If you could choose one ingredient to use on your teeth for the rest of your life, which ingredient would it be?
Most people that are familiar with natural healing might think that baking soda is the answer to that question, and while it is true that baking soda does remove tartar and plaque and has antibacterial properties, there is another substance that does these same things as well: coconut oil.

Whichever you choose, you can do everything that you need to keep your teeth healthy with either of these single ingredients. Let’s explore both of them and find out why they are so good at maintaining your dental health.
Replacing Your Toothpaste with Baking Soda
Baking soda can be found in almost every kitchen cupboard around the world, as well as in most refrigerators since it is terrific at keeping things fresh.
Baking soda is extremely inexpensive and can be used safely for teeth for as long as you want to use it. One of the benefits that baking soda provides to the mouth is the balance of acidity, because when acidity levels are out of balance, oral health suffers. But besides that, baking soda offers the following benefits for your oral health.
Halitosis: Halitosis is caused by leftover foods that produce acids like proteins or sugars that get stuck on and in your teeth, and baking soda reduces that acidity.
Gum disease:Because baking soda removes plaque and keeps it from forming, it can prevent gum disease and help keep your teeth healthy.
Remove Tartar: Baking soda is good at removing plaque, which is the sticky film that you often try to brush from your teeth, as well as tartar, which is what the sticky film becomes after it has hardened.
Heal Mouth Ulcers: Sores inside your mouth can be painful and since you are always irritating them with food and drink, they can take more time to heal than other sores. Baking soda helps to heal these sores and ease the pain when you use it as a mouth rinse.
Prevent Infection: Finally, since baking soda has antibacterial properties, it can prevent painful infections and abscesses in the gums and teeth.
Replacing Your Toothpaste with Coconut Oil
The other one ingredient that you could completely replace your toothpaste with is coconut oil. There are several benefits to this marvelous substance that might make you want to throw out your toothpaste as soon as possible.
No Harmful Ingredients: Toothpastes have all kinds of different ingredients and some of them are potentially harmful. For example, triclosan may make your body more resistant to antibiotics and fluoride, which is in almost every toothpaste on the market, is actually a poisonous toxic waste byproduct.
Anti-Bacterial: Coconut oil is antibacterial so you get the same benefit as baking soda when it comes to resisting infection.
Simple & Effective: Coconut oil is simple to use and effective in cleaning plaque and tartar and making your breath clean and fresh.
Sources:
http://makeyourlifehealthier.com/remove-tartar-clean-plaque-and-destroy-the-bacteria-in-the-mouth-with-just-one-ingredient/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/04/25/coconut-oil-toothpaste.aspx
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3137807/Would-clean-teeth-coconut-oil-Study-finds-ancient-Indian-technique-really-DOES-benefit-mouth-health.html