Replacement for Hello Sensitivity Relief Toothpaste?

December 30, 2022 4:49 PM

I finally found my holy grail toothpaste and it's being discontinued :( Help me find a replacement please? Picky criteria below the fold.

I switched to Hello Sensitivity Relief Toothpaste a few years ago based on my doctor's recommendation, after I mentioned offhand during a physical that I was using Sensodyne Pronamel but it tended to get foamy (which makes me gag). It's amazing but now it's being discontinued, woe is me.

Reasons why I love this toothpaste:
- It has a *light* mint flavor. I don't like sweet flavors, nor sharp/strong mint flavors. I prefer a very neutral and forgettable toothpaste that has just enough fragrance/flavor to cover up the natural taste of the active ingredients.
- It doesn't foam up, whether after air travel or after sitting in a tube for 6 months at my parents' house or after coming in contact with water in my mouth. My gag reflex is ridiculous and yes, can be reliably triggered by foamy toothpaste. Or just gross-tasting toothpaste (I couldn't tolerate a prescription toothpaste for this reason, it made me gag every single time).
- It still works for my sensitive teeth, although after recent dental procedures my teeth have become less fussy so I may not need something specifically for sensitivity relief.

I don't really care about the vegan, no-whatever-chemicals, or other aspects of this toothpaste, although maybe the alternative ingredients are what lead to the things that I love about it.

If anyone else has used this toothpaste or has similar criteria, can you suggest a replacement please? Any brand and cost (within reason) isn't an issue.

posted by serelliya to Shopping (10 answers total)

Give children's toothpaste a try. The flavors are mild and they are less foamy so children don't choke on detergent. They're not going to do the sensitivity thing, they've only got the fluoride, but it's where I've finally landed after years of being disappointed by toothpastes. I like the crest strawberry and the act grape.
posted by phunniemee at 5:08 PM on December 30, 2022

I prefer the mild mint flavors as well, but I don't seek out the sensitive versions. I like Hello's Naturally Whitening Fresh Mint flavor. It's not too strong. I'm also a fan of Jason's Sea Fresh toothpaste. And lastly, the generic peppermint toothpaste from Trader Joe's (which is quite similar to what I remember of Tom's of Maine) is actually my favorite for a lack of strong flavor.

I don't feel like any of these foam up, but it's not something I pay attention to. They're all on the paste side rather than a gel.
posted by hydra77 at 5:23 PM on December 30, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I think foaming is from sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS); Hello skips that ingredient, so you might try a different mint toothpaste in the line. An SLS-free, mild mint-flavored, sensitive-mouth toothpaste with fluoride, by CloSYS.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:41 PM on December 30, 2022 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I use the Hello "Gum Nourishment Flouride" toothpaste, and I would describe it exactly like your bullet points. I don't know what is different between that and the one they're discontinuing, but I like the one I'm using and I have sensitive teeth too.
posted by brainmouse at 5:57 PM on December 30, 2022 [1 favorite]

I sort of hate suggesting this because it is 1) expensive and 2) has to be ordered from outside the country, but I have very similar toothpaste needs and my holy grail toothpaste is BioMin F.

I avoid foamy toothpastes because I feel like the super foamy ones make me more prone to canker sores and I also do not like strong mint flavors. This one foams mildly and hasn't exacerbated the canker sore issue; the mint flavor is fairly mild; and it's completely solved my sensitivity issues. There is a version available in the US but it doesn't have fluoride; I tend to order 6 tubes at a time from their Australian website instead.

Before I had sensitivity, I used Tom's of Maine with fluoride and also found it to be not too foamy or minty. So if you find you no longer have sensitivity issues that might be an easier option to try.
posted by sparkling at 6:06 PM on December 30, 2022 [2 favorites]

If you're open to using tablets, I've fallen in love with Huppy peppermint tabs, which are very mild in flavor and barely foam up. They also have a watermelon strawberry flavor.
posted by mezzanayne at 7:03 PM on December 30, 2022

Tom's of Maine Wicked Cool is a "mild mint" toothpaste intended for kids. I have used it and found the taste very mild and not unpleasant in any way. I see some reviews saying it foams less than other toothpastes but I can't recall how foamy I thought it was. It isn't intended for sensitive teeth and it does have sodium lauryl sulfate, which causes foaming.

Sensodyne Pronamel does not have SLS but some other Sensodyne toothpastes do. I wonder if it's possible it was a different type of Sensodyne that was too foamy for you. If you're not absolutely sure it was Pronamel you tried, you might want to get some of that and try it. I use it and wouldn't have said it was foamy, but I don't think I'm really sensitive to that. Different Pronamel toothpastes have different flavors and I find some of them slightly unpleasant but none of them are really strong. (I think the flavor I like best is the one just called "Mint," not "Clean Mint" or "Alpine Breeze.")
posted by Redstart at 7:15 PM on December 30, 2022

Response by poster: Thanks for all of these recs! I'll try out the Gum Nourishment Fluoride option from Hello first, but if that doesn't work out I've got a list to work down.

To Redstart's question: I'm sure it was the Pronamel that I used for years previously. A new tube doesn't foam too much, but it seems like the formula is affected by altitude changes as well as extended oxygen exposure/disuse, because all of my attempts to travel with it (including buying a full size tube at the final destination and leaving it there for next time, which only worked when the tube was fresh) caused foaming. Flavor-wise, the mint was on the stronger side of my preference but far more tolerable than the periodic foaming issue.
posted by serelliya at 7:43 PM on December 30, 2022

I use Tom's of Maine's toothpastes for similar gagging reasons--no foam, no strong taste, no artificial sweeteners. Their main sensitive toothpaste seems to be fluoride-free. I only use fluorided ones because of past cavity issues, but if you're not worried about that, it might be an option.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:32 AM on December 31, 2022

So this is a super expensive option because it uses n-HA rather than fluoride but it is non-foaming, for sensitive teeth and is not mint flavoured at all, but u have tried this BOKA toothpaste recently and it seems good.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:58 AM on December 31, 2022