"No need, Tom. But like toothpaste, if you like the taste..."

Thanks, Gary. You just saved me from wasting any more of my hard earned money.

The fringe benefit comes from not having to put up with the taste, which I don't much care for.

"Whenever I meet someone born in the early 70's named Sunshine or Starlight or Meadow, I wonder how well that worked to actually prevent conception."

now that is funny!

Edited by veganaloha on 05/02/2012 13:47:09 MDT.

Warning :
DR Bronners causes premature aging.
( see if you can spot that on the label)
Since using it I look at least 10 years older.
It works but keep this in mind.
Franco

After reading all this, I picked up a little 3oz bottle of peppermint flavor, and brushed with two drops last night.

It definitely tasted like soap, but it was easily bearable (for me) and it only lingered for 15 minutes or less. The peppermint freshness lasted much longer, which I'm a fan of.

I'd do it again.

Baking soda. Don't forget it neutralizes stings and rashes.

I'm going to try brushing with Dr. Bronner's right now....in the name of science, of course.

Wow, that is almost as bad as my girlfriends homemade mouthwash....which i used after brushing with Bronners

I use the unscented Bronners for brushing my teeth, and there's hardly any taste at all. Some of the others are pretty nasty. It takes all of about 3-4 drops, which is nothing in the backcountry. I have a small dropper bottle in my pack and use it for body and oral hygiene.

AND after reading a post online about a guy solving his sensitive teeth problem by brushing with soap and STOPPING his use of toothpaste, I gave it a shot using Bronners. I've had sensitive teeth for years and even the toothpaste for sensitive teeth doesn't seem to help much, if any. Once I stopped using toothpaste, the issue was TOTALLY gone within a couple weeks and hasn't returned. An online explanation I read had to do with the glycerine in the toothpaste that is deposited on the teeth every time you brush and prevents the calcium in your saliva from being deposited over the sensitive areas. Beats me. All I know is that nothing I've ever tried worked until I totally got rid of the toothpaste. I haven't had a single incidence of sensitive tooth pain since. All the sweets that would get stuck on the sensitive part and cause pain don't give me any problems at all now. Freakin' awesome!!!!

I've been using a drop or two of Bronner's Peppermint for years now
... as this thread goes over, this approach has its pluses and minuses. For me, the lightweight convenience overrides the inconvenience of its taste (= which I find tolerable).
Never realized that Bronner's Baby Mild is unscented without any fragrance. I got to try that out! It holds the promise of reducing the big minus of this approach. Thanks for the tip Randy!

During this NOLS lecture, the bear researcher mentions that they had discovered that the Grizzlies really loved the peppermint Bronners! Interesting.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PExlT-5VU-Y

Edited by bagboy on 01/17/2013 10:06:47 MST.

I tried it but couldn't get over the soapy taste. I think my mom made me lick too much of it as a kid. It's a gag reflex that takes me back to the unhappier times of punishment as a kid.

If you taste soap, you are using too much. I use 2-3 small drops and don't ever taste soap. The few times I have put more than that, I do taste soap.

Works for me. Little soap taste. Sensation of having a clean mouth afterward. I brush for a long time believing that mechanical action is what actually cleans teeth and disperses plaque. The toothpaste or soap or bicarb or whatever is for good luck.

Some dentists warn that bicarb of soda is too abrasive. Others are silent on this important matter.

Just to be on the safe side, I also floss (mechanical) and run a toothpick tip around all the margins of my gums (mechanical). Doing this thorough tooth drill once a day has successfully maintained the health of my teeth and gums. Doing this in the wilderness is no harder than in a modern bathroom.

I found it to taste pretty horrible.

Just after brushing my teeth with Dr. Bonner's I take out my Microspikes and flail my back until I get some blood splatter going.

(I'm doing pennance for not being a SUL backpacker.)

Why do you guys carry toothpaste backpacking? I brush without it all the time.

Interesting talk! Is he really advocating for everyone to carry bear spray anytime one is in bear country? Including all black bear country?

It's been awhile since I watched that video, but I think I recall his research being in grizzly country in Alaska. I think that was the context for most of his talk.

Oh ok, makes sense. Awesome talk though, he mentions Stephen Herreo's (sp?) book, that's a good one.

Ever read the fine print? The good doctor was off his rocker. I'm not putting any product in my mouth from that house of crazy.