Evolution built our teeth to be strong – to last us through our lifetime. And for most of our evolutionary history, they did just that.

Dentists, toothbrushes, toothpaste, fluoride and most of the techniques we rely on to preserve our teeth in the modern era obviously are just the blink of an eye in our evolutionary history. So what was it that enabled our teeth to remain strong in our evolutionary past? Why is it that we need to rely so heavily upon dentists and modern dental hygiene now?

As always, CHEK Faculty Member Jo Rushton has the answers and she shares them with me – along with 5 really simple (and inexpensive!) techniques to improve your dental health – in this interview.

For an easy, homemade toothpaste recipe, try this:

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 3 tbsp of baking soda
  • 10 drops of Peppermint Oil
  • 3-4 drops of Stevia to taste

Directions:
Mix the room temperature coconut oil, baking soda, peppermint oil and stevia. Once it is well mixed put into a small glass jar with a lid. Use about a teaspoon or so to brush your teeth as usual.

(Taken from PrimalDocs.com and recommended by the Weston A. Price Foundation.)

A couple of notes: 1) Of course, always use organic ingredients! 2) there’s really no reason to use the Stevia. It’s for for taste, so if the toothpaste is palatable without it, drop it.