushing with a tooth stick will work for some people, while for others it won’t in the long run. I’m thinking particularly about the back of the very back molars. Don’t know how a stick could get to those places.
! It’s a great idea. Thank you for sharing Ayya.
have to experiment or I’ll end up looking like Darth Sidious/ Emperor Palpatine …
)
Yay for anicca in this case!
).
My partner is allergic to it, so be cautious as it may not work for everyone.
