TheRuckSack home page > Hiking Gear List page >Tooth powder


A RuckSack primer on

Tooth powder--
a lightweight alternative
to toothpaste
for wilderness trippers

By Michael A. Neiger
Copyright 2006 -- 2006-05-13

Last modified of May 13, 2006

E-mail comments or corrections to author at mneiger@hotmail.com

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Introduction

For wilderness trippers, especially those who travel in sub-zero temperatures, tooth powder can be an excellent alternative to traditional toothpaste, which may freeze, weighs more, and requires water for rinsing.

Tooth powder (or toothpowder) is a dentifrice--a preparation used for cleaning and polishing teeth--that has been around for centuries. While seldom used or talked about today, it was widely used by our ancestors. Some of the earliest known users of tooth powder were the Romans. Their tooth powder consisted of finely-ground or pounded, sometimes burnt, substances such as pumice (or pumice stone: a light, spongy, porous type of volcanic rock, actually glass), horns, bones, hooves, eggshells, and the shells from mollusks such as the oyster and murex.

Our great-grandparents often relied upon bicarbonate of soda (NaHCO3)--or baking soda--as a tooth powder. Its antibacterial, cleansing, polishing, and deodorizing attributes make baking soda "an essential ingredient of oral health," according to Vincent M. Cali, D.D.S., in The New, Lower-Cost way to End Gum Trouble Without Surgery (Warner Books, Inc., 1982).

Many tooth powder concoctions are made from three types of materials: a mild abrasive, such as very finely-powdered chalk; a detergent or sudser, such as powdered white castile soap; and a sweetening or flavoring agent, such as sugar, saccharine, peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint, cinnamon, clove, etc. Binding agents, coloring agents, and humectants (to prevent hardening) may also be added. During the early 1900s, wintergreen was the preferred flavor in the United States; peppermint was popular in Europe, especially France.

Caution: Many dental care professionals claim baking soda, salt, and other tooth powder concoctions can be harmful to your teeth and do irreversible damage to them--especially the thin layer of protective enamel covering them--since such substances are often highly abrasive. Before deciding to purchase a tooth powder, mix up your own tooth powder from scratch, or incorporate the use of a tooth powder into your daily, oral health regimen, consult your personal doctor, dentist, pharmacist, or dental hygienist for the latest perspective on this issue.

 


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Vendors of tooth powder

While tooth powder is hard to find, it may be stocked at--or available by special order through--your local grocery store, health food store, drug store, or pharmacy. Your personal dentist or dental hygienist may also know of a source for tooth powder.

Numerous vendors sell tooth powder via the Internet. To locate an Internet vendor of tooth powder, use one of the comparison shopping search engines--such as http://www.froogle.com--listed on the home page of this Web site. If you don't have a specific brand name to search for, search both the two-word phrase "tooth powder" as well as the word "toothpowder."

 

 

Active White Toothpowder

Vendor: http://www.crystalenergy.co.uk/dental_care/activewhite.html

 

All Natural Tooth Powder & Whitener

Vendor: http://www.msm-hgh.com/microbrite.html

 

Baar Salt 'N Soda Toothpowder

Vendor: http://www.baar.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=797&affil=frg

 

Black Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.indiaplaza.com/beautycare/pd.aspx?sku=301658

 

Clearspring Dentie Toothpowder

Vendor: http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/detail/804210.html

 

Colgate Toothpowder

Manufacturer: http://www.colgate.co.in/app/Colgate/IN/OralCare/Toothpowder/Toothpowder.cvsp

 

Compete50 Toothpowder

Vendor: http://www.healthstores.com/store/stores/healthstores/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Item_ID=4099

 

Country Gent Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://heavenlyharvestinc.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=28

 

Dabur Red Tooth Powder (Indian)

Vendor: http://www.smallflower.com

 

Dr. Christopher's Herbal Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.lifesvigor.com/prod/49354/
Vendor: http://www.ihealthtree.com/toothpowder.html
Manufacturer: http://www.drchristopher.com/

 

Dr. Don's Antioxidant Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.471963/sc.2/category.4/it.A/id.202/.f

 

Eco-Dent Toothpowders

Vendor: http://www.steviasmart.com/annato.html
Vendor: http://www.pacwestserv.com/oralcare09_Tooth-Powders.htm
Vendor: http://www.ihealthtree.com/toothpowder.html
Vendor: http://www.shamanshop.net/store/prodpage5.cfm/CategoryID/23000.0/SubCatID/5455.0/file.htm
Vendor: http://www.mothernature.com/shop/sections/index.cfm/s/98691
Vendor: http://www.smallflower.com
Vendor: http://store.foodfightgrocery.com/ectopo.html
Manufacturer: http://www.eco-dent.com

 

Emperor's Kitchen Dentie Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.discountnaturalfoods.com/shopnew/pages/425001.html

 

Eucryl Toothpowder

Vendor: http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatalog/Eucryl_Toothpowder.html

 

Herbal Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.herbalfitness.com/tooth.shtml

 

Ipsab Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.lifesvigor.com/prod/4573/
Vendor: http://www.caycecures.com/Holiday/catalog/toothpowder.htm
Vendor: http://www.ihealthtree.com/toothpowder.html
Vendor: http://www.mothernature.com/shop/sections/index.cfm/s/98691
Manufacturer: http://www.edgarcayce.com/

 

Kukident Toothpowder (German)

Vendor: http://www.smallflower.com

 

MicroBrite Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/microbrite.html
Vendor: https://www.royal-health.com/microbrite.htm
Vendor: http://www.cocoonnutrition.org/catalog/page_microbrite.php

 

Mitoku Dentie Toothpowder (Japanese)

Vendor: http://www.smallflower.com

 

Monkey Brand Toothpowder (Indian)

Vendor: http://www.smallflower.com

Neem Bark Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.neemtreefarms.com/product_info.php?products_id=15
Vendor: http://www.ayurbalance.com

 

Oregano Spearmint Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.naturalhealthsupply.com/products/tooth-powder.html

 

Pasca-Dent Bentonite Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.herbalremedies.com/pascdent20.html

 

Peelu Dental Fibers Toothpowder

Vendor: http://www.ihealthtree.com/toothpowder.html
Vendor: http://www.shamanshop.net
Vendor: http://www.smallflower.com
Vendor: http://vitanetonline.com/description/PU0006/vitamins/Peelu-Tooth-Powder-Unflavored/

 

Probiotic Toothpowder

Vendor: http://www.centerforantiaging.com/Toothpowder_and_Mouthwash.htm

 

Red Toothpowder

Vendor: http://indianherbcare.com/product_info.php?products_id=3384

 

Spirit Bear All Natural Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.eco-natural.com/tootcar.html

 

Tanoral Plant Tannin Toothpowder

Vendor: http://www.intensivenutrition.com/Tanoral.htm

 

TartarGuard Tartar Control Formula-Fresh Mint

Vendor: http://www.steviasmart.com/tatacofomi.html
Vendor: http://www.mothernature.com/shop/sections/index.cfm/s/98691

 

Uncle Harry's Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.greenfeet.com/02110020.html
Manufacturer: http://www.uncleharrys.com/

 

Vicco Vajradanti Powder

Vendor: http://www.mehndiskinart.com/vicco.htm
Vendor: http://indianherbcare.com/product_info.php?products_id=3389

 

Viset Niyom Herbal Toothpowder (Thai)

Vendor: http://grocerythai.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/34/products_id/636

 

Whitening Orange Peel Tooth Powder

Vendor: http://www.alphaskincare.com/whorpetopo.html

 


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Formulas for toothpowder

Since tooth powder is not commonly available in most retail outlets, some people opt to make their own. Once you select a formula you may be able to purchase the ingredients from your local grocery store, natural or health food store, nutritional shop, drug store, or pharmacy.

The actual process of making tooth powder--namely the pulverizing, powdering, and mixing--can often be expedited by using either an old-fashioned mortar and pestle or a modern-day device such as a mixer, blender, food processor, or perhaps even a coffee grinder. Once mixed up, tooth powder should be stored in a small, tightly-sealing (airtight), sterile, properly-labeled container to protect it from moisture and preserve its freshness.

Caution: Before you embark on an attempt to mix up your own tooth powder and incorporate it into your daily, oral-hygiene regimen, check with your personal doctor, dentist, pharmacist, or dental hygienist to make sure the ingredients you intend to use as a tooth powder are safe and healthy for you. The tooth powder formulas listed below represent a sampling of what has appeared in print and on the Internet. Many of these concoctions are very, very dated--upwards of 100 years to 200 years old--and may contain harmful ingredients (such as opium), typographic errors, or other mistakes. None of the formulations have been reviewed by a doctor, dentist, pharmacist, or dental hygienist prior to their inclusion here to assure their appropriateness or safety for incorporation into a daily, oral-hygiene regimen. Even if an ingredient, or mixture of ingredients, is considered safe for a healthy individual, certain ingredients, or mixtures of ingredients, may not be suitable or safe for individuals suffering from certain medical conditions: always consult your personal physician, dentist, or pharmacist before using any tooth powder formulation.

 

American Tooth Powder

  • 8 ounces coral
  • 8 ounce cuttle-fish bone
  • 8 ounce dragon's blood
  • 8 ounces rose pink
  • 8 ounces orris
  • 4 ounces burnt alum
  • 4 ounces red sanders
  • 0.5 ounces rosewood
  • 0.5 ounces cloves
  • 0.5 ounces cinnamon
  • 2 drams vanilla

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Ammoniated Tooth Powder

  • 1 cup calcium carbonate (whiting)
  • 3 teaspoons dibasic ammonium phosphate

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: The Formula Manual, 4th Edition, by Stark Research Associates (Andrews & McMeel, Inc., 1974)

 

Antiscobbutic Tooth Powder

  • 2 ounces prepared charcoal
  • 0.5 ounces extract of rhatany (root of South American shrub)
  • 0.5 ounces cinnamon
  • 0.5 ounces cloves

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book


Antiseptic Tooth Powder

  • 2 ounces prepared or precipitated chalk
  • 10 grains dry chloride of lime
  • 5 drops oil of cassia or oil of cloves

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Options: color with a little levigated bole

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Aromatic Tooth Powder

  • 4 drams calamus aromaticus
  • 1 dram charcoal
  • 1 dram soap
  • 12 drops oil of cloves

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book


Asiatic Tooth Powder

  • 4 ounces prepared coral
  • 5 drams ochre
  • 5 drams pumice
  • 3 drams venetian red
  • 1 grains musk

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Asiatic Tooth Powder

  • 3 parts bole
  • 2 parts chalk
  • 1 part ochre
  • 1 part pumice
  • Scent with musk

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Cadet's, or Dr. Coombe's, Tooth Powder

  • 1 ounce sugar
  • 1 ounce charcoal
  • 0.5 ounces Peruvian bark
  • 1.5 drams cream of tartar
  • 24 grains cinnamon

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Calcium/Magnesium/Vitamin C Tooth Powder

  • 3 parts baking soda
  • 3 parts calcium-magnesium-vitamin c powder
  • 3 parts finely ground prickly ash bark
  • 1 part sea salt
  • 1 part Echinacea powder
  • 1/2 part goldenseal powder

    Directions: mix together thoroughly

    Option: Flavor with peppermint essential oil

    Source: http://www.mizar5.com/homemade.html

 

Camphorated Chalk Tooth Powder

  • 3 ounces prepared or precipitated chalk
  • 1 ounce camphor (pulverized by the aid of a few drops of spirit)

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Camphorated Chalk Tooth Powder

  • 7 parts chalk
  • 1 part camphor

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Carabelli's Tooth Powder

  • 1.5 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 1.5 ounces prepared shells
  • 3 drams cinnamon
  • 3 drams orris
  • 3 drams lime-tree charcoal
  • 10 grains vanilla

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Cartwright's Dentifrice

  • 7 ounces prepared chalk
  • 1 ounce orris
  • 0.5 drams Castile soap

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Chalk-Magnesium Tooth Powder

  • 5 ounces precipitated chalk
  • 3 ounces magnesium carbonate
  • 1 ounce powdered white toilet soap
  • 1 ounce boric acid
  • 2 teaspoons salol
  • 0.5 teaspoons thymol

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Options: flavor as desired with a sweet oil such as cinnamon, peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint, or clove.

Source: The Home Book of Money-Saving Formulas, by Paul Doring (Blakiston Company, 1946)

 

Chalk-Magnesium Tooth Powder

  • 4 ounces precipitated chalk
  • 3.5 ounces magnesium carbonate
  • 1 ounce powdered sugar
  • 0.5 ounces sodium bicarbonate
  • 0.5 ounces borax
  • 0.5 ounces powdered white toilet soap

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Options: flavor as desired with a sweet oil such as cinnamon, peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint, or clove.

Source: The Home Book of Money-Saving Formulas, by Paul Doring (Blakiston Company, 1946)

 

Chalk-Tricalcium Tooth Powder

  • 5 ounces precipitated chalk
  • 2.5 ounces tricalcium phosphate
  • 1 ounce sodium perborate
  • 1 ounce powdered sugar
  • 0.5 ounces powdered white toilet soap

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Options: flavor as desired with a sweet oil such as cinnamon, peppermint, wintergreen, spearmint, or clove.

Source: The Home Book of Money-Saving Formulas, by Paul Doring (Blakiston Company, 1946)

 

Charcoal-Honey Tooth Powder

  • 30 parts wood charcoal
  • 30 parts white honey
  • 30 parts vanila sugar
  • 16 parts cinchona bark (South American tree)
  • Flavor with oil of peppermint

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Charcoal-Kino Tooth Powder

  • 156 parts charcoal
  • 156 parts red kino (dried juice of East Indian tree)
  • 6 parts sugar
  • flavor with peppermint oil

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Charcoal Tooth Powder (French)

  • 1 ounce prepared charcoal
  • 1 ounce sugar
  • 3 drops oil of cloves

Directions: Charcoal is prepared--reduced to an impalpable powder and kept from the air--in iron cylinders from the willow or lime tree, the areca nut, or the shells of cocoa nuts. Thoroughly mix ingredients.

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Charcoal Tooth Powder (Gray)

  • 3 ounces powdered chalk
  • 1 ounce prepared charcoal

Directions: Charcoal is prepared--reduced to an impalpable powder and kept from the air--in iron cylinders from the willow or lime tree, the areca nut, or the shells of cocoa nuts. Thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Charcoal with Bark Tooth Powder

  • 1 ounce charcoal
  • 1 ounce red cinchona
  • 1ounce powdered sugar
  • A few drops of some essential oil

Note: See also Righini's Charcoal below

Directions: Charcoal is prepared--reduced to an impalpable powder and kept from the air--in iron cylinders from the willow or lime tree, the areca nut, or the shells of cocoa nuts. Thoroughly mix ingredients.

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Charcoal with Bark Tooth Powder (French)

  • 1 ounce charcoal
  • 0.5 ounces Peruvian bark
  • 30 drops essence of ambergris
  • 2 drops oil of cinnamon, mint, or other oil

Directions: Charcoal is prepared--reduced to an impalpable powder and kept from the air--in iron cylinders from the willow or lime tree, the areca nut, or the shells of cocoa nuts. Thoroughly mix ingredients.

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Charcoal-Quinine Tooth Powder

  • 270 parts charcoal
  • 1 part sulphate of quinine
  • 1 part magnesia
  • Scent to liking

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Charcoal with Quinine Tooth Powder

  • 1 ounce charcoal
  • 4 to 8 grains magnesia
  • 2 to 4 grains sulphate of quinine
  • 2 drops otto of rose (or other perfume)

Directions: Charcoal is prepared--reduced to an impalpable powder and kept from the air--in iron cylinders from the willow or lime tree, the areca nut, or the shells of cocoa nuts. Thoroughly mix ingredients.

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Charcoal-Sage Tooth Powder

  • 1 part charcoal (scraped from burnt toast & pulverized)
  • 1 part dried sage leaves (powdered)

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Source: Down Home Ways, by Jerry M. Johnson (Times Books, 1978)

 

Charcoal-Sugar Tooth Powder

  • 1 part charcoal
  • 1 part sugar
  • flavor with clove oil

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Charcoal-Tartar Tooth Powder

  • 30 parts charcoal
  • 8 parts cream of tartar
  • 4 parts yellow cinchona bark (South American tree)
  • 15 parts sugar
  • Scent with oil of cloves

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Cinnamon-Mint Tooth Powder

  • 13 tablespoons of calcium carbonate
  • 4 tablespoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 25 drops peppermint oil
  • 12 drops cinnamon oil

    Directions: see pharmacist for calcium carbonate; thoroughly mix ingredients in blender or food processor; makes 10 ounces

    Source: Home Made -- Best Made, by Reader's Digest (Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1998)

 

Compound Camphorated Tooth Powder

  • 1 ounce camphor
  • 2 ounces precipitated chalk
  • 0.5 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 2 drams myrrh
  • 2 drams borax
  • 1 dram lake or rose pink 1 dr., or q. s.

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Coral Dentifrice Tooth Powder (Poudre Dentifrice of the French Pharmacopoeia)

  • 4.5 ounces cream of tartar
  • 3 ounces red coral
  • 3 ounces bole
  • 3 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 1.5 ounces dragon's blood
  • 6 drams cinnamon
  • 3 drams cochineal
  • 1 dram cloves

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Coral Tooth Powder

  • 20 parts coral
  • 20 parts sugar
  • 6 parts wood charcoal
  • 1 part essence of vervain

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Crystal's Tooth Powder

  • 0.25 to 0.33 cups baking soda
  • 0.5 to 2 teaspoons myrrh
  • 3 to 5 drops of peppermint essential oil
  • 1 to 2 drops anise essential oil
  • Dash of salt, or sea salt

    Directions: mix together thoroughly

    Source: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/toothpowder.html

 

Deluxe Tooth Powder

  • 1 pound baking soda
  • 0.5 cups salt
  • Flavor to taste as noted below

    Directions: Pulverize salt and baking soda to a very fine powder in a blender.

    Option: Contributor suggests flavoring with an essential oil such as anise, coriander, fennel, sage, citrus, rosemary, or tea tree. Other flavorings include myrrh powder, cinnamon, ginger, and clove. Contributor writes: "Anise and fennel are the best bet all around. Very safe and taste nice.

    Source: http://www.recipegoldmine.com/health/health44.html

 

Deschamp's Acid Dentifrice

  • 4 ounces Venetian tale
  • 1 ounce cream of tartar
  • 4 or 5 grains carmine 4 or 5 gr
  • Oil as the last

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Deschamp's Alkaline Dentifrice

  • 4 ounces Venetian talc
  • 1ounce bicarbonate of soda
  • 4 or 5 grains carmine
  • 15 drops oil of mint (or other perfume)

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Desforges' Carbonic Dentifrice

  • 4 ounces of willow charcoal
  • 4 ounces of cinchona bark
  • 4 drams cloves

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Detergent Tooth Powder

  • 1 ounce bicarbonate of soda
  • 0.5 ounces powdered Castile soap
  • 0.5 ounces sulphate of potash
  • 0.5 ounces sugar of milk
  • 4 ounces orris root
  • 4 drops oil of bitter almonds
  • Color as desired

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Dr. Coombe's, or Cadet's, Tooth Powder

  • 1 ounce sugar
  • 1 ounce charcoal
  • 0.5 ounces Peruvian bark
  • 1.5 drams cream of tartar
  • 24 grains cinnamon

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Dr. Halifax's Circassian Dentifrice

  • 8 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 4 ounces orris
  • 2 ounces prepared hartshorn
  • 2 ounces sulphate of potash
  • 1 ounce yellow sandal wood
  • 3 ounces rose-pink
  • 30 drops oil of rhodium

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Dr. Schoepe's Tooth Powder (against mercurial salivation)

 

Elephant's (Mrs.) Tooth Powder

  • 1 ounce bole
  • 0.5 ounces myrrh
  • 0.5 ounces bark
  • 0.5 ounces orris

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Florentine Dentifrice

  • 14 drams prepared shells
  • 6 drams orris
  • 3 drams cream of tartar
  • Lake to color

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Fozembas' Tooth Powder

  • 2 leaves of gold
  • 2 leaves of silver
  • 3 drams alum
  • 3 drams coral
  • 3 drams Peruvian bark
  • 1.5 drams salt
  • 1.5 drams white sugar
  • 15 grains pepper
  • 5 grains opium

Directions: Grind the gold and silver with the salt and alum before thoroughly mixing in other ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

French Tooth Powder

  • 1 part Peruvian bark
  • 1 part burnt crust of bread
  • 1 part sugar

Note: See also Coral Tooth Powder, Galvanic's Dentifrice, and Deschamp's tooth powders

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Galvanic Dentifrice

  • 2 leaves of gold-leaf
  • 3 leaves of silver-leaf
  • 1 ounce prepared hartshorn
  • 2 drams sulphate of potash
  • 2 drams white sugar
  • 1 dram alum
  • 1 dram common salt
  • 0.5 drams pellitory of Spain
  • 10 grains sulphate of quinine
  • Color with finest smalts (powder blue), rose, pink, or lake.

    Directions: after triturating leaves of gold and silver, potash, and alum, thoroughly mix in remaining ingredients

    Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

     

German Tooth Powder

  • 6 drams Peruvian bark
  • 2 drams red sanders
  • 3 drops oil of cloves
  • 3 drops oil of bergamot
  • Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Grovenor's Tooth Powder

  • 12 ounces prepared shells
  • 12 ounces prepared coral
  • 2 ounces orris root
  • 6 drops oil of rhodium

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Hemet's Dentifrice

  • 16 ounces orris
  • 16 ounces sugar of milk
  • 8 ounces pumice-stone
  • 8 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 6 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 4 ounces magnesia
  • 4 ounces sulphate of quinine
  • 1 ounce cascarilla
  • 1 ounce oil of mint
  • 1 ounce cream of tartar
  • 0.5 ounces orris
  • 2 drams oil of cinnamon
  • 1 dram oil of neroli
  • 1 dram essence of ambergris

    Directions: Mix cuttle-fish bone, cream of tartar, and orris before other ingredients

    Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Herb Tooth Powder

  • 1 deciliter fresh herb(s) such as salvia, thyme, peppermint, spearmint, and/or parsley
  • 0.5 deciliters sea salt

    Directions: Thoroughly mix chopped herbs with salt and dry at 40 degrees Centigrade for several hours. Grind to a fine powder.

    Source: http://www.henriettesherbal.com/blog/?p=92

 

Herb Tooth Powder

  • 2 tablespoons dried peel of lemon or orange (organically grown!)
  • 50 grains soda
  • 2 teaspoons salt

    Directions: Blend to a fine powder. Flavor or season with herbs or essential oils of choice. Source says that "Cinnamon is cool, both as a dried herb and as an EO [essential oil], in tooth powder," according to author. "If you like the taste of anise you might appreciate aniseed, or fennel seed, or eucalyptus EO, or various other anise herbs and/or EOs. I like thyme and parsley, so I use those."

    Source: http://www.henriettesherbal.com/blog/?p=92

 

Honey Tooth Powder

  • 125 parts honey
  • 50 parts red coral
  • 12 parts cinnamon
  • 6 parts cochineal
  • 6 parts water
  • 2.125 parts aluml
  • flavor with essential oils

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Kemmerer's Tooth Powder

  • 1.5 ounces wood soot
  • 0.5 ounces strawberry root
  • Few drops of eau de Cologne

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Lardner's Tooth Powder

  • 3 ounces powdered chalk
  • 1 ounce prepared charcoal

Directions: Charcoal is prepared--reduced to an impalpable powder and kept from the air--in iron cylinders from the willow or lime tree, the areca nut, or the shells of cocoa nuts. Thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Laurel Tooth Powder

  • 2 oz chalk
  • 1 oz cuttlefish powder
  • 1/2 oz bicarbonate of soda
  • 2-10 drops bay laurel or oil of peppermint

    Directions: mix together thoroughly

    Source: Herbs & Things (Jeanne Rose's Herbal), by Jeanne Rose (Grosset & Dunlap, 1977) http://64.233.161.104/

 

Lavender Tooth Powder

  • 6 ounces precipitated chalk
  • 2 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 0.5 ounces bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 dram crimson lake
  • Scruple of Chinese blue (or Turnbull's blue)
  • 8 drops oil of lavender

Directions: mix lake and blue before adding remainder of ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Lefoulon's Tooth Powder

  • 1 part scurvy grass
  • 1 part horse radish
  • 1 part guaiacum
  • 1 part cinchona
  • 1 part mint
  • 1 part pellitory root
  • 1 part calamus
  • 1 part rhatany

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Option: add a little calcined magnesia

    Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Little Tree Toothpowder

  • 2 tablespoons white clay powder
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons very fine MSM powder
  • 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) very fine Xylitol powder
  • 1 to 5 drops lemon, peppermint, or fennel essential oil

    Directions: mix together thoroughly

    Source: http://www.mizar5.com/homemade.html

 

Maury's Carbonic Tooth Powder

  • 8 ounces charcoal
  • 8 ounces sugar
  • 4 ounces cinchona
  • 0.5 ounces oil of mint
  • 0.5 ounces oil of cinnamon
  • 0.5 drams tincture of ambergris

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Menthol Tooth Powder

  • 60 parts magnesia carbonate
  • 20 parts calcium carbonate
  • 20 parts soap (finely grated)
  • 8 parts salol
  • 2 parts oil of mint
  • 1 part menthol

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Metges' Tooth Powder

  • 3.5 pounds prepared chalk
  • 2 pounds orris
  • 1 pound lake or rose-pink
  • 12 ounces cream of tartar
  • 9 ounces sugar
  • 1 ounce levigated pumice
  • 1 dram oil of cloves

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Mialhe's Rational Dentifrice

  • 3 ounces sugar of milk
  • 3 drams pure tannin
  • 1 dram lake
  • 8 drops oil of mint
  • 8 drops oil of aniseed
  • 4 drops neroli

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Myrrh Dentifrice

  • 4 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 3 ounces orris
  • 1 ounce myrrh

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Nichol's Tooth Powder

  • 1 ounce cuttle-fish bone
  • 1 ounce prepared chalk
  • 1 ounce orris
  • 0.5 ounces cassia
  • 0.5 ounces myrrh

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Old Fashioned Tooth Powder

 

Orris-Myrrh Tooth Powder

  • 1 ounce powdered myrrh
  • 1 ounce powdered orris root
  • 1 ounce powdered chalk
  • 0.25 to 0.5 ounces powdered cuttlefish
  • 1 pinch powdered camphor

    Directions: mix together thoroughly

    Source: Herbs & Things (Jeanne Rose's Herbal), by Jeanne Rose (Grosset & Dunlap, 1977) http://64.233.161.104/

 

Palmer's Tooth Powder

  • 1 pound prepared chalk
  • 1 pound orris
  • 4 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 1 ounce camphor
  • 1 ounce rose pink

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Pearl Dentifrice

  • 16 ounces precipitated chalk
  • 8 ounces talc
  • 0.5 ounces finest smalts or q. s., to give it a slight tint.

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Peiletier's Quinine Dentifrice

  • 1 ounce prepared red coral
  • 4 grains sulphate of quinine
  • Scruple of myrrh

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Option: 2 drams of levigated bole and 6 drams of precipitated milk may be substituted for the coral

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Pink Rose-Flavored Tooth Powder (popular New York dentifrice, circa 1940)

  • 1 pound precipitated chalk
  • 2 ounces florentine orris
  • 1.5 ounces sugar
  • 1 ounce white castile soap
  • 15 grains no. 40 carmine
  • 12 drops oil of rose
  • 4 drops oil of cloves

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Options: This popular product was also manufactured without the soap ingredient

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Regnaud's Dentifrice

  • 0.5 ounces calcined magnesia
  • 8 grains sulphate of quinine
  • 0.5 drams carmine (or cochineal)
  • 3 drops oil of peppermint

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Rhatany Tooth Powder

  • 2 ounces rhatany root
  • 4 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 8 ounces prepared chalk
  • 1 dram borax

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Righini's Charcoal and Bark Tooth Powder

  • 4 parts charcoal
  • 1 part yellow bark

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Rose Dentifrice

  • 6 ounces precipitated chalk
  • 2 ounces orris
  • 2 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 2 drams myrrh
  • 2 drams bicarbonate of soda
  • 0.5 drams lake
  • 16 drops otto of roses (or color with rose pink to any desired shade)

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Rosemary Tooth Powder

  • 2 ounce powdered charcoal
  • 1 ounce powdered orris root (char rosemary in dry frying pan)
  • 1 ounce powdered Peruvian bark (cinchona)
  • 0.5 ounces powdered chalk
  • 20 drops lavender or peppermint

    Directions: mix together thoroughly

    Source: Herbs & Things (Jeanne Rose's Herbal), by Jeanne Rose (Grosset & Dunlap, 1977) http://64.233.161.104/

 

Ruspini's Dentifrice

  • 8 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 2 ounces prepared hartshorn
  • 2 ounces cream of tartar
  • 1 ounce alum
  • 1 ounce orris
  • 6 drops oil of rhodium

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Russian Tooth Powder

  • 2 ounces Peruvian bark
  • 1 ounce orris root
  • 0.5 ounces Sal ammoniac
  • 6 drams catechu
  • 6 drams myrrh
  • 6 or 8 drops oil of cloves

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Salt-Soda Tooth Powder

  • 0.75 cups salt
  • 0.25 cups baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons magnesium carbonate
  • 1 tablespoon sodium perborate
  • 15 drops peppermint oil

    Directions: add peppermint oil after thoroughly mixing ingredients

    Source: The Formula Manual, 4th Edition, by Stark Research Associates (Andrews & McMeel, Inc., 1974

 

Saunders' Dentifrice

  • 2 ounces prepared chalk
  • 1 ounce cuttle fish bone
  • 1 ounce orris
  • 10 grains sulphate of Quinine

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Simple Tooth Powder

 

Soda-and-Spice Tooth Powder

 

Soda-Salt Tooth Powder

  • 3 parts baking soda
  • 1 part salt

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Options: flavor with several drops of oil of wintergreen or peppermint

    Source: Down Home Ways, by Jerry M. Johnson (Times Books, 1978); http://www.mizar5.com/toothpst.htm; "Pennywise Tooth Cleansers" by Thomas W. King, The Mother Earth News, January/February, 1975

 

Soda-Salt Tooth Powder

  • 1 part baking soda
  • 1 part salt

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Options: use kelp in place of the salt; flavor or scent with powdered herbs or essential oils (after adding one drop per ounce of tooth powder and letting mixture set, press through a strainer) such as myrrh oil, cinnamon oil, wintergreen, birch, rosemary, or basil.

    Source: The Natural Formula Book for Home and Yard, edited by Dan Wallace (Rodale Press, 1982); Herbs & Things (Jeanne Rose's Herbal), by Jeanne Rose (Grosset & Dunlap, 1977)

 

Sugar Tooth Powder

  • 120 parts sugar
  • 10 parts alum
  • 20 parts cream of tarter
  • 3 parts cochineal

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Superwhite Tooth Powder

  • 2 tablespoons dried lemon or orange rind (peels)
  • 0.25 cups baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons salt

    Directions: grind rinds to a fine powder using a food processor; thoroughly mix in baking soda and salt.

Source: Cheaper & Better: Homemade Alternatives to Storebought Goods, by Nancy Birnes (Harper & Row, Publishers, 1987)

 

Sweet-Soda Tooth Powder

 

Violet Tooth Powder

  • 1 pound precipitated chalk
  • 4 ounces florentine orris
  • 1.5 ounces sugar
  • 1 ounce white castile soap
  • 0.25 ounces extract of violet
  • Sufficient amount of evergreen coloring

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

    Options: This popular product was also manufactured without the soap ingredient

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

 

Violet Tooth Powder

  • 12 ounces precipitated chalk
  • 4 ounces cuttle-fish bone
  • 2 ounces Orris root
  • 0.5 ounces bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 dram essence of violets
  • Color to pale violet with pure percyanide of iron and crimson lake, or rose pink

Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: http://www.herbdatanz.com/dentifrice.htm, from Henry Beasley's 1872 Druggist's General Receipt Book

 

Vodka-Soda Tooth Powder

  • 2 tablespoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vodka
  • 0.25 teaspoons sea salt
  • 2 drops each of oregano oil, wintergreen, and peppermint

    Directions: mix together thoroughly

    Source: http://www.mizar5.com/homemade.html

 

White Wintergreen Tooth Powder (most popular dentifrice, circa 1940)

  • 1 pound precipitated chalk
  • 2 ounces florentine orris
  • 1 ounce white castile soap
  • 1 ounce sugar (or 2 grains saccharine)
  • 0.25 ounces oil of wintergreen

    Directions: thoroughly mix ingredients

Source: Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

_________________________

For additional tooth powder formulas, consult:

  • Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes, and Trade Secrets, edited by Gardner D. Hiscox (Norman W. Henley Publishing Company, 1942)

     

 

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