Good news, DIY fans–we’ve heard your requests loud and clear! 🙂
In this article, we’ll explore how to make your own DIY remineralizing tooth powder.
We’ll also introduce you to our newest offering, bulk bags of MCHA, to help you make your own tooth powder at home. This is the ‘secret sauce’ behind the remineralization benefits of our OraWellness Shine.
Start from a high level view…
The first step to creating a really helpful tooth powder recipe is to establish what you want it to do for you.
For example…
- Do you want the tooth powder to help you avoid future tooth decay?
- Does it need to help remineralize current weak points in your mouth?
- Do you want the formula to optimally support your oral microbiome?
- Could you use some natural, gentle teeth whitening support?
Depending on what you want to accomplish, you may be able to use fewer ingredients than the list that we’ll be sharing with you here.
After you check out our sample tooth powder recipe, we invite you to keep scrolling down and read through the ‘why’ behind each ingredient.
Finally, we’ll explore how to fine-tune your tooth powder based on how it feels for you. That way, you can tailor the recipe to give you the specific support that you seek.
And of course, if you enjoy convenience, you can still just buy our own ‘carefully formulated’ blend that has worked so well for many other folks (and is the result of our multi-year dive into researching remineralization pathways), here’s a link to OraWellness Shine.
DIY Tooth Powder Recipe
A good starting point is to use equal parts of the four main ingredients below. Then add some HealThy Mouth Blend (or safely diluted essential oils) and/or (powdered) salt and give it a try
Suggested Ingredients:
- 2 TBSP (30ml) OraWellness MCHA
- Function: to help teeth remineralize.
- 2 TBSP (30ml) Birch-based Powdered Xylitol
- Function: to support oral flora & to help teeth remineralize.
- Tip for finding a good one: Search for one that’s birch- or hardwood-based. Also, it’s awesome if you can get it in powdered form, but if you can only get it in granulated form, you’ll want to powder it in a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender before using it for this recipe.
- 2 TBSP (30ml) White Kaolin Clay
- Function: to help polish teeth.
- Tip for finding a good one: Make sure any product you purchase from a company other than OraWellness is food-grade and intended to be used in the mouth.
- 2 TBSP (30ml) Baking Soda
- Function: to help polish teeth.
- 20 drops of HealThy Mouth Blend (or less if using full-strength essential oils—remember to do your homework and dilute them properly!)
- Function: to help balance oral flora.
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt
- Function: to help balance oral flora.
- Note: We enjoy using Redmond Real Salt for this. They offer a powdered version of their salt that’s perfect for this recipe, and unlike many other salt producers on the market, Redmond is very upfront regarding the purity of their salt.
Directions:
Mix all ingredients and store in a jar with a well-fitting lid (so the tooth powder stays dry).
How to use:
We learned the hard way that it’s best to avoid introducing moisture to the powder by dipping a wet brush into the jar (yup, doing this can create a clumpy or gooey mess).
Now our preferred way to use our Shine tooth powder is to put a scoop of it into the palm of our hand.
Then we can brush our teeth in sections and dip our toothbrush into the remineralizing powder multiple times to reapply it without having to dip into the jar.
If this doesn’t work for you or feels, well, too gross, you can use a small bowl to hold your single-use scoop of powder and dip your toothbrush bristles into that.
Here’s a quick reference table to help you evaluate your ingredient options:
| Ingredient Option | Helps Balance Oral Flora? |
Helps Remineralize Teeth? |
Helps Whiten Teeth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCHA |
|
✓✓ |
|
| Xylitol (non-GMO) |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Baking Soda |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| White Kaolin Clay |
|
|
✓ |
| Essential Oils / HealThy Mouth Blend |
✓ |
||
| Coconut oil |
✓ |
|
|
|
Sea salt (preferred Himalayan) |
✓ |
The ‘why’ behind each ingredient…
Before we jump into each individual ingredient, let’s quickly look at two principles that are important to consider when we’re trying to decide what’s ok to include in an oral hygiene product.
Principle 1: Do no harm
We’re holistically minded, so we want to make sure that the ingredients we consider won’t do any harm directly in the mouth or ‘downstream’ from the mouth.
This means that we need to choose tooth powder ingredients that won’t undermine the health of our digestive or immune systems.
For a deeper dive on this premise, check out our articles titled, “How to Tell if Your Oral Hygiene Products are Holistic or Not” and “How to Determine if a Toothpaste Ingredient is Safe to Use in the Mouth“.
Principle 2: Balance oral flora (oral microbiome)
Next, let’s make sure that the ingredients we use actually help us balance our oral flora and be a ‘good conductor’ of the symphony of microbes in our mouths.
Our mouths are home to many communities of microbes, most of which are helpful. Many of them actually perform critical functions that help us thrive (the majority of our immune system is not truly ‘us’ but microbes living in and on our bodies).
And yes, some microbes really don’t help and actually undermine our health. We call these ‘thug bugs’ because when they increase their numbers, they can cause trouble.
So, we want to help create a balanced oral environment where the health-giving microbial species are thriving and the thug bugs are kept in check.
Let’s dive into some ingredient options that honor these two principles.
Ingredient options for balancing oral flora
Essential Oils
Essential oils can help suppress thug bug activity without disrupting the health-giving species in our mouths.
In our article, “Are essential oils safe to use in the mouth?“, we explore the ecological plaque hypothesis. We also explain how using essential oils in oral hygiene products provides us with a very helpful and safe method to be a good conductor in our mouths.
You’ll want to make sure that you use a safe essential oil dilution ratio in your tooth powder recipe because full-strength essential oils can harm our sensitive cheek and gum tissue. If you feel unsure about this or don’t want to do the research for it, the simple fix is to just add some of our HealThy Mouth Blend to your recipe (the blend has already been diluted for you).
Salt
Salt is naturally antimicrobial, and if you use a quality sea salt or Himalayan salt, it also provides trace minerals.
Baking Soda
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) helps to establish a more alkaline environment in the mouth.
It can also act as a gentle abrasive to help remove food/drink stains and stubborn plaque.
Since one of the main strategies we use to balance our oral flora is to maintain thin biofilms (plaque), using some gentle abrasive can help.
If you’d like to read more of our thoughts on baking soda, here’s a link to our article, “Is Baking Soda Safe to Brush With?“.
Xylitol
While some online resources make arguments against xylitol, given the scientific research we’ve read, we do choose to use xylitol in our tooth powder.
Xylitol can help us balance our oral flora. Over time, using xylitol in the mouth makes the main tooth-decay-related thug bugs less aggressive. It also alkalinizes the mouth, increases saliva, and thins biofilms.
For us, the benefits of brushing with xylitol far outweigh any potential risks.
Also, although we’re not consuming the xylitol, research suggests that ‘downstream’ in the body, xylitol can even create a healthier microbial balance in our gut biome.
However, to avoid GMO exposure, we do want to make sure our xylitol is sourced from birch (not corn). Here’s a link to our article, “Is Xylitol Safe to Brush with?“.
Coconut Oil
As we mentioned, if you want to make your tooth powder into a paste, use coconut oil.
Coconut oil is antimicrobial and antifungal. It tastes great, it’s good for us, and it even suppresses the main thug bug that’s implicated with tooth decay.
Ok, so now that we’ve discussed some ingredient options to help us balance our oral flora, next, let’s explore how to remineralize our pearly whites.
Ingredient options for remineralization
These days, the internet is abuzz with strategies to remineralize teeth, but there’s lots of misinformation out there. So, we have to stay on top of what science really has to offer regarding remineralizing our teeth and stopping tooth decay.
We took nearly 4 years to study the body’s various mechanisms for remineralizing our teeth. This formed the basis for OraWellness Shine, our remineralizing tooth whitening powder.
To remineralize our teeth, we have to provide the exact minerals that our teeth are made of, in a tiny particle size, right where our teeth need them.
We also need a delivery system to get these minerals (in the right particle size) to the right location.
We provide more information on this in our video that explains how Shine works and in our article, “Putting together the pieces to reverse tooth decay and remineralize cavities“.
To learn simple strategies anyone can apply to optimize their body’s natural remineralization pathways, download our free eBook, ‘How to stop tooth decay and remineralize your teeth’.
MCHA
The best material we have found to help remineralize teeth is microcrystalline hydroxyapatite, or ‘MCHA’ for short.
Let’s break down the name so it’s not so intimidating.
‘Microcrystalline’ refers to tiny particles in a crystalline structure.
‘Hydroxyapatite’ is just the chemical name for a molecule that’s comprised mostly of calcium and phosphorus in the right ratio for our teeth.
Hydroxyapatite is the exact same material our teeth are made of (which makes it the perfect ingredient to help support stronger, healthier teeth that can resist decay).
To ensure that our OraWellness MCHA is as clean as it gets, we sourced it from the bones of grass-fed, pasture-raised cattle from New Zealand. Our food-grade MCHA is produced by a pharmaceutical company that creates it for nutritional supplements. You can learn more about how MCHA works here.
We’re excited to offer bulk bags of this pure MCHA. Get OraWellness MCHA bulk bags here.
Now let’s explore how to get the MCHA to where it’s needed…
Xylitol
In addition to helping us balance our oral flora, xylitol also helps us get MCHA into areas of tooth decay.
The thug bugs implicated with tooth decay like sugars, and they view xylitol as a source of food (even though it doesn’t work well for them).
When we mix MCHA and xylitol and allow the combination to go into solution with our saliva, we trick these thug bugs into carrying the MCHA/xylitol solution into the zones that they’ve been actively working to demineralize.
Using this ‘microbial Trojan Horse’ tactic, we’re able to deliver the remineralizing benefit of MCHA precisely to where it’s most needed.
So, like a good Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal formula, using MCHA and xylitol together provides better remineralization benefit than using them separately.
However, if you are averse to using either MCHA or xylitol, using one without the other will still help (just not as much as the synergy they create together).
If you choose to use xylitol, again, make sure it’s birch-based, and powder it first to help it to better blend with the other tooth powder ingredients.
“What about using clay to remineralize my teeth?”
Clays are great for providing a gentle abrasive action to assist with whitening (more on this further below).
However, contrary to the misinformation you may have seen circulating online, clay does not help with remineralization.
Let’s take a look at the common chemical composition for clays like bentonite and montmorillonite: sodium calcium aluminium magnesium silicate hydroxide (with some iron commonly found in there, too).
Per one analysis, here’s a breakdown of the amounts of each:
- Calcium: 1%
- Magnesium: 2%
- Potassium: 1%
- Sodium: 3%
- Aluminum: 20%
- Silica: 59%
- Iron: 3.5%
As you can see, there’s no phosphorus in clay, and while there is some calcium in the compound, there’s not that much.
Also, even if clay contained phosphorus and adequate amounts of calcium, they wouldn’t be in the exact molecular structure that’s needed in order to make remineralization possible.
So, to sum up our thoughts on clay:
- Is clay absorbent? Yes
- Does clay help to reduce plaque and remove food/drink stains by gently polishing teeth? Yes
- Can clay help detoxify the body? Yes
- Will clay help remineralize our teeth? No, not really.
We hope this helps to clarify some of clay’s potential benefits as well as its limitations when it comes to providing tooth remineralization support.
Ingredient options for teeth whitening (via gentle abrasion)
When it comes to choosing whether or not to include a whitening component in your tooth powder, it can be helpful to understand some natural whitening options.
There are safe ways to go about whitening your teeth. There are also lots of whitening techniques that we consider to be unsafe.
Here’s a free eBook that explains ‘How to naturally whiten your teeth (without destroying your enamel)’.
The takeaway for safe whitening is to go slowly and gently.
White Kaolin Clay
Research clearly points to one ingredient that provides the safest whitening benefit without risking damage to tooth enamel: white kaolin clay.
Generally speaking, the more abrasive an ingredient, the more whitening ‘benefit’ it provides. But at what cost? Do we really want whiter teeth that are more sensitive?
As we discuss in our article, “What’s the Safest and Most Effective Abrasive for Naturally Whiter Teeth?“, white kaolin clay is the only ingredient that provides more whitening without being more abrasive.
If you have reservations about the health risks of using clays, this research paper may help dispel your concerns.
Baking Soda
For years, baking soda has been used in toothpastes as a gentle abrasive.
Some may argue that baking soda is too abrasive, but on the dental hygiene product abrasivity scale, baking soda is WAY over towards the less abrasive side of the list.
While we’re here talking about abrasivity, we had OraWellness Shine tested by a lab for abrasiveness vs. its ability to clean. Here are the results of that lab test.
“What about charcoal to whiten teeth?”
Another hot topic on the internet these days is using activated charcoal to whiten teeth.
While charcoal does help whiten teeth, we chose to not use charcoal in any of our products. Here’s why…
If we go back to principle 1 up above, we are firmly rooted in the idea of ‘do no harm’.
And while we don’t have data on the dangers of regularly brushing with charcoal, we are concerned that charcoal may inhibit some remineralization pathways.
If you think about it, what do we use activated charcoal for?
Charcoal binds up ‘stuff’ and helps to move it out of our systems, which is why we sometimes take 1 or 2 capsules to help with food poisoning or some type of contamination. It can also bind up minerals, which is why we never take charcoal anytime close to any supplements.
So, as a precaution, until we know for sure that charcoal does not bind up minerals in our saliva that are there to help remineralize our teeth, we choose to avoid including charcoal in our oral health products.
“Can I make this into a paste?”
Absolutely! To make a paste from your tooth powder, you can just add a little water until you get your desired consistency.
We do recommend that you make this paste in very small batches to use it quickly and avoid any spoilage.
Another option is to make a paste by adding some organic coconut oil or MCT oil to your powder. Again, to avoid spoilage, it’s best to make this in small batches.
Video tutorial
To get a clearer picture of how to make your own remineralizing tooth powder or toothpaste, watch the demonstration video below.
Fine-tuning your formula
Now that you have a general plan, you can have some fun and fine-tune your remineralizing tooth powder to suit your needs.
For example, if you have more sensitivity, increase the MCHA and decrease the baking soda.
If you want more whitening benefit, increase the white kaolin clay and baking soda, and decrease the MCHA.
If it tastes too salty, decrease the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and/or salt, and adjust the other ingredients to compensate.
In this way, you can modify your tooth powder to be the perfect blend just for you
Wrapping up…
There are lots of other ingredients you can use in your DIY oral hygiene product recipes. We hope this article helps you establish a strong baseline understanding of how to make a remineralizing tooth powder for your family.
What about you? What’s been your experience with DIY oral hygiene products? If you use any different ingredients or have questions about the ingredient options we discussed, please share in the comments below. We can learn so much from each other’s experiences!
Helpful, Related Resources:
OraWellness MCHA [product solution]
HealThy Mouth Blend [product solution]
Shine Remineralizing Tooth Whitening Powder [product solution]
How to Tell if Your Oral Hygiene Products are Holistic or Not [article]
How to determine if a toothpaste ingredient is safe to use in the mouth? [article]
How to Balance Your Oral Flora [article]
Essential oils – Are essential oils safe to use in the mouth? [article]
Can some plaques actually help our teeth stay healthy? [article]
Is Baking Soda Safe to Brush With? [article]
Is Xylitol Safe to Brush with? [article]
How Shine Works [video resource]
Putting together the pieces to reverse tooth decay and remineralize cavities [article]
How to Stop Tooth Decay and Remineralize Your Teeth eBook [free resource]
How to whiten your teeth naturally e-book [free resource]
What’s the Safest and Most Effective Abrasive for Naturally Whiter Teeth? [article]
Toothpaste Abrasion Chart [free resource]
Tooth whitening without abrasive toothpaste – Independent lab test results [article]
Other Resources:
Redmond Powdered Salt
Bentonite Clay Composition
Bentonite Clay as a Natural Remedy: A Brief Review
Do you sell a ready made powder or paste
Aloha Dale,
Great question!
Yes, we offer a remineralizing tooth powder called Shine. 🙂 Feel free to check it out here: https://store.orawellness.com/products/shine-remineralizing-tooth-whitening-powder
I hope that helps!
Aloha!
For the White Kaolin Clay Amazon no longer carries it. Where could I get some please?
Also do I have to throw away MCHA ‘expired’ last June? Thanks
Aloha Luc,
Thank you for reaching out to let us know that Amazon no longer carries the Kaolin Clay that we linked to in our article. I’ve updated the article to point to this resource.
Regarding the MCHA, our production team gave unopened jars/bags of Shine and MCHA bulk bags about a 3-year expiration date based on their product knowledge, and our recommendation is that once you’ve opened a jar/bag of Shine or an MCHA bag, try to use it up within about 6 months of opening it.
To explain a little more, it sounds like you’re referencing the “use within 6 months of opening” symbol on the MCHA bulk bag. The bulk bags of Shine/MCHA have both that “6 months” symbol and an expiration date on them. The expiration date should be printed on the back or front of the bag, and again, it is about 3 years from the time that batch was created. That’s the date that indicates when it’ll be less effective.
The “use within 6 months of opening” symbol is something we added to Shine/MCHA bulk bag’s packaging as a suggestion because we found that some folks would open up a bag of Shine/MCHA and use it a few times, then stick it in the back of the cabinet and forget about it, and then they would eventually find it waaayyyy later and contact us to ask why their Shine/MCHA bag had clumped and whether they could still use it. So, we added this “use within 6 months of opening” symbol when we realized that Shine/MCHA bulk bags that have been open for longer than that may begin clumping as the powder pulls moisture from the atmosphere over time.
You might find it helpful to know that the key to having any container of Shine or MCHA last is to keep moisture out of it so that the powder stays nice and dry and clump-free; always keep containers of Shine and/or MCHA closed between uses.
It is my understanding Shine and MCHA can last past the expiration date if it is stored properly. The main consideration is to keep the powder dry and clump-free. If the product still smells fresh and hasn’t changed color, it is probably still viable. Eventually, over time, it may gradually start to lose its potency.
Finally, for folks who live in humid places like somewhere that’s tropical or near a beach, many customers put their container of Shine or MCHA into a resealable baggie or other airtight container and store it in the fridge or freezer (the same way that they store other powders like flour to keep them fresh despite the humidity).
I hope helps!
Aloha! 🙂
I’m wondering how long your recipe for the powder and/or paste would last before spoiling… one week? One month? I have no idea. Thank you!
Aloha Heather,
Great question!
If you’re going to make a paste with our products, we do recommend that you make it either on the spot or in relatively small batches.
Coconut oil is naturally antimicrobial, and so are the essential oils in Shine and the HealThy Mouth Blend. Also, a chemist once told us that as long as essential oils in a mixture are not mixed with water (and they’re kept away from excessive heat, direct sunlight, and open air), the essential oils should hold up just fine.
So, we think it should be ok to make a couple of days’ to one week’s worth of the paste mixture at a time and keep it in a small glass container with a lid. Feel free to experiment and see what works for you.
I hope that helps!
Aloha! 🙂
which Redmond Real Salt product on Amazon is the one you describe and powdered and perfect for your DIY powder/paste? One of their real salt products is called fine on the site. Is that the one you mention or do they have a yet finer one which would work better for brushing?
Aloha Amy,
Great question!
I just verified with our Co-founders that the finest grind of salt that Redmond Real Salt provides would be best.
I hope that helps!
Aloha. 🙂
my new dental hygienist recommended baking soda because it is low on the abrasive scale. I wanted to check ingredients in Arm & Hammer baking soda and found such a thing as dental grade baking soda which led me to you. I see from your site that baking soda will work. I plan to use it with coconut oil to make a paste. Thank you for all you information.
Hello,
I bought your tooth powder and could feel the difference it made. However after using it for about a month I started having hot flashes. By narrowing down all my food intake and herbs I take, one night while brushing my teeth my symptom kicked in immediately while I was using your tooth powder. By cross elimination and the tooth powder being the last resort, each time I used it I would instantly get hot (I mean burning up) on the inside and then began to sweat. I could feel the sweat on my arms and face.
I got help and was told I’m highly allergic to Xylitol. We narrowed it down to the Xylitol and a little bit of it was the Calcium Lactate (non-dairy). Which by the way I asked what this is made of and couldn’t get a straight forward answer. Since this is not from dairy then what is the source?
Anyway, back to the subject, can you recommend a Xylitol replacement?
Also, since you are well versed in knowledge about our teeth, would adding Collagen to this tooth powder add any benefit? I read it can help with the jawbone but not sure if it would benefit the teeth or gums.
One more thing please, the Kaolin clay you offer does not say it is food grade or safe to ingest. Why did you choose this brand? Do you use this brand in your tooth powder?
https://amzn.to/2Na74Ma
Thank you
Aloha Jennifer,
Thank you for your comment!
We’re so sorry to hear that you are highly allergic to xylitol, and that you experienced hot flashes as a result of consuming it. That’s definitely not what our products are trying to achieve. Please be on the lookout for an email for more information on how we can help.
We here at OraWellness aren’t medical or dental professionals, so we can’t treat, diagnose, advise, provide consultations, etc. Instead, what we can do is share information with you to help you become self-empowered on your journey.
I’m sorry that you didn’t feel like you could get a straight answer as to the source of the calcium lactate we use. In case you find it helpful, here’s an article that addresses sourcing for calcium lactate: https://healthfully.com/what-is-calcium-lactate-3201256.html
To our knowledge, xylitol is the best sugar alcohol to help mitigate the impact of oral pathogens. That said, some studies do suggest that other sugar alcohols might also be helpful. Our immediate concern is that if you’re reactive to xylitol, you might also be reactive to other sugar alcohols. In your shoes, we’d skip the xylitol/sugar alcohol component altogether.
Regarding collagen, it’s our understanding that it is a protein that’s derived from various animal connective tissues, like skin, tendons, ligaments, and sometimes some bones. Gelatin is derived from collagen; it’s made by slowly heating collagen for a long period of time.
Our MCHA is not derived from any skin, tendons, ligaments, etc. Instead, it is just the bone powder itself.
But, not all MCHA is created equal.
Our MCHA is pharmaceutical grade, very finely ground powdered bone from grass-fed New Zealand cattle.
Also, in order to be able to help support remineralization, the particle size has to be just right so it can get into the pores of our teeth after it mixes with our saliva. Our MCHA has been milled into an extremely small particle size (around 72 microns). It’s not nano-sized, but it’s small enough to go into solution with our saliva, and when that solution touches our natural tooth structure, it can support the body’s ability to remineralize our teeth. Here’s a link to a page that explains how the MCHA in our Shine Remineralizing Tooth Whitening Powder works, since that’s the same ingredient in our MCHA bulk bags: https://orawellness.com/shine/
Finally, the kaolin clay we linked to in this article is a suggestion based on our co-founders own standards for what they are willing to consume. There’s mixed info on the safety of ingesting clays. Some say it’s totally fine and others cry foul at the idea. In the end, we encourage each person to feel into what’s right for them. We don’t advocate ingesting Shine, but are not concerned about the small amount that might be absorbed while using it.
You can, of course, feel free to choose a different brand of kaolin clay that specifically says, “food grade” or “safe to ingest” if that’s the route you’d like to take. You can also choose to forgo the clay component completely. That’s the beauty of DIY — there’s lots of room for alteration based on your own needs and convictions. For proprietary reasons, we don’t disclose the brand of kaolin clay that we use in our Shine tooth powder. Thank you for understanding.
I hope that helps!
Aloha!
Can I use an electric toothbrush with this tooth powder? I’ve been using one for years, but would that not spread the powder efficiently?
Aloha Darby,
Great question!
Feel free to use our DIY remineralizing tooth powder with whatever toothbrush you’d like. We here at OraWellness believe that it’s not so much what type of brush you’re using, but how you’re using it. Conscious awareness while brushing is key. Plenty of folks use electric toothbrushes with our tooth powder and have good results. In case you find it helpful, here are some articles that speak to electric toothbrushes specifically: Electric vs manual brushing, which is better? part 1 and Electric vs manual brushing… Which is better? part 2
You might also enjoy checking out this article that describes how to use the Bass Brushing Technique, which you can utilize while using either a manual or an electric toothbrush: How To Brush Your Teeth To Reduce Gum Disease
I hope that helps!
Aloha!
I’m so excited to try this (after having been told I have a number of surface level cavities.) I’m enthusiastic to try to heal naturally and am so grateful for all of your research and wisdom.
Thank you for the recipe and all your great products. Is it OK to substitute Clay for bentonite clay?
Aloha Holly,
You’re welcome! 🙂
Good question! Yes, it would be okay to use bentonite clay instead of white kaolin clay. Bentonite clay didn’t perform as well as white kaolin clay in the research done on polishing, but it is still helpful.
Also, we would recommend referencing the purity data for whatever clay you decide to use to make sure it’s not heavily polluted with heavy metals or other toxins.
I hope that helps. Aloha!
Hello Ora Wellness,
Thank you for your impressive site and educational articles, and for your awesome products!
I had some leftover supplies from another tooth powder recipe in which it was suggested to use calcium carbonate (or calcium citrate) and, as you suggest the baking soda.
I have ordered your MCHA powder because I need to remineralize a cavity 🙁 and thought I’d use up these old supplies in combination with your recipe…
I am not a big fan of xylitol, but you mention it does have an important added effect especially in re-mineralization, correct?
Do you have any thoughts on whether using calcium carbonate or calcium citrate would be better and in what quantity added in to your recipe?
Or does the MCHA replace the need for either (and in that case should I just have ordered more Shine?).
Thanks in advance for your thoughts…
Hi Petra,
Thanks for reaching out! We’re sorry for our slow reply here.
Yeah, great question.
We don’t use calcium carbonate in any of our products. It’s literally exactly what we all understand chalk to be. It’s a very common source of calcium. Unfortunately, it’s not very bioavailable, which is why we avoid it.
For us, we want to use components that are identical to what is needed at the site. So, since our teeth are made of hydroxyapatite, that’s what we use and suggest.
I suppose you could use up the CaCO4 that you have, but I wouldn’t as I really don’t see a reason to use it (other than my tendency to not want to waste something :).
And yes, xylitol is an important component to help any mineral you’re using (bioavailable or not) to attempt to reach where it’s needed.
I hope this helps!
Hi Will and Susan,
I’m grateful for the amazing work you’re both doing in investigating, exploring and sharing what you find with us.
I’ve just started on my first tub of Shine and wanted to ask you if there is greater benefit or downside in swallowing the mix after brushing. I could see a potential benefit of absorbing the ingredients but also potential downside of taking in what’s been removed from the teeth. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this. With thanks.
Aloha Lorna,
Thank you for your comment and question!
All of us here at OraWellness are honored to support you on your journey to optimal oral health. 🙂
We don’t personally swallow Shine. In general, we tend to spit and rinse our mouths with water after brushing with Shine and/or the HealThy Mouth Blend (we didn’t show it in our videos to avoid the ‘yuck’ factor of watching someone spit :).
On the other hand, when we’ve finished brushing, we will usually hold the Shine / saliva / HealThy Mouth Blend solution in our mouths and swish it around for a bit as though it were a mouthwash. This gives the solution a little more time on the teeth. Then we spit and rinse (one of our company founders, Susan, will actually just rinse her tongue after spitting so that any trace amounts of the Shine/saliva/blend solution stays on her teeth for a little longer after that). Also, we will sometimes apply a little Shine or HealThy Mouth Blend directly onto problem areas in our mouths and let it sit without rinsing.
Since Shine is a product that contains natural clays, like all products that contain clays, Shine does contain some trace elements that are considered dangerous in large amounts. However, the amount of these elements in Shine is extremely tiny. If you have concerns about this, please read our discussion about these trace elements in Shine here. Also, here’s an FAQ on whether it’s safe to swallow Shine.
I hope that helps! Aloha 🙂
Hello again Chad,
Thank you so much for clarifying how you at Ora Wellness use Shine. And I’m glad you mentioned the tip about applying a little bit after brushing to problem spots as I’d also been doing this so great to hear!
I’ve been very happy with some subtle changes so far and it’s only been just over a week since I started using Shine twice daily.
All the best to you.
Had read on DrEllie saying that research on baking soda can cause problems at gum.
Wonder if from high alkalinity, which can cause protein to be slippery. If “dilute” baking soda used might it be ok?
Thanks for info
Aloha Lynn,
Thank you for your comment. 🙂
We haven’t heard about baking soda causing proteins to be slippery.
However, you may be interested in checking out this article: Is Baking Soda Safe to Brush With?
Overall, we think that how we brush is very important (maybe even more important than what we brush with), because any tool or product we use in the mouth can help or harm depending on our technique and whether or not we are using it with conscious awareness. Here’s a blog entry that explains more on this: Electric vs Manual Brushing, Which is Better? – Part 1.
Your article makes me interested in your product. For about 10 years I have been using Calcium-D from Milk and Xylitol to re-mineralize my teeth. I have a certain degree of success. It reduced tenderness but it cannot completely re-mineralize the cavities. Calcium-D from Milk is a product made by Immunotec. It is in pill form intended for helping osteoporosis. The calcium is in the right form. However, it has also magnesium stearate, acacia gum and carnauba wax as non-medical ingredients. I guess, it is these undesirable ingredients that reduces the effectiveness in re-mineralizing the cavities. I’ll try your MCHA.
Thank you for this! Can you suggest a vegan substitute for the MCHA?
Aloha Cora!
Great question!
For several years now, we’ve been digging through research to try to find a non-toxic, natural, cost-effective, vegan or vegetarian-friendly substitute for our current cow bone based MCHA, but so far we haven’t found anything that hits all of our marks. Rest assured, we’ll continue to look into this. If you haven’t already, we invite you to sign up for our emailing list so you’ll be notified if we find a promising solution in the future.
In the meantime, feel free to download our free ebook, ‘How to Stop Tooth Decay and Remineralize Your Teeth’. We’re confident you’ll find some helpful insights in this free resource.
We hope that helps!
Hi, Thank you so much for providing this information. I can tell your mission is to really make a difference for people in terms of the health of their mouth. I appreciate that very much. I need to let you know that the link to the clay research article is broken. I would love to read that article. ~ Thanks again for being awesome!
Aloha Megan,
You’re right—we love spreading helpful information. 🙂
Thank you for letting us know about the broken link. We fixed it.
Aloha!
clarify when and how to use the HealThyMouth liquid, do this need to be added in the palm of your hand at the time of use because can not use it to store when making the receipe???
Aloha,
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Great question!
It’s pretty cool that adding the suggested 20 drops of HealThy Mouth Blend to the DIY tooth powder recipe isn’t the same as adding a liquid (oil isn’t wet like other liquids). You see, the MCHA powder absorbs the oil drops, and the formula would need a lot more than 20 drops to turn the powder into a liquid. In this recipe, the powder will stay “dry” and the oils will disperse well (and serve as a preservative) if all of the ingredients in the recipe are mixed thoroughly.
Keeping a well-fitting lid on the container that holds the DIY tooth powder is done to reduce the powder’s exposure to ambient moisture (in the form of water particulates in the air).
I hope that helps to clarify things!
Aloha! 🙂
I’m pretty sure this person is asking about when to add the drops in the diy tooth powder recipe since you shouldn’t add wet ingredients before storing it. I don’t think that was addressed.
Aloha J,
Thank you so much for pointing this out. You helped me to realize that I had not fully grasped “thunderchix’s” question. I’ve now updated my original reply to thunderchix to better address their question. Aloha! 🙂
It is really a useful DIY for us. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for providing this diy recipe for your customers! Do you think the addition of Calcium lactate and Magnesium carbonate are unnecessary for the diy at home version of your Shine tooth powder? Thanks!
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for stopping by to ask this great question.
It’s really your call. We added the calcium lactate and mag carb to Shine to provide more remineralization benefits (calcium lactate was shown to increase remin benefits of xylitol by 15%) as well as add more minerals as some research does suggest that magnesium may help a bit. But honestly, the DIY version we suggest here is a really great place to start and will have more remineralization capacity than most products on the market from our view.
I hope that helps!
Holler with any other great questions!
Will definitely try this one. Thanks for sharing this
Aloha Rajkumar,
Thank you for stopping by!
Please let us know how it works for you!
Thank you and Aloha!
Realized after I mixed up a batch the recipe is by volume not by weight (Tbsp & ml’s are measurements of volume). I started with 80 grams of MCHA and added equal amounts of other ingredients by weight! The white clay was the tip-off; it’s about 1/2 the weight! Fortunately, I had enough of the other ingredients to double them up…close enough for a fix. So just a note for the DIY’ers the recipe is by volume! The 80 gram pouch of MCHA is about 4 TBSP. Baking soda and xylitol are about 4 Tbsp per 80 grams. The white clay is less than half the weight so 80 grams is about twice the amount in 4 Tbsp…
Thank you SO much for sharing this detail with us Julie!
Super, super helpful!!
That was a great article with the relevant article to this generation, who were searching for some DIY recipes with the knowledge of ingredients used. Its more helpful to figure out the specific uses and explore why it is used. Thank you for sharing this content.
Hello!
I’m wondering if the processing on the MCHA is just pulverizing to small particle size, or is there any chemical changes does to reach the final product of MCHA?
Hi Joe,
Thank you for reaching out to ask.
The MCHA produced via multiple stages of washing, drying and powdering to bring us the MCHA in the tiny particle size. And it’s also extensively tested for purity and contaminants. It undergoes no chemical processing.
Please holler with any other questions!
Hello, I was just wondering if stevia would have the same “Trojan horse” effect as xylitol. I usually don’t keep xylitol in the hours as it is toxic to dogs.
Thanks!
Hi Shannon,
Thanks for asking such a great question!!
Yeah, you’re right that xylitol is toxic for dogs. Thanks for mentioning it here for those who aren’t aware of this fact.
While stevia does have some beneficial factors in the mouth, it doesn’t function the same as xylitol specifically in this ‘trojan horse’ analogy. So, perhaps just purchase enough xylitol for the recipe so it’s not sitting around at risk of being found from your pups?
Thanks again! Holler with any other great questions!
Hello! I love your Shine product! Sometimes I add it to natural toothpaste when I brush, sometimes I brush with it alone, and I also put some of it in my mouth along with the oil when I do my “oil pulling.” I pull for at least half an hour every 2-3 days using a combination product (Coconut Oil Dual Phase Pulling Rinse by Dessert Essence) along with a bit of Shine. I really like the way my mouth feels and that my teeth stay white between cleanings (even though I drink tea that would usually stain them). Thanks for letting me know the recipe to “make my own”… but, for the price, I will continue to let you guys do the mixing!
Ah thanks Lyn!
Definitely sounds like you are heading in the right direction!
Will and Susan, you both are amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing this information. Your goal and desire to help everyone achieve greater oral health clearly *shines* through (pun intended!) with articles like this. Thank you for all you do! Can’t wait to make some DIY tooth powder when I return home : )
Thanks for the love Ryan! 🙂
Thank you for being so open and sharing this recipe with those of us who like to DIY things. My daughter and I ran out of the Shine for a few weeks, and had to use another natural product…we were dying to get back to Shine. And were so excited when it arrived in the mail! (little things make us happy) After one brushing, our teeth are bright again! Looking forward to trying out your recipe.
Aloha from NJ
Aloha Stephanie,
Thanks for adding your story to the discussion here.
I hear you on the feeling of running out of a product you’ve come to find benefit from using. We’re so grateful you (and your daughter) appreciate Shine! Isn’t it funny how we get excited about the little things like this? Us too! 🙂
Thanks for being here Stephanie. It’s an honor to serve your family along your journey.
Thanks to you two my teeth are now on the road to recovery.
I’d like to add a bit more info if I may.
I am on a non polluted mineral rich well water system. I make sure to rinse with a tested calcium rich (alkaline ) water after every brushing and swish mouth after meals with this alkaline (not well water) too. The toothpaste I’m using at is Himalayan brand from health store.
It’s working better than the overpriced one from France.
It acts as a binder for your toothpowders and with a tiny brush it carries the mix between teeth better. The surface arching and tiny cavities are healing faster now that I’m doing this.
Your kindness and generosity is appreciated.
Thanks again you two.
Love you and your help and knowledge.
Tara
hi,
i have been using the diy toothpowder for abt a month.my ingredients were egg shells,dried mint,cloves,cinnomon and baking soda.there is a feel good factor when i use it although i dono abt the results yet.how abt i add coconut oil and sea salt into it as well.
Hi Nesvin,
Thanks for stopping by and adding your thoughts to the discussion here.
We’ve heard of others using egg shell like this and have a few concerns about it.
Before we tough on those, let me first state that egg shell does have a benefit in that it’s a great combination of calcium and some protein, which makes as a helpful addition for remineralization. (In fact, even our MCHA has tiny amounts of protein in it due to the fact that it’s a food grade powdered cattle bone and the composition of bone tissue has a bit of proteins in it)
Here are our questions about using egg shell like this:
1. How does one get the dried shell in a small enough particle size to actually make it available to remineralize? We have to get the particle size really, really tiny and most of us just don’t have the equipment to accomplish this at home.
2. Given the issue around particle size above, we’re concerned that brushing with powdered egg shell may be too abrasive on teeth and gum tissue.
I guess I only have two concerns about it right now :).
I hope that helps! Please share with us what your dentist says after you’ve been using it for a while so we can all learn from your experience!!
Aren’t these all the ingredients in your Shine powder?
Hi H,
Thanks for asking. What we list here is a good base using most of the ingredients in Shine. We wanted to provide those who prefer to make products at home the capacity to make a DIY remineralizing tooth powder.
Wow, you guys are so amazing. What other company out there tells you how to make their product? Thank you so much for helping out the poor folk. You’re setting a great example and teaching others that you can be kind and still make a living 🙂
Very nice explanations about the ingredients in the tooth powder. I wish it would be otherwise, but when using xylitol, my teeth felt badly almost like if it was pure sugar. I tried a few times several days apart with the same feeling. Same with coconut oil pulling. I gave it up because I saw no improvement, rather I water pull out with better results. I guest every one’s chemistry is different.
Yet, I thank you very much for all this information that enables us to take control of our oral health!
The shine powder is very good and remineralizes well.
Aloha Luc,
Thank you for adding to the discussion here!
Full disclosure here, hearing your story previously is one of the reasons why we made the MCHA bulk bags available! Now you have the ability to make a ‘shine’ of your own without the xylitol (or use some but less?).
Thank you for your support and continued friendship. It’s an honor to serve you on your journey.
Wow! Thank you for this well-researched article, and for providing links to back up and clarify your statements. In a world of rampant misinformation, blatant falsehoods, and advertising disguised as journalism, it’s great to see a company backing up its claims. I applaud you for your transparency and for providing a DIY option for those of us who enjoy, and have time for, making our own products. I love Shine, and I can’t imagine that I could formulate anything better, but knowing exactly what’s in it and how/why each ingredient works is important to me.
I do have one question. I anticipate adding the liquid Healthy Mouth Blend might cause the powders to harden or cake up. Is there a best way to mix it in so that the tooth powder stays dry when stored in an airtight jar?
Thank you again, for the products you create and the passion you put into them.
Hi Michelle,
Wow right back to you! Thank you so much for your supportive, well thought out comment here.
Really great question re: how to mix the healthy mouth blend into the powder.
So, two ideas here.
In our production process, we have mixing tools to help make the formula an even mix. Part of this process is the ability to micro spray the oils onto the powder while blending it. This helps avoid the valid concern you share here.
So how can we do this at home?
1. One way is to whisk the oils into the powder. Just keep mixing and continue to make it more and more powder consistency. You could even clean out a coffee grinder and use it to help mix it in smaller batches.
2. You could also add the blend to the powder as you use it. Kind of like how we share in the article to make a paste, you could just have a small bowl/cup or even your palm and put the amount of powder you’ll use in your palm then add a couple drops of blend and make use it an an ‘as needed’ basis.
Does that help?
Holler back if you have any other great questions!
Thank you again!
For over 3 years now I have read and watched Will and Susan’s information, and done a bit of research on my own, confirming and bouncing off of theirs. Michelle’s thank you represents my own feelings exactly.
Aloha Jonathan,
As always, thank you for your loving support and kind words!
I already have a lot of bentonite clay (Aztec brand), can I use this in lieu of the kaolin clay?
Hi Hannah,
Thanks for asking. Yes, you can use bentonite clay. It didn’t perform as well as white kaolin clay in the research done on polishing, but it still is helpful, just not as stellar as white kaolin. I hope that helps!
Wow! This is really a good article — very informative, and it helps me understand what is going on when I am brushing/cleaning my mouth. Good job! I am glad you wrote this. This is exactly the information I needed to remain inspired. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words and expression of gratitude Eileen. We are happy to hear you find benefit.
This article was fascinating! I may try to make this oral product sometime as I love to experiment. Right now essential oils and food foraging have become of great interest to me. I am making pine needle vinegar right now! I give kudos to you for sharing and educating others because I too believe this is how we put our best self forward…helping others. I thank you and wish you all the best!
Ah thanks for your words of encouragement Heidi.
Wow! DIY pine needle vinegar!?! That sounds amazing! Gotta love the wild foods for sure. One of my favorites is to just wander through our yard and pick the dandelion and plantain leaves while outside with our pets.
Forage on! 🙂
Where do you get these ingredients? Do you sell this all made up?
Hi Yvonne,
Thanks for asking.
Yes, we sell a remineralizing tooth whitening powder called OraWellness Shine. Here’s a link:https://store.orawellness.com/collections/most-popular/products/shine-remineralizing-tooth-whitening-powder
So you know, this recipe we offer here is a good starting point for someone looking to create their own tooth powder. In the spirit of full disclosure, the formula for Shine has been tested and is substantially different than what we offer here. This is a good starting point.
We hope that helps!
I will continue buying your Shine. Would it be a good idea to also buy your MCHA & add it to Shine to increase the amount that’s in Shine & increase remineralization ? Thanks.
Hi Mitch,
Thanks for stopping by and asking this great question.
We’re glad you appreciate Shine. In our opinion, it’s not necessary to add more MCHA to Shine to increase the remineralization potential of Shine. We worked on this formula through many iterations to get to a ‘just right’ place where the MCHA content was substantial enough to provide lots of remineralization support.
So, that’s my long winded answer that it’s not necessary to add any bulk MCHA into Shine to give it more ‘pop’ 🙂
Thanks again for adding to the conversation here!
I am going to continue using Shine, because Will and Susan really do their homework. I also just bought a bag of the MCHA, just because I am so grateful for them making it available.
One of the most amazing things I have learned on my Orawellness journey so far is that the enamel of our teeth is NOT waterproof like an enamel paint or sink porcelain. It is a sieve of 50% minerals, 25% water, and 25% protein! The protein is called Amelo-genin: “Enamel Beginning.” This is what takes the minerals in MCHA (or healthy dentinal fluid) and makes new enamel. Every tissue can regenerate.
Correct me if I’m wrong, Will.
Thanks for all you do.
Spot on as usual Jonathan.
Our teeth are made of water, minerals in the form of MCHA crystals, and proteins. Fascinatingly, because the MCHA is naturally derived from New Zealand pasture raised cattle bone, the MCHA does contain these same naturally occurring proteins. While we don’t have any research to back this (yet), it’s my educated guess that this fact that the MCHA is naturally derived and therefore contains some amelogenin may be a contributing factor of its effectiveness.
Thanks again Jonathan for being such a friend and colleague in helping the world awaken to the truth of our miraculous healing capabilities!