Three Natural Ingredients for Teeth
Taking charge of our own oral health has been an action step for many in recent months. Thankfully we have the help of natural ingredients from our earth. While there are a variety of choices, the following ingredients have a special place in an oral care routine.
Calcium & Salt
Calcium is the most abundant mineral found in tooth enamel. This ingredient massively benefits teeth because it can actually be taken up into enamel in a process known as remineralization. This works because calcium has an alkalizing pH, which is the opposite of an acidic pH. Acids erode enamel, whereas an alkalizing environment strengthens enamel. Salt is a workhorse when paired with calcium! This ingredient makes us salivate, providing a mode of liquid transportation for calcium to bathe our teeth and do its work. Additionally, salt is known for its natural soothing and purifying properties.
The Smithsonian museum documents a rich history of tooth brushing products made with calcium and sometimes plant oils from the past couple of centuries.
Bentonite Clay
This ingredient is a well-known multi-purpose remedy that’s been used for thousands of years, formed from aged volcanic ash. As a tooth brushing ingredient, it has a powerful scrubbing ability. At the same time, it encourages tooth enamel remineralization by providing a rich and naturally occurring earthderived spectrum of minerals. Bentonite clay has a high pH that alkalizes the mouth. Bentonite clay has a negative charge, which helps it to adsorb, or “grab on,” to positively charged particles, such as debris and toxins in the mouth. This means that if bentonite clay is an ingredient in your tooth brushing product, then debris and toxins are carried out with the clay when you spit!
Soap
Many people don’t realize that there is a difference between commonly used synthetic detergent soaps, and a true natural soap. Evidence shows that natural soaps have been made and used since at least 2800 BC in ancient Babylon. Soap is made from a mixture of water, oil, and an alkaline substance such as ashes from the burning of plant matter. Similar to bentonite clay, natural soaps grab on to debris and toxin particles and carries them out when the soap is rinsed off or spit out. It is also high in pH and alkalizing. Soap is unique as a brushing ingredient because it is completely smooth in texture. This is ideal for anyone who would like a completely nonabrasive cleansing brushing experience. One important characteristic to note however is that soap based brushing products may have a strong soapy taste!
Which ingredient is best?
These ingredients are equally helpful and interchangeable in a tooth brushing product. Calcium, salt, bentonite clay, and soap alkalize and neutralize enamel damaging acids. They all promote remineralization because an alkaline environment is ideal and necessary for the tooth enamel to take up minerals and improve hardness. Finally, all of these ingredients are purifying, through their unique cleaning abilities.
Ingredients in Three Fine Brushing Products from Uncle Harry’s:
- Calcium & Salt: Tooth Powder (very high percentage calcium) and Toothpastes
- Bentonite Clay: Toothpastes (high percentage bentonite clay)
- Soap: Tooth Suds (a soap based product with added minerals)
Sarah Adams is the Customer Care Supervisor at Uncle Harry's Natural Products. She is passionate about preventative health from a holistic standpoint that supports the mind, body, spirit, and earth.






