Did you ever think — I shouldn’t hold my breath waiting for an eco friendly mouthwash? Well, now you can breathe easy.
We’ve found eight eco friendly mouthwashes to keep your breath minty fresh without hurting the planet.
We’ve even found one tablet type mouthwash that lets you have fresh breath even when you are on the go.
Keep reading to learn more.
Top 8 Eco Friendly Mouthwashes for Fresh Breath
Minty fresh breath without all the waste — that’s what eco friendly mouthwash is all about. But with so many options out there, it can be hard to decide which formula is best for your mouth. But you can relax.
We’ve scoured the internet to find the best eco friendly mouthwash for all your oral health needs. Whether you want liquid or a tablet, heck, even if you hate mint, we’ve got a mouthwash for you.
We’ve put together this handy chart so you can see all your choices at a glance.
Still haven’t decided which mouthwash will have your breath smelling freshest? Keep reading our in depth reviews, and we’re certain you’ll find a mouthwash that has you smiling in no time at all.
OraWellness Healthy Mouth Blend — Top Pick
Specifications
Delivery Method – Liquid
- Size – 0.5 ounces
- Packaging – Glass bottle
When it comes to eco-friendly mouthwash, OraWellness Healthy Mouth Blend tops our list. The first thing you will notice when your order arrives is how much smaller the bottle is compared to traditional mouthwash bottles. That’s because just a little bit goes a long way. You only need two to three drops of this highly concentrated oil dissolved in water to create a powerful mouthwash that has your breath smelling fresh and feeling super clean.
It includes peppermint, spearmint, clove, cinnamon, myrrh, and manuka essential oils, which are all known to promote oral health. Because essential oils are super concentrated, they do need to be diluted into a carrier oil, which in this case is sweet almond oil. Not only do these powerful essential oils help detoxify your mouth to leave it feeling fresh and clean, but they also taste great too.
I think my favorite thing about the OraWellness Blend is that it can be used for more than just mouth wash. You can apply it directly to your toothbrush in place of toothpaste or add it to your floss for extra cleaning power. And if you practice oil pulling, just a few drops will bring it to the next level!
Now I know it may seem expensive at first glance, but we think it’s worth it. Think about it. When you consider how little you actually need to use, you realize it’s a much better deal than it appears. I mean, there are 450 drops per bottle. If you use just a few drops per day, one bottle will last a long time. Plus, there is a significant price drop if you purchase three bottles at once rather than one at a time.
Dr. Ginger’s Mouthwash Tablets — Budget Pick
Specifications
Delivery Method – Tablet
- Size – 0.75 ounces 60 Tablets
- Packaging – Metal tin
If you think zero waste mouthwash has to be expensive Dr. Ginger’s Mouthwash Tablets is here to prove you wrong. These budget friendly mouthwash tablets pack in powerful cleaning power to keep your breath smelling fresh without going broke.
You get 60 tablets which are enough for one month if you swish twice a day. They come in a convenient reusable metal tin and are perfect if you are on the go. The tin is small enough to keep in your bag, so you always have them on hand. Think breath mints only better.
Made with coconut oil and peppermint, a dentist formulated these tabs as a natural solution for dental health. Not only are these tabs all natural, but they also use significantly less water than traditional liquid mouthwash. I mean, duh — they’re tablets.
Using less water translates to a huge environmental impact in terms of less fuel and shipping costs making tablets a very eco-friendly delivery method.
To use them, just chew the tablet and let it dissolve with a sip of water. Swish the solution around in your mouth for two minutes and then spit. That’s all there is to it. Some people complain that it is a bit chalkier than your standard mouthwash out there. But really, for minty fresh breath on the go at a great price, we think it’s worth it.
by Humankind Mouthwash
Specifications
Delivery Method – Tablet
- Size – 60 Tablets
- Packaging – Silicone tablet holder with glass cup
We hate single use plastic, and so do the folks at by Humankind. In fact, they hate it so much they’ve created an entire line of body care products designed to cut down on plastic waste.
Designed as a subscription service, you get several choices when you order by Humankind Mouthwash for the first time. You start by selecting which flavor tablets you want. Your range of choices includes innovative flavors like ginger or your more traditional mint. And if you are uncertain which you’ll like best, you can select a sample pack.
Once you decide on your flavor, you will get to choose the color of your silicone holder. This you only need to do once. Then you will continue to use the silicone case to hold all your future refills. It also comes with a neat little glass cup to ensure you measure the proper amount of water for each tablet, so you always have the proper mix — no guesswork involved.
You drop the tablet into the measured water and watch it fizz. It’s a pretty cool reaction, and you feel like a scientist. Once your mouthwash is mixed, swish and spit like normal.
Marvis Strong Mint Mouthwash
Specifications
Delivery Method – Liquid
- Size – 120 ml
- Packaging – Glass bottle
With Marvis Strong Mint Mouthwash, your mouth feels clean without the burn. While the flavor is strong, it’s natural peppermint strong, not the chemical alcohol burn you associate with the grocery store mouthwash in the giant plastic bottle.
This liquid mouthwash is super concentrated, so you do have to dilute it in water. You use just one part mouthwash to four parts water. This is great because it minimizes both the size of the bottle and the shipping weight making it a great eco-friendly option.
Plus, it comes in a super sexy reusable glass bottle. So, this isn’t mouthwash you want to hide away in your medicine cabinet. Leave that beautiful bottle sitting next to the sink where people can see it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised what a talking point your mouthwash will become.
Lumineux Fresh Breath Mouthwash
Specifications
Delivery Method – Liquid
- Size – 16 fl ounces
- Packaging – Plastic
Luminex Fresh Breath Mouthwash is made with the highest quality naturally derived ingredients to provide you with a non-toxic formula to leave your mouth fresh and clean. Dentists designed this mouthwash to help balance the natural microbiome in your mouth.
We tend to think of all bacteria as being bad. But the truth is bacteria get a bad rep. There are many beneficial bacteria that hang out and help with our oral health. However, when we use traditional mouthwash formulas we kill off both good and bad bacteria.
But Lumiex Fresh Breath Mouthwash is different. Its gentle formula removes the bad bacteria while leaving the helpful ones behind. This encourages better oral health and fresher breath.
Dr. H. & Co. Dentist Formulated Refresh Mouthwash
Specifications
Delivery Method – Liquid
- Size – 4 Fluid ounces
- Packaging – Glass bottle
Dr. H. & Co. Dentist Formulated Refresh Mouthwash uses an all natural herbal formula guaranteed to have your breath smelling fresh and clean. Made with powerful botanical extracts, once you switch to this natural mouthwash, you’ll never go back.
Inspired by Weston A. Price’s philosophy of natural oral health, this mouthwash is formulated with a combination of herbs designed to naturally improve your oral health and your leave your breath smelling fresh and clean. Its made in small batches using peppermint, aloe, holy basil, calendula, and xylitol. Each herb is specially chosen to help balance your oral pH, prevent bacteria, and aid gum health.
Don’t let the size of the bottle deceive you. This mouthwash is extra powerful, so you only need a tiny bit to go a long way. This convenient travel size bottle contains over 30 swishes, and it’s small enough to pack in your purse.
elementa Nano Silver Mouthrinse
Specifications
Delivery Method – Liquid
- Size – 20 fluid ounces
- Packaging – Metal Bottle
elementa Nano Silver Mouthrinse helps fight cavities by remineralizing your teeth. They say dentists developed their cutting edge formula to balance your mouth’s pH and penetrate the biofilm on your teeth and help deliver bioavailable calcium.
But what does that really mean?
Let’s cut through all the dentists’ speak and use some real English here. First, let’s talk about bacteria. Harmful bacteria in your mouth create an unnaturally acidic environment that can lead to cavities. That happens because they create a biofilm, otherwise known as plaque. It’s a coating that builds up on your teeth over time. The plaque build makes it difficult for your teeth to absorb the calcium they need to stay healthy readily.
Elementa Nano Silver mouth rinse neutralizes acids to help balance the pH in your mouth. But it does more than that. Using patent-pending nano silver particles, this mouth rinse is able to break through the plaque barrier and deliver calcium directly to your enamel, where you need it.
Soon after you start using this mouth rinse, you will notice not only is your breath fresher, but your teeth are healthier. And that’s certainly something to smile about.
OraRestore Natural Bad Breath Treatment
Specifications
Delivery Method – Liquid
- Size – 0.5 Fluid ounces
- Packaging – Glass bottle
Created by a holistic dentist from California, OraRestore Natural Bad Breath Treatment is similar to the mouthwash from OraWellness. This mouthwash is a concentrated combination of peppermint, spearmint, and tea tree essential oils in a sweet almond oil base.
All you need to do to make your mouthwash is add a few drops to some water. Be careful– a little bit goes a long way, and you don’t want to mix it too strong. Once your mix is ready, swish and spit like you would with your normal mouthwash.
Just be prepared for superior results. This natural formula won’t burn or dry out your mouth like your standard grocery store mouthwash. Your mouth will feel cleaner, and your breath will stay fresh.
Eco-Friendly Mouthwash Buying Guide
Not all mouthwash is created equally. Choosing a healthy, eco-friendly mouthwash can be better for your teeth and the planet. But what actually makes one mouthwash more eco-friendly than the other?
We’ll explain the difference between the types of mouthwashes on the market, the ingredients, and the packaging to help you decide which eco-friendly toothpaste is best for you.
Liquid vs. Tablets
When we think about mouthwash, we tend to think of the blue or green liquid in a big plastic bottle from the grocery store. But most liquid mouthwash is simply water, and it’s not very eco-friendly shipping water here and there across the country.
Many of the liquid mouthwashes we reviewed are super concentrated. You add the water at your home to dilute the formula. I mean, check out how small the bottle of OraWellness Healthy Mouthwash is. This drastically cuts down on shipping weight, and the amount of gas used to bring your mouthwash to you. Yeah, for reducing our carbon footprint!
But some companies have taken it a step further and removed all the water creating a mouthwash tablet. This even further reduces both packing and shipping costs. With the tablets, you dissolve them in water, either by chewing or measuring out an exact amount. Some people claim tablets can be a bit chalkier than traditional mouthwash. But they sure are convenient if you want fresh breath on the go!
What’s Inside
Part of being eco-friendly is using healthy natural ingredients, and that’s no different when you are looking for an eco-friendly mouthwash than when you are looking at eco-friendly toothpaste. Even if we don’t swallow these products, we certainly don’t want to be swishing nasty chemicals around in our mouths.
Just look at the ingredient list on a regular bottle of mouthwash. How many things can you not pronounce? Traditional mouthwashes rely on a whole host of chemical products to keep our mouths feeling fresh and clean (1).
“Antimicrobials in mouthrinse formulations include chlorhexidine, chlorine dioxide, cetylpyridinium chloride, and essential oils (e.g., eucalyptol, menthol, thymol, and methyl salicylate). Other agents used in mouthrinses to inhibit odor-causing compounds include zinc salts, ketone, terpene, and ionone.”
Yet the ADA says essential oils like menthol found in peppermint can be effective. So sticking with natural ingredients proven to be effective, like OraWellness’s essential oil formula, we can be sure we are choosing a more eco friendly mouthwash.
What’s Outside
But there’s more to being eco friendly than just what your mouthwash is made of. If you want to be zero-waste in your bathroom, you need to look at the packaging materials as well. Just like you choose the best bamboo toothbrush to eliminate waste in the landfill, you can look for packing options for your mouthwash that don’t use single waste plastics.
Reusable glass bottles or metal tins like the one Dr. Ginger’s Mouthwash tablets come in help cut down on waste. Also, by choosing a more concentrated formula with less water, you will also create less packaging and shipping weight. And while it may not seem like a lot, every little step we take help makes the world a cleaner place.
References
- Mouthrinse (Mouthwash). Retrieved from https://www.ada.org/resources/research/science-and-research-institute/oral-health-topics/mouthrinse-mouthwash#:~:text=Antimicrobials%20in%20mouthrinse%20formulations%20include,ketone%2C%20terpene%2C%20and%20ionone.
Rachael and her husband arrived on Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua in 2011. There they founded El Jardin de la Vida, a tropical micro food forest, focusing on Sustainable Living Education. She teaches others to build with natural materials, live off-grid, and appreciate slow food.