PrimalDent — Mineral Tooth Powder

EVERY INGREDIENT, EXPLAINED

What's in the bottle

• Bentonite ClayMineral-rich mild abrasive

  INCI: Bentonite

  Bentonite is a smectite clay formed from weathered volcanic ash. Its layered aluminosilicate structure gives it a surface area roughly 50 times that of kaolin, and that structure is why a single particle does two different kinds of work.

  First, the smectite layers are mildly abrasive at the particle size we use — finer than the calcium carbonate in most toothpastes.

  Second, the surface is negatively charged — so it lifts what it loosens and holds onto it, rather than pushing it around your mouth. The clay also carries calcium, magnesium and silica in its own structure.

  Sourced in Thailand.

• Sodium BicarbonatepH neutraliser and mild abrasive

  INCI: Sodium Bicarbonate

  Sodium bicarbonate — plain baking soda, cosmetic grade — is one of the oldest and best-studied oral-care ingredients in the world. Two things make it worth the space.

  It is a buffer: it neutralises acids, which is the whole reason it has been in mouths and on kitchen shelves for a century.

  And it is mildly abrasive at the right particle size, lifting surface plaque without the harder action of the silicas used in commercial whitening pastes. The RDA — relative dentin abrasivity, the standard industry measure — of baking soda at our particle size is roughly 7, against around 100 for the average toothpaste. That is a measured number, not a claim.

  Sourcing: Mined, not synthetic.

• Ceylon CinnamonWarm note in the flavour

  INCI: Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Bark Powder

  Most of the cinnamon sold in the world is cassia (Cinnamomum cassia or C. aromaticum), a cheaper species from Vietnam and China. True cinnamon — Cinnamomum zeylanicum — grows in Sri Lanka and costs more for a reason: it carries a substantially lower coumarin load, and a different cinnamaldehyde-to-eugenol ratio.

  We use the ground bark, not an extract, at a concentration calibrated for taste — enough to feel it, not enough to overwhelm the peppermint finish.

  Present at 6.25%. A small subset of users (1–3%) experience cinnamaldehyde-related oral sensitivity; discontinue if you notice irritation.

• Peppermint Essential Oil (Steam-Distilled)Antimicrobial and clean-finish note

  INCI: Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil

  Peppermint essential oil is roughly 40% menthol, 20% menthone, and a collection of minor terpenoids including limonene and pinene. Menthol carries antimicrobial activity at low concentrations (documented against several oral pathogens) and, at the threshold we use it, delivers the clean finish that customers associate with a proper tooth product. We specifically use steam-distilled, not solvent-extracted, peppermint — solvent extraction alters the terpenoid ratio and leaves residue. Steam distillation is the traditional method and produces the most predictable oil. A minor but meaningful point: we use a peppermint rather than a spearmint. Spearmint is sweeter-tasting and more common in consumer products, but its dominant terpenoid (carvone) has weaker antimicrobial activity. The choice of peppermint is a functional one, not just a flavour one.