If you have issues with your teeth and gums, your toothpaste may be part of the problem!
Everybody should brush his or her teeth at least twice a day, right? It’s a common practice that was instilled in us as children. But do you know what’s in your toothpaste? Sodium lauryl sulfate. Translation: shampoo base. The kicker is, the main reason manufacturers add SLS to toothpaste is not to help make your pearly whites even cleaner. It’s to make it easier to fill the tube at the factory and to make the product more consistent when being squeezed out.
As you know, here at Vermont Soap we like to do things a little differently. We prefer to use all-natural, time-tested ingredients to make our products both safe and effective. We began exploring alternative oral care formulas by interviewing elders in their 80’s and 90’s about their practices. We found more than one Vermonter with all (or nearly all) of their teeth in place who used table salt for dentifrice (toothpaste substitute). One woman told us she had started the practice during the Depression when they could not afford the price of commercial tooth care products. “It worked so well I just kept on going,” she told us. At 88 she still had a great set of (her own) teeth.
The thing is, table salt alone does not whiten teeth and freshen breath. So we went back to our interviews. The majority of non-toothpaste users swore by baking soda. None of them were aware of the potential for contamination in some types of baking soda, but all claimed good results. It then became a matter of blending these two ingredients and testing various percentages of each to find the sweet spot. Pure peppermint oil is added to enhance the product and the final result of your (and our) labours.
These three ingredients have withstood that test of time: sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium chloride (table salt), and essential oils in small quantities. Sodium Bicarbonate is a simple substance. However, many mass-market baking sodas are contaminated with heavy metals such as cadmium. (Vermont Soap’s Tooth Salt uses pure sodium bicarbonate. Hold the metals please!) Our Tooth Salt contains real sea salt so that you can get the good minerals that you need, without the heavy metals you don’t. Small quantities of plant based aromatic essential oils are added for freshness, taste and product enhancement.
Instructions: Sprinkle onto a wet toothbrush and go. Brush as normal. Tooth Salt helps to maintain a healthful oral environment for your teeth and gums to flourish in.
Healthy Hint: For thousands of years people have gargled with salt water to aid oral care. Salt water is said to reduce dental bacteria and soothe irritated gum tissues. After brushing your teeth, swish the rinse water around in your mouth as long as you can. It will give an extra boost to your oral care regimen!
