Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 62

Thread: What's the best alternative toothpaste you can get in the wild?

  1. #1

    Default What's the best alternative toothpaste you can get in the wild?

    I'm planning to live in the wild for a year but I'm concern with my teeth... I'm thinking of "What's the best toothpaste you can get in the wild?"

    Which I could use 3 times a day in a year.

    meaning..... LONG TERM USAGE
    Last edited by alawsareps; 09-21-2015 at 10:43 PM.


  2. #2
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    SE/SW Wisconsin
    Posts
    26,866

    Default

    That's it?.....Tooth paste?....Got everything else covered?
    Interesting.

    Anyway, cut a pencil size shoot from a willow bush.... make a brush out of one end, a go for it.
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
    Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27

  3. #3

    Default

    I said tooth paste, not brush.

  4. #4
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    SE/SW Wisconsin
    Posts
    26,866

    Default

    The willow sap will clean your teeth.
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
    Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27

  5. #5
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    Knowing what part of the world you are going on this grand adventure would be helpful. We don't know if we should give you advice on a jungle in the Philippines or a boreal forest in Canada.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  6. #6

    Default

    Take it with you. For a year, 6 tubes oughta do you.

    Most "natural" toothpastes are nothing more than a little grit in a binder. It makes short work of getting the soft tartar off your teeth. If you are looking for flouride protection you have to bring it with you. If you are looking to keep your teeth clean, as Hunter63 said, use a willow brush and make sure you get rid of all that soft tartar. Don't let it build up, especially along the gum line or you'll get hard tartar scale and that's the stuff that causes cavities. Bacterial buildup in the soft tartar will also mess iwth your gums. Do you have a dental patch kit in your gear? Are you going to be so far from civilization that you can't get out to treat an emergency?

    <Not a dentist.
    If we are to have another contest in…our national existence I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's, but between patriotism & intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition & ignorance on the other…
    ~ President Ulysses S. Grant

  7. #7
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    KY bluegrass region-the center of the universe
    Posts
    10,360

    Default

    Too many people watching Nat-Geo again! Folks, Mick Dodge does not exist! And the Live Free or Die crew was recruited from the University of North Carolina theatre department.

    Don't worry about the toothpaste, if you are planning on living in a hole in the ground under a tarp you're going to die before all your teeth fall out anyway.

    Unless your face is on a wanted poster down at the post office there is no reason one should not go to town for supplies when necessary, like all the other folks that live in the remote areas.

    Most of the people "living in the wilderness" carry supplies in a ton at a time and rely on extra deliveries throughout the year. They use regular toothpaste just like everyone else.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  8. #8
    Alaska, The Madness! 1stimestar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Little cabin in the woods, middle of Alaska.
    Posts
    5,248

    Default

    This is just ONE shopping trip I did for my friends in the bush.
    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
    Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.

    Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country

    "Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough

    Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!

  9. #9

    Default

    I would suggest grinding Humming Bird teeth and using carpenter ant saliva as a binder

  10. #10
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    North, sometimes South of Sane
    Posts
    75

    Default

    He asked..."What's the best alternative toothpaste you can get in the wild?"

    Forget the paste stuff. In the days BC (Before Colgate), people did what Hunter mentioned, the twig.

    Here's a little more on that. http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/sur...othbrush-field

    Tuft Of Pine Needles
    You might be somewhere without your toothpaste, but if pine is nearby -- at least you have a toothbrush. Grab a tuft of pine needles, and give your teeth a good scrubbing. The needles leave your breath piney fresh, and if you chew them a little, you’ll also be getting a few milligrams of Vitamin C. Just skip the Loblolly Pine in the American Southeast, and the Ponderosa Pine in the American Southwest, as these two species have some toxicity.

    Pounded Hardwood Twig
    The Native Americans in my home state of Virginia were well documented in their historic use of pounded hardwood twigs as tooth brushes. Dogwood, Oak and Maple were just a few of the non-toxic hardwood varieties in use 300 to 400 years ago. These twig toothbrushes were so common in fact, that they were widely used among the colonists and slaves of Virginia.

    To make a twig toothbrush, simply cut a green twig about the diameter of a pencil and just as long. Pound the end of the twig with a clean, smooth rock. Then chew this end for a minute to moisten and soften the bristles; and finally, brush away.

    You can even bend the end of the twig at a 90 degree angle to get the backs of your teeth as well, which is a trick you cannot do with the pine needles.

    Make sure you skip potentially poisonous twigs like Mountain Laurel, Rhododendron, Black Locust, Yew, Buckeye and Horse chestnut. It wouldn’t hurt to know what those trees and shrubs look like anyway, to avoid them all for food use, cooking uses and even firewood.
    You can ditch the toothpaste in the woods because certain woods have different antibacterial properties, and in many ways are better for you than commercial paste. Google "twigs for toothbrush" to learn more.

    https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...brush&start=10

    Good luck to you!
    Genius is making a way out of no way.

  11. #11
    Senior Member Wise Old Owl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Paoli, PA
    Posts
    1,183

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kyratshooter View Post
    Too many people watching Nat-Geo again! Folks, Mick Dodge does not exist! And the Live Free or Die crew was recruited from the University of North Carolina theatre department.

    Don't worry about the toothpaste, if you are planning on living in a hole in the ground under a tarp you're going to die before all your teeth fall out anyway.

    Unless your face is on a wanted poster down at the post office there is no reason one should not go to town for supplies when necessary, like all the other folks that live in the remote areas.

    Most of the people "living in the wilderness" carry supplies in a ton at a time and rely on extra deliveries throughout the year. They use regular toothpaste just like everyone else.

    Damn I was so into Mick...You just ruined my weekend.... Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
    “There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

    Theodore Roosevelt 1907

  12. #12
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    SE/SW Wisconsin
    Posts
    26,866

    Default

    Still use the "twig"....kinda like the twig, ...but running outa teeth.....something about chewing on the twig.

    I still like to see the plans and supplies for a year in the wilderness in addition to the tooth paste.........
    Looking like a another "drive by"....ask a question, the argue with the answer......
    Wot up....??????
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
    Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27

  13. #13
    Senior Member natertot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    SW Ohio
    Posts
    4,004

    Default

    First of all, can we get a little more info? What part of the world/country are you talking about? Age, sex and skill level would also help us help you.

    Second of all, the primitive method is like hunter said, and it does work in my experience for short trips (1 week or less). I have also simply used a rag over the finger tip. Once again, short trips. Long term, I cannot help you.

    Third of all, I agree with the toothpaste idea. It is good stuff and I typically bring the travel size on short trips, unless I forget it. Then I revert back to the twig or the rag.

    @1st: Even the Alaskan Bush depends on Sam's? Man, can't get away from any form of Wally World anywhere!!!!!!
    ”There's nothing glorious in dying. Anyone can do it.” ~Johnny Rotten

  14. #14
    Alaska, The Madness! 1stimestar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Little cabin in the woods, middle of Alaska.
    Posts
    5,248

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by natertot View Post
    First of all, can we get a little more info? What part of the world/country are you talking about? Age, sex and skill level would also help us help you.

    Second of all, the primitive method is like hunter said, and it does work in my experience for short trips (1 week or less). I have also simply used a rag over the finger tip. Once again, short trips. Long term, I cannot help you.

    Third of all, I agree with the toothpaste idea. It is good stuff and I typically bring the travel size on short trips, unless I forget it. Then I revert back to the twig or the rag.

    @1st: Even the Alaskan Bush depends on Sam's? Man, can't get away from any form of Wally World anywhere!!!!!!
    Lol they could and they have. They just chose not to any more because they don't need to.
    Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.

    Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country

    "Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough

    Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!

  15. #15
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    KY bluegrass region-the center of the universe
    Posts
    10,360

    Default

    Hey!!!

    I don't see any Little Debbies on that cart, nor HO-HOs or Twinkies. Not even a Snowball!

    How can they live in the bush without Twinkies?
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  16. #16
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    tip of the mitt
    Posts
    5,258

    Default

    I use baking powder and a teeth brush, y'all can use a tooth brush but I have more than one tooth to brush LOL

    Many years ago I read a editorial in TMEN about using soap as a tooth cleanser, yuk. Yesterday I was researching another subject and came across another Dr. recommending soap. Something about biofilm.
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

  17. #17
    Alaska, The Madness! 1stimestar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Little cabin in the woods, middle of Alaska.
    Posts
    5,248

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kyratshooter View Post
    Hey!!!

    I don't see any Little Debbies on that cart, nor HO-HOs or Twinkies. Not even a Snowball!

    How can they live in the bush without Twinkies?
    I did another similarly sized load two days later. They had some planes coming in to pick up clients and had empty inbound space. THAT'S where the good stuff was.
    Why do I live in Alaska? Because I can.

    Alaska, the Madness! Bloggity Stories of the North Country

    "Building Codes, Alaskans don't need no stinking Building Codes." Sourdough

    Yes, I have wifi in my outhouse!

  18. #18
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Texas, but travel widely
    Posts
    1,077

    Default

    Baking soda not powder (sodium bicarbonate) not much of it once a day works well. The most important thing is to avoid sugars. A friend of my parents was a dentist who traveled from indigenous village to village working on primitive people's teeth. He said that in areas where sugar cane had not been introduced the people had excellent teeth (no regular access to tooth paste or manufacturered brushes which were exotic luxury items). But when cane, candy and liquor were introduced there dental health deterioration dramatically. One indigenous man I personally knew died of an absessed tooth when there was no outside heath provider there. Don't be "that guy".

    Many antiseptic and/or anti bacterial plant oils work well. Depends on where you are going. Sea salt may work. Neem oil or just the stick from plant is OK, coconut oil, long list of plants and minerals. Some primitive people just use sand or fire place ash but that can give you mouth ulcers and bacteria.
    Last edited by TXyakr; 09-21-2015 at 03:47 PM.

  19. #19
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    tip of the mitt
    Posts
    5,258

    Default

    Actually I meant baking soda, in my area it is typically from arm and hammer.
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

  20. #20

    Default

    Not enough cat food. Definitely not enough cat food....
    If we are to have another contest in…our national existence I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's, but between patriotism & intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition & ignorance on the other…
    ~ President Ulysses S. Grant

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •