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This homemade natural mouthwash will help fight cavities and leave you with fresh breath! It’s easy to make and much healthier than using a chemical based mouthwash.
One product that I don’t like to see sitting on my family’s bathroom shelf is the big bottle of green colored mouthwash. Yuck! Many think these mouthwashes are beneficial to fight cavities, but they actually cause more harm!
Luckily, you can easily make your own homemade natural mouthwash simply with a few ingredients that are truly good for your teeth! This homemade mouthwash fights bacteria and leaves your breath minty fresh without all the toxins! Plus, this recipe is really inexpensive to make!
I made one for my family to use and tossed their toxic one. But, I don’t think they’re going to be upset with me, because I’m sure they will love it and will keep using it!
What’s harmful about store bought mouthwash
When I was researching about how harmful many types of mouthwash are, I found one site that said that if your dentist recommends using mouthwash, you need to ask him if he even knows what’s in that stuff! Good point!
Most popular mouthwash brands you find at the store contain several toxic ingredients including hexetidine, and methyl salicylate. There’s also other ingredients that are of concern including synthetic colors and sugars such as green number 3 and sucralose. Due to these harmful ingredients, most mouthwashes are listed as a moderate to high hazard and unfortunately, the chemicals are easily absorbed by your body.
Benefits of Using this Homemade Natural Mouthwash
1. Freshens Breath – One of the main reasons I like to use this homemade natural mouthwash is because it leaves my breath minty fresh! If I don’t have time to brush my teeth or even just want that nice clean feeling after I brush, this is a great option. All you do is take a teaspoon of this recipe, swish it in your mouth and you’re set to go! It’s easy, if you have no time and much better than grabbing one of those breath freshening mints with all those questionable ingredients.
I used peppermint in this recipe to give the minty fresh affect, but if you don’t like mint taste, you can replace it with your favorite kind of essential oil.
2. Improves Oral Health – The ingredients in this homemade natural mouthwash help fight bacteria and improve your gum health. The antibacterial and antimicrobial properties of coconut oil and peppermint essential oil help to get rid of the bad bacteria. I added a little salt to this homemade natural mouthwash recipe to increase the benefits even more because, just like when you do a salt water mouth rinse, the salt helps eliminate bacteria and also promotes healing of the gums.
3. Prevents Cavities – In addition to leaving your breath minty fresh, this homemade natural mouthwash is also great because it helps prevent cavities! I added coconut oil to this recipe to boost the antibacterial, antiviral, and antimicrobial properties. Peppermint essential oil is great in this recipe because it not only eliminates bad breath, but it helps fight off bad germs and decreases dental plaque. It has great antiseptic and ant-inflammatory properties, which is why it is often added to toothpaste recipes and mouthwashes.
How to Make the Homemade Natural Mouthwash
What you need:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2 drops peppermint essential oil (or another oil such as cinnamon, clove, or wintergreen)
- Pinch of sea salt
- Optional: add a drop or 2 of another essential oil, such as spearmint or tea tree oil
- Optional: pinch of baking soda
*Some like to add baking soda to their mouthwash, but I haven’t tried this yet.
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a container. I use a small mason jar to store mine.
2. Stir or shake well before each use to mix all the ingredients
3. Swish 1 to 2 teaspoons around in your mouth for about a minute, then spit out and rinse with water.
Your breath will be minty fresh!
My family and I just started to use your diy toothpaste recipe and I know with that recipe it is recommended to not spit into sink as the coconut oil can cause the drain to clog, would this be the same for the mouth wash?
To be extra careful, probably. I spit it out in the sink half the time. I’ve been doing it for over a few years now and haven’t had a problem. But, it’s something I wonder about too.
Thanks Lori can’t wait try it!!!
Hi, thanks for this. What can I use if I don’t want the coconut oil?
You can just leave it out 🙂
I’m a dental hygienist, and we were taught that mouth rinse is really an unnecessary step in oral hygiene–it makes you feel better, and most people do not want to take the time to properly floss, and then brush their teeth for two minutes twice a day. Proper flossing should form a c-shape around the tooth and go slightly under the gum line, using a new area of the floss between each tooth to prevent bacteria from spreading from one part of the mouth to another part. Please reference some resources for basic patient education and the modified bass brushing technique. There are plenty of ways to care for your oral health that do not involve fluoride or harmful chemicals, and yes, hydrogen peroxide is quite rough on oral tissues, and should only be used short term with the guidance of your dentist—healthy gum tissue does not bleed.
Can you use cold pressed coconut oil?
Yes, that’s what I use.
if the coconut oil is solid do you have to melt first??
Yes, I would melt it.
Oh is this safe if you have crowns? Thank you
I would think so, but you may want to ask your dentist just to be sure.
thank you
Can you omit the salt? Thank you.
Yes you can.
Could you use fractionated coconut oil? What is the purpose of the coconut oil? Is it safe for kids and would you recommend they do rinse afterward? Do you make it in small batches due to it not lasting a real long time?
You can. The coconut oil is antibacterial, antimicrobial. I don’t usually rinse afterwards. I make enough to last a few weeks.
I have a question what kind of essential oil are we supp to use ? Does it have to be food grade quality? I bought some peppermint essential oil and it says for eternal use only? I’m having a hard time finding food grade..thanks
I’ve been using mostly Aura Cacia. I was using young living before, but the customer service was disappointing.
We don’t find it leaves our mouth oily. Our eldest daughter likes it too.
I love this post and I’m looking forward to trying it. However, does the coconut oil leave your mouth feeling oily iif you don’t rinse.? I wouldn’t want to rinse afterwards.
It doesn’t for me..it’s a small amount so I don’t think you’d need to rinse after.
Can I ask what the baking soda is helpful for? Thanks
It’s effective for improving bad breath, helps whiten teeth, and can soothe irritated gums and help heal mouth sores/ulcers.
I’ve been using a similar recipe for years now, but I use lavender oil and myrrh because both are healthy to oral hygiene and the gums.
Those are great additions!
Well I just made your 3 ingredient DIY toothpaste, and it works. So, I’ll give this a try, but use peppermint tea in place of just water, as I love the taste of peppermint tea, and I’ll add the oil too for extra minty 🙂
I threw out my toothpastes with carrageenan today, and will use your DIY toothpaste instead 😉
So now I’m thinking, I’ll replace my mouthwash with glycerin for this DIY mouthwash 😉
Right now I have more time than funds, so I can’t replace them with store bought brands
without them nasty ingredients 😉 Who knows, maybe I’ll just stick with these 🙂
Anyhoos, glad to have found your truly healthy DIY toothpaste and mouthwash 😀
So instead of plain water, I used really good quality peppermint tea + unrefined coconut oil + peppermint oil _ baking soda _+Himalayan Pink Salt Crystals to make my DIY mouthwash using your recipe quantities. Wow, it tastes much better than I thought it would! The DIY toothpaste is ok tasting, but after rinsing my mouth with this, it’ll all be good 😀 Also after looking into glycerin a little more, and seeing it was high up on my mouthwash ingredients list, I thought today was a good to change it over 😉
So I’m gonna give a real go of your DIY toothpaste and DIY mouthwash, and just buy a really good quality toothpaste for my daybag.
So thanks for putting these out there for us to find on the interwebz 😀
So glad you’ve found the recipes helpful
I was thinking about using parsley tea (fresh parsley boiled and steeped) instead of water (since it is extremely beneficial to oral health) and adding a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide. Would you suggest using the mouthwash before or after you brush your teeth and would you suggest using it once or twice a day? Thanks☺️
That sounds great! I’ll have to try that sometime. I use mouthwash after brushing and usually do oil pulling before brushing. Probably either once or twice is good.
I’m going to use peppermint tea in place of just water.
This was very easy to make, and a fantastic natural alternative to shop bought products; thank you.
I can’t wait to try this!!!
What brand of essential oil do you use?
I’ve been using aura cacia a lot lately.
Thanks for this recipe I’m definitely going to try it for my son who is reluctant to brush his teeth because he says they get sore afterwards (even with my home-made tooth powders & oils).
I use to have tooth sensitivity if I cleaned my teeth too much when I was using conventional toothpaste products but I haven’t had much trouble since making the switch to natural pastes – so I’m puzzled by my sons sensitivity – your recipe could really help! thanks
..and just a wee word on coconut oil going hard…
It’s cold where I live so I’ll use MCT oil which is the part of coconut oil that doesn’t go hard (thats not a very good description you might want to check that it on https://www.bulletproofexec.com/what-is-mct-oil-vs-coconut-oil/ )
Sensitivity can come simply from brushing to hard…with course toothpaste it makes it much worse…I find the rotating toothbrushes that do the work for you…less likely to create sensitivity because you let the brush do the work.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing 🙂
MCT stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides and while there are MCTs in coconut oil, MCT oil in and of itself is an entirely different thing. Fractionated coconut oil remains liquid when cold and has a long shelf life. It would be more suited to this recipe.
Great recipe! Except, I would be very careful with wintergreen oil, it can be quite toxic if ingested.
Hi. I grow spearmint and peppermint. Can I use the leaves, instead of the essential oil?
well if by quite toxic you mean fatally poisonous yep, agreed. i would not be putting wintergreen in mine or my kids mouths!
i want to try this, but I am wondering if it’s okay for children.
I would think so, all the ingredients are natural.
FYI: It’s not recommended to use peppermint or eucalyptus essential oils on children under 6 years old.
Hi, I’ve been wanting to make a mouthwash but have been confused with one thing, many people just use water and essential oils or water essential oils and baking soda in their recipes but I’ve read that essential oils kinda have to be diluted with a carrier oil not just water. Is it okay to just use those recipes since its just a quick mouth wash or would it better to use a recipe that includes a carrier oil like in yours(which I really like
You can dilute it with water or oil. I dilute essential oils both ways depending on what I’m using them for. So, you can definitely leave the coconut oil out if it’s easier.
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve been looking for an alcohol free mouthwash recipe. Question…Do you have to rinse after using? I usually don’t when I use regular mouthwash. Just wondering…
I usually rinse with water.
If you rinse after using this homemade product, you’re basically using it as a breath freshener. Rinsing with water afterwards washes away whatever essential oils and coconut oil stuff you’re using to try to ‘strengthen’ your teeth. It’s better if you just spit all of it out and go to bed.
Interesting!
Could you add hydrogen peroxide to this for whitening?
Definitely!
You would not want to use hydrogen peroxide on a regular basis as it is very hard on the mouth tissue and begins to eat way at the gum line. My dentist recommended I go to a specialist for possible root canal problem…extreme pain and sensitivity and then I ran across the caution about peroxide which I had been swishing with regularly and when I stopped the pain receded and went away completely fairly soon.
Were you using food grade peroxide? Just curious because my wife works in the holistic dental field and they only reccomend peroxide based mouthwashes because of the effects of alcohol on the mouth. They even recommend using food grade peroxide itself.
Baking Soda is whitening, without the dangers…
Ole, baking soda is very abrasive to tooth enamel. If you have to use it, it helps to put it in a spice grinder or bullet-type blender to make it a finer powder.
How do you keep the coconut oil for becoming solid in the mouthwash? I’m excited to try this!
Great question! I keep mine in the warmest room in my house so it stays liquid. But, you could place the jar/container in a pot with hot water for a minute to help melt it.
Use fractionated coconut oil
Then you are missing the benefits of lauric acid…
Billie, fractionated coconut oil is usually in liquid form.
Hi Lorie – great post!
I always stay away from alcoholic mouthwash products also products that have sodium laurel sulphate which acts as an irritant for my oral care. I may give your natural mouthwash a go however I have heard positive feedback of the use of cinnamon?
Does it expire?
I keep it for about 4 days or so and after that I keep it in the fridge to make it last longer. It may last longer than that, but I’m just extra careful. 🙂
Do you use regular water? Distilled water? Thx. Really want to try this.
I use regular water (it doesn’t last as long). Distilled would also be great!
Does it have to be sea salt?
You can use any kind of salt. 🙂
Why the salt?
I so happy I found your website. Thanks for sharing all the information. Looking forward to getting a copy of your ebook :-D,
Thank you so much Melissa! 🙂
My coconut oil solidifies oncr made how do you keep it from solidifying?
You can buy liquid coconut oil, I think she used that.