Do you need toothpaste when brushing your teeth? what things, if any, do they add to the brushing experience?

You can use baking soda as an abrasive but tooth paste contains stannous fluoride 0.454% and 0. 15% w/v fluoride ion. These ingredients help to prevent/reduce cavities, plaque, gingivitis, tooth sensitivity, and enamel erosion. Also surface tooth density can be rebuilt. Now rush to brush with toothpaste for a healthy experience.

Tooth paste contains mild abrasives and detergent that facilitate cleaning. For info: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/toothpaste#:~:text=Toothpastes%20generally%20contain%20the%20following%20components%3A&text=Water%20(20%E2%80%9340%25)&text=Abrasives%20(50%25)%20including%20aluminum,calcium%20carbonate%2C%20silica%20and%20hydroxyapatite&text=Fluoride%20(usually%201450%20ppm)%20main

Some people brush their teeth with salt or baking soda powder which can clean the teeth but there is no fluoride for teeth' enamel and you do not have a favorable breath after.

Depending non the formulation, t'paste contain fluoride (great), mild abrasives and detergents toad cleaning (good), whiteners (usually stronger abrasives--not very good), and other active ingredients. Don't depend on t'paste and/or mouth washes. Teeth get clean when you 1) use soft t'brush to brush 2 full minutes BY THE CLOCK 2x/day w pea-sized portion of t'paste and 2) FLOSS 1 time daily.