DIY Mouthwash: How Baking Soda Makes a Kid-Safe Cavity-Fighting Mouth Rinse Dental Health

Caring for children’s teeth has always been a debate; whether the fight be between parents and their children at bedtime, dentists and the medical community about fluoride, or the questionable effects of certain medications on long-term teeth and gum health, there has always been an adversarial questioning relating to children’s oral hygiene. To make matters even more confusing, a growing number of products appear on the market that promise parents to provide their children with “healthy” oral hygiene care.

With a growing concern about the ingredients in children’s products, it only makes sense that mouthwashes, rinses and swishes should come under careful scrutiny. Parents are often faced with choosing a fluoride-containing or fluoride-free mouth rinse while also trying to take into consideration taste and effective oral hygiene–promoting ingredients. All these choices can make the selection of kid-safe mouth rinses dizzying.

Widely accepted information shows that childhood dental hygiene plays a major role in overall health and development throughout life, so it’s no wonder that the selection of oral hygiene products for children cause major concern for parents.

While the manufacturers of child-focused oral hygiene products have the market flooded with products that appeal with cartoon characters, “all-natural” labels and claims of being free of harmful ingredients, the majority of these products contain questionable ingredients or have a taste that’s undesirable to children.

By creating your own baking soda-based rinse, any parent can have their child utilize the cleansing powers of one of the most effective all-natural ingredients. With no concern for the adverse effects that can result from the questionable ingredients contained in store-bought mouthwashes, 1 tablespoon of baking soda can be dissolved in 1/4 cup of lukewarm water to create a safe mouth rinse that not only naturally combats bacteria and fights plaque buildup but also promotes proper pH and is still palatable for the little ones in your life.

Excerpted from "Baking Soda for Health" by Britt Brandon Copyright © 2018 Adams Media, a division of Simon and Schuster. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.