Category: Toothpaste (Page 3 of 8)

I got a new tube of Biotene, my regular brand of toothpaste. It said “new and improved” on the box. When I took it out, I noticed they changed the cap. It used to be a flip cap, but now it’s a screw-off lid. Dang. When I started brushing my teeth, I tasted the dull metallic flavor of sodium saccharin. Double Dang. I had already thrown the box away, so I couldn’t read it. Since I was in the store yesterday, I checked. Sure enough, there it was:

AND sucralose? Are they trying to kill me?

Biotene was my go-to toothpaste, dang it. Now I can never use it again. Artificial sweeteners leave a bitter/metallic taste in my mouth long after I’ve used them. Fortunately, I have a couple other toothpastes to turn to.

Tom’s to the rescue!

I found a new toothpaste to try! The brand is called “The Natural Dentist”. And it’s orange flavor! Being a fan of orange-flavored toothpaste, I had to get it.

My requirements for toothpaste are: no sodium saccharin, it must have fluoride, and I must like the taste.

This toothpaste has no sodium saccharin. It does have fluoride. I do like the taste. It’s a winner! But I’m sorry, Natural Dentist people, I like the taste of Burt’s Bees Orange Wow better. But I will certainly enjoy using this tube of toothpaste until it is gone.

Here’s something interesting about “natural” toothpastes: they often do not have sodium lauryl sulfate in them. I personally don’t have anything against it, but I guess I understand why some people would – it’s an ingredient in soap and shampoo. And I guess it’s a chemical. I don’t have any problems with chemicals. Sodium lauryl sulfate makes things foamy, so if it is missing, toothpaste doesn’t foam. It feels a little weird, and if I were honest, I guess I’d have to say I miss it. But it’s worth not having foam if that means no weird aftertaste from sodium saccharin…

I haven’t finished my previous tube of toothpaste, but I was too excited to wait: I found Burt’s Bees toothpaste in the grocery store! From my searches online, I was expecting it to be more than $10 per tube, but it was less than $6. AND they had a kids formulation that was orange flavored. Mmm… orange…

At first, brushing with this toothpaste worried me because it’s really thick. It was like putting silicone sealant in my mouth. But after a few strokes of the toothbrush, the toothpaste dissolved. It is delicious! It is the best fruit flavored toothpaste I’ve ever tasted! Yum!

I declare Burt’s Bees Kids Orange Wow toothpaste a winner and give it an unreserved bradaptation recommendation. It tastes great, it doesn’t have sodium saccharin, it does have fluoride, and it doesn’t cost $10 per tube. It even has sparkles!

It’s been a long time since I tried a new toothpaste. My last three or four tubes of toothpaste have been Biotene. I like it. It works. No problem.

But then I saw a new Tom’s of Maine flavor called “Wicked Fresh”. How could I not buy it? My difficulty with Tom’s of Maine paste is that it has kind of a weak flavor. The gel formulations are stronger, but I never see them in stores. So when I saw a formula that was specifically made to be stronger-tasting, I was excited. When I saw it was peppermint, I was less excited. It’s not my favorite.

The toothpaste is good. It is very strong-tasting. It foams well. And it has fluoride. I won’t stop using it (as I have some other test subjects). But once it’s gone, I think I’ll go back to Biotene. Unless I find something else in the meantime.

I’ve had sore gums for a week or so. It hasn’t helped that I keep burning the roof of my mouth either. I thought maybe if I swished with some mouthwash before bed, that might help speed the healing along.

But there’s a problem: all mouthwashes seemed to contain sodium saccharin. Sodium saccharin is my bitter enemy. Any toothpaste containing this ingredient will leave my mouth feeling gummy, sticky, metallic-sweet. And, I’ve found out by experience, so will any mouthwash containing this ingredient. I went looking at the drug store anyway, hoping that there might be at least one mouthwash that did not contain sodium saccharin.

I found one! But it was yellow Listerine. I’d heard all kinds of bad things about yellow Listerine about it tasting terrible and medicine-like. I got it anyway. Guess what? It’s AWESOME! Yes, it has the horrible burniness of regular mouthwashes, but once you spit it out, there is no taste at all. AND no gummy, sticky, metallic-sweet flavor. Cool! I LOVE yellow Listerine. Thank you for leaving out the sodium saccharin, Listerine people!

And my gums feel much better, thank you.