How to make your own natural home-made toothpaste

Step one. Mix the dry ingredients.

Step two. Add the mint essential oil.

Step three. Add the water slowly and stir until the mixture is fine and smooth.

I am not sure I have ever seen as much dispute as on this subject, and to cut a long story short, I still do not know whom to believe. I asked three dentists and one doctor, and the result was a two-all tie. Some argue it is essential, others that brushing and flossing are all that count. Here is how it stands, and how it went for me.

Fluoride strengthens the enamel, which is under constant attack from oral bacteria that create acid and cavities in the mouth. It is a naturally occurring mineral found in food, water and dental hygiene products, and our own bodies produce it in the form of calcium. Like any other vitamin or mineral, in large quantities it can cause neurological, reproductive and cardiovascular problems. In the quantities available to us it ought to be acceptable. The group opposed to fluoride argues that even small levels are dangerous.

What shocked me most was realising I had been brushing my teeth wrongly my whole life. For fluoride to work, the paste must not be rinsed away after brushing, exactly as they do it in films. I have never once done that — every trace of toothpaste, and I mean every trace, was always rinsed off. I was essentially in no-man’s-land: not using it properly, yet still getting a small amount, and everything was fine.

By the time I began looking into this, I had already gone two years without fluoride in my natural paste. Out of concern I tried to bring it back by buying fluoride at a pharmacy and mixing it in, but I was told that is not possible — only large pharmaceutical companies can do it, and you cannot buy it online either. If fluoride were that important, I believe it would be widely available, the way vitamin B12 is.

Fine, I will get it from the tap water, I consoled myself in front of my dentist. I can even hold the water in my mouth longer, rather like oil pulling. He simply laughed and waved it off, despite some sources online claiming you get a quarter more fluoride that way.

As things stand, we have been using natural fluoride-free toothpaste since 2014, my husband and I are both fine, and I cannot bring myself to go back to shop-bought ones. Again, with all those variables, what works for me need not work for you; this is our decision for now. For the last four years we have eaten fairly cleanly, whole foods only, without processed food, sugar, coffee or alcohol. Genetics play a large part too, so it is very much individual.

All that said, if fluoride became available at a pharmacy tomorrow, I believe I would put a small percentage into my paste.