The Vine: September 14, 2007
Hey Sars,
Here’s a question for Vine readers. I’m wondering if there is a neutral or unflavored toothpaste. Toothpaste flavors are, to me, so over-the-top intense and sweet that they make me gag almost every morning. Not a pleasant way to start the day, especially at 6 AM. I’m looking for a toothpaste that is very mildly flavored, not too sweet and minimal lingering after-taste if at all possible. I would like to be able to purchase it at my local grocery or drug store (I live in West Hollywood, CA) and for the price to be on par with the name brands on the shelf. I can buy online, if necessary.
Crest, Aqua-Fresh and Colgate are the worst culprits, I have tried Rembrandt and that’s better but dude, seven or eight bucks a tube? Are they kidding? Any help your readers can give is greatly appreciated.
Signed,
Do I really have to toss my cookies in order to have clean teeth?
Dear Cook,
Coincidentally, I was just telling someone at work how excited I was that Aim toothpaste is still in existence. My grandma used Aim, but we were a boring Colgate household; I liked Aim much better, because it was much lighter and the gel was prettier. The someone at work smiled fakely and then edged away from me. Weird.
Heh. Anyway: I think Aim might still be too strong for you, so I’d suggest Tom’s of Maine. Tom’s makes a wide variety of pastes; you see them in all the drugstores now, even in chains, at least here (and you live in a big enough city that it shouldn’t be a problem to find); and even the flavors I don’t really like are pretty mellow. Skyrockets got a tube of the strawberry-flavored stuff, which I just can’t co-sign — toothpaste is minty, dammit! — but while it does taste like strawberry, it’s not that overwhelming Big-League-Chew blast of fakeberry badness.
You could also try a flavorless toothpaste, like this one, or old-school homemade pastes you stir up yourself using baking soda (or, according to one Googlee, cream of tartar…geeaacchh), although evidently, baking soda in commercial toothpaste doesn’t do much.
Or we could ask the readers. Oh reeeeeeaders, come out and bruuuuuush!
Tags: Ask The Readers health and beauty retail
Leigh, the evidence you mention about fluoride damaging teeth is available from a variety of sources online – search the term “dental fluorosis” – it’s the visible and disfiguring evidence of skeletal deposits of this non-essential chemical, and is found in a large percentage of flu’d water areas.
Burt’s bees doesn’t make their lavender mint toothpaste any longer, and I’m desperate. Does anyone know of another brand???? This was simply the best toothpaste ever made. I bought up all I could find on the internet, and now I need to either learn how to make it myself, or………
Laura,
Yes, too bad Burt’s bees discontinued their Lavender Mint toothpaste… I loved it too.
Instead, try Weleda’s Pink Toothpaste with Ratanhia.
–It’s almost exactly the same as the Lavender Mint by Burt’s bees. If you find others, please post here. I think it’s the Calcium Carbonate and the Bentonite that make it so nice. If anyone knows of other toothpastes with high amounts of Clay/chaulk, please post.