Homemade toothpaste made with baking soda and coconut oil is one of those kitchen-cupboard projects that keeps coming back round. It is cheap, it takes about five minutes, and it puts you in charge of what goes in the jar. This guide gives you the original two-ingredient recipe, walks through what each part actually does, and is straight with you about the one thing it cannot do: replace the fluoride in shop-bought toothpaste. Read the recipe, read the caveats, then decide what suits your own teeth.
A quick note before we start. We are a cleaning company, not a dental practice, so treat everything below as general information rather than personal advice. If you are prone to cavities, have fillings, crowns or sensitive teeth, or you are mixing this up for children, talk to your dentist first. Nothing here is meant to diagnose or treat anything.
Why people make their own toothpaste
The appeal is easy to understand. Two ingredients you probably already own, no long list of names you cannot pronounce, very little packaging, and a cost of pennies per batch. Some people simply prefer the feel and taste of a pared-back paste. Others want to cut down on single-use plastic tubes, or they like knowing exactly what is in the jar by their sink.
Those are all reasonable reasons. What homemade toothpaste is not, despite what a lot of older blog posts claim, is a like-for-like swap for a modern fluoride toothpaste. It can clean and freshen perfectly well. It does not protect against tooth decay in the same way. We will come back to that in detail, because it is the single most important thing to understand before you make the switch.
What baking soda actually does
Baking soda, known in the UK as bicarbonate of soda, is a very mild abrasive. That is the whole point of it here: the fine crystals help lift surface debris and the soft film of plaque that builds up over the day, which is why teeth can feel cleaner and look a touch brighter after a few uses.
The reassuring part is how gentle it is. Abrasiveness in toothpaste is measured on the RDA scale (relative dentin abrasivity). The American Dental Association treats anything up to 250 RDA as safe for daily use, and plain baking soda sits right at the bottom of the range, around 7. For comparison, plenty of ordinary whitening toothpastes land far higher. So as abrasives go, bicarb is one of the kindest you can put on a brush. Its crystals are softer than tooth enamel, which is part of why it scores so low.
Baking soda is also alkaline. The mouth turns acidic after eating, and that acid is what wears at enamel over time, so a brush with something alkaline can help nudge the pH back up. Used sensibly, bicarb is a sound cleaning ingredient. The thing to avoid is treating it like a scouring powder: brushing hard, several times a day, with any abrasive will wear at enamel and gums eventually. Gentle is the rule.
What coconut oil brings to it
Coconut oil is the base that binds the powder into a usable paste and gives it a smooth, slightly waxy texture. It also carries the flavour if you add any. Beyond the practical job, coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, a fatty acid that shows antimicrobial activity in laboratory tests, which is where its oral-care reputation comes from.
This is also the ingredient behind “oil pulling”, the practice of swishing a spoonful of oil around the mouth for several minutes. It is worth being measured about the evidence. A systematic review of the trials on coconut-oil pulling found the studies were small and of low quality, with a high risk of bias, and concluded that coconut oil “could be used as an adjunct to normal preventative regimes” rather than a replacement for them, while calling for larger, better-designed trials. In plain terms: there are early, promising hints that it may help with plaque, but it is not proven, and it is no substitute for brushing properly. In a toothpaste, coconut oil’s main jobs are texture and a clean mouthfeel; treat any extra benefit as a maybe, not a given.
The recipe
Here is the core recipe, kept simple on purpose. It makes a small jar, enough for one person for a few weeks.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (virgin, food-grade)
- 2 tablespoons baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 10 drops peppermint oil, food-grade (optional, for flavour)
The original ratio is 1:1:5 – equal parts coconut oil and baking soda, with peppermint added at roughly one drop per five of the base. Scale the batch up or down to suit how many people are using it and the size of your storage pot; just keep those proportions and you cannot go far wrong.
| Ingredient | Amount | Job in the paste |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut oil | 2 tbsp | Base and binder; smooth texture |
| Baking soda | 2 tbsp | Mild abrasive; gentle cleaning; raises pH |
| Peppermint oil (optional) | 10 drops | Flavour and fresh finish |
Method
- If your coconut oil has set solid, soften it first. Stand the jar in a bowl of warm water for a minute or two until it turns to a soft paste; you do not need it fully liquid.
- Add the baking soda to the coconut oil and stir well until you have a smooth, even paste with no dry pockets.
- Add the peppermint drops if you are using them and mix again so the flavour is spread right through.
- Spoon the paste into a small, clean jar with a lid and let it firm up at room temperature.
That is the whole job. It really is as easy as it sounds.
Optional add-ins
Once you have the basic paste, a couple of extras are worth knowing about. Keep them food-grade and keep the amounts small.
- Essential oils for flavour. Peppermint is the classic; spearmint, a single drop of clove, or a little cinnamon all work. Use food-grade oils only, go sparingly, and skip them entirely for young children, during pregnancy, or if you are unsure how an oil suits you.
- Xylitol. A small spoon of finely powdered xylitol adds a touch of sweetness without sugar. It is a sweetener that some research suggests may interfere with the bacteria linked to decay, though the evidence is still mixed. A practical word of warning that has nothing to do with your teeth: xylitol is very toxic to dogs, so keep the jar well out of a pet’s reach.
How to store and use it
Keep the jar somewhere cool and dry, with the lid on. Because there are no preservatives, make small batches and use them within a few weeks rather than mixing a giant tub that sits around for months.
To keep it clean for longer, do not plunge a wet brush straight into a shared jar. Either keep a small spoon by the pot and scoop a pea-sized amount onto the brush, or give each household member their own little jar. Then brush as you normally would, gently, for two minutes, twice a day.
The cold-weather texture quirk
Coconut oil is firm at room temperature and turns liquid as it warms; it sits right around the everyday line, softening at about 24°C. In a chilly UK bathroom in winter the paste can set rock hard, and in a warm room in summer it can go runny. Neither hurts it. If it is too hard to scoop, dip the closed jar in warm water for a minute; if it is too soft, pop it somewhere cooler. A short stir brings it back to an even paste either way.
The fluoride question: read this part
This is the bit the old internet recipes tend to skate over, so here it is plainly. This paste contains no fluoride, and that matters.
Fluoride is the ingredient in standard toothpaste that strengthens enamel and helps prevent tooth decay, and it is well backed by evidence. The NHS advises that adults and children aged seven and over brush twice a day with a toothpaste containing 1,350 to 1,500 parts per million (ppm) fluoride, with smaller amounts and lower limits for younger children, and describes brushing with fluoride toothpaste as one of the most effective ways to prevent decay. The American Dental Association only awards its seal to toothpastes that contain fluoride.
A homemade baking-soda paste can clean your teeth and freshen your breath, but it does not give you that decay protection. So be honest with yourself about your own risk. If you have a history of cavities, wear braces, have a dry mouth, or are making this for children, the sensible course is to keep using a fluoride toothpaste and check with your dentist before changing anything. Some people use a homemade paste alongside, not instead of, their usual fluoride brush. Skipping fluoride is a genuine trade-off, not a free upgrade, and you should go in with your eyes open.
Don’t pour it down the sink
One last practical warning, and this is firmly our home turf. Coconut oil and household plumbing do not get along. The oil solidifies below roughly 24°C, so even if it rinses away warm and liquid, it cools inside your pipes, clings to the walls and slowly narrows them. Over weeks that shows up as slow drainage, gurgling and eventually a proper blockage.
So do not tip leftover paste or oil down the plughole. Wipe excess oil from bowls and jars with kitchen roll and bin it, and let any unwanted batch set hard in a tub before it goes in the general waste. The small amount left on a brush after rinsing is not the problem; pouring spoonfuls of oil down the drain is. (Bicarbonate of soda, by contrast, is a genuinely handy household staple well beyond the bathroom.)
Honest pros and cons
The good:
- Cheap, quick and made from two ingredients you may already have.
- Baking soda is a very low-abrasion cleaner and can leave teeth feeling smooth.
- No tube to throw away and full control over what is in the jar.
- You can flavour it however you like.
The trade-offs:
- No fluoride, so no equivalent protection against cavities.
- No preservatives, so it has a short shelf life and a shared jar can pick up bacteria.
- The taste is salty and the texture oily, which not everyone takes to.
- Brush too hard with any abrasive and you can wear enamel over time.
- Texture wanders with the temperature, and the oil is bad news for drains.
Frequently asked questions
Is homemade toothpaste safe to use?
For most people, the occasional gentle brush with a baking-soda and coconut-oil paste is fine, because bicarb is one of the least abrasive cleaners around. The catch is that it has no fluoride and no preservatives, so it does not protect against decay the way standard toothpaste does and it does not keep for long. If you have ongoing dental issues, or you are making it for children, check with your dentist first.
Does baking soda and coconut oil toothpaste whiten teeth?
It can help with surface stains. Baking soda’s mild abrasion lifts some of the day-to-day staining from tea, coffee and the like, which can make teeth look a little brighter. It does not change the natural colour of the tooth itself, so it is not the same as a professional whitening treatment.
Is it OK to use toothpaste without fluoride?
It depends on your risk of tooth decay. Fluoride is strongly linked to fewer cavities, and the NHS recommends a fluoride toothpaste of 1,350 to 1,500 ppm for adults and older children. If you are cavity-prone, the safer choice is to stick with fluoride, or use a homemade paste only as an extra rather than a replacement. If you are unsure, ask your dentist what fits your teeth.
How long does homemade toothpaste keep?
Because there is nothing in it to stop bacteria growing, treat it as short-life. Make a small jar and use it within about a month. Keep it cool and dry, and avoid dipping a wet brush into a shared pot; scoop it out with a clean spoon instead, or give everyone their own jar.
Will baking soda damage my enamel?
Used gently, it is unlikely to. On the abrasiveness scale that toothpastes are measured by, plain baking soda is right at the soft end, and its crystals are softer than enamel. The risk comes from technique, not the ingredient: scrubbing hard, or brushing several times a day, can wear at enamel and gums over the long run whatever paste you use. Light pressure and twice a day is the way.
Can I use any coconut oil and any essential oil?
Use food-grade ingredients you are happy to put in your mouth. Virgin coconut oil is ideal, and any flavouring oils should be food-grade and added in tiny amounts. Leave the essential oils out for young children and during pregnancy, and if you have a known sensitivity to an oil, skip it.
Can homemade toothpaste replace a trip to the dentist?
No. Whatever you brush with, regular check-ups and a good brushing and flossing routine are what keep your mouth healthy. A homemade paste is a cleaning product, not dental care, and it does not replace professional advice or treatment.