Safest Toothpaste for Babies: Eve’s Tooth Healing Paste Recipe!

I'm sharing this recipe for Tooth Healing Paste with all the moms in mind, but this stuff is great for teeth of all ages!  Now, I know your time is limited to I'll get straight to the recipe and then share the benefits:

Ingredients:

• 4T Calcium Bentonite Clay Powder (can be found at most health food stores or buy the pharmecuetical grade at Living Clay, both are edible)
• 4T Xylitol sweetener (also found at most health food stores or buy the pharmaceutical grade at Epic Dental, any brand in the food isle is safe)
• 4T purified water
• 4 drops peppermint extract or peppermint essential oil (omit the peppermint oil for baby's sensitive taste buds)

Method:

Mix the powders together in a small glass bowl.  Drop the peppermint oil into the water.  Slowly add the water into the powders until it forms a paste.  Using glass or wood  bowls and utensils is preferred over metal as the clay is porous and will absorb any leached particles.

Benefits of Bentonite and Xylitol:

• Calcium bentonite clay has been used for centuries to help detoxify the body.  When consumed, it absorbs toxins in the digestive tract and eliminates them. 
• Bentonite clay is used in this preparation for it's very mild abrasive properties to help scrub and polish the teeth.
• Although not proven (by anyone but me), the calcium in bentonite clay may help re-mineralize a tooth with mild decay. Please read more about my experience with this below.
• Xylitol has become popular in dental preparations recently due cavity fighting properties.  It's effectiveness can be compared to that of fluoride but without the potentially harmful effects of swallowing fluoride.
• Xylitol is totally edible and is commonly found in sugar free gums and  in baked goods and other foods for those persons with blood sugar issues as it causes no rise in insulin levels.
• Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar found in corn cobs.

I developed this simple recipe for toothpaste after discovering that my 16 month old had a small cavity on the face of one of his front teeth.  I visited the dentist with concern and he advised me to brush his teeth with a children's fluoride toothpaste and stop nursing him throughout the night.  Well, I knew I wasn't going to do either of those things, so I began searching for a toothpaste that my child could safely swallow but would be effective in protecting his tooth from further decay.  I read the labels of every toothpaste available at the health food store and they all seemed to have ingredients that I was unfamiliar with.  So, to make due I started brushing his teeth with straight bentonite clay.  I also used this on my teeth and the first time I did, they seemed whiter and smoother right away.  It does, however, taste like mud.  So, after reading up on Xylitol, I added it to the preparation and a few drops of peppermint oil.. Voila!  The best toothpaste ever! 

Now, I was begining to worry about my son's cavity so I monitored its progression w/ daily brushing, knowing that he would need that tooth for at least 6 more years!  Then one day I noticed that instead of being brown, his cavity was turning white again!  No kidding!  Also, I remember that I would put a little bit of the paste directly on his cavity after brushing before bed so that the clay could absorb any bacteria that the Xylitol was fighting off. 

Then one day, we ran out of toothpaste and I was lazy and started buying some from the store.  After just one tube finished, his cavity was brown again.  Of course, I bought more ingredients and made more toothpaste and we are using it everyday.  He is four years old now and his cavity is almost white again.  I continue to moniter it, although we haven't been back to the dentist.  I'm planning to take us all in the next couple of weeks, so expect an update!

Oh, P.S.  Don't worry if your kids are like mine and want to brush four times and swallow all the toothpaste because it tastes good, the clay is good for the digestive tract and actually prevents some measure of "morning breath".  Again, this is my observation! 

Also,  I just had to post this link to xylitol releasing pacifiers!  Dental Blog 
Enjoy the recipe!  Happy Brushing!