“Is it possible for a toothpaste to be, well, sexy?”
mused Jen Doll of New York Magazine on Ultradent’s Opalescence® whitening toothpaste.
We’ll leave that up to the user, but one thing is certain—everything, from the refreshing flavor profile to the smooth texture, to its ability to keep teeth sparkling was specifically planned and perfected.
Every detail, says Peter Allred, Ultradent’s Director of Formulations Technology, was scrutinized, then scrutinized again, until… well…you’ll have to try it for yourself.
Opalescence Whitening Toothpaste
So what makes Opalescence whitening toothpaste different from the tube of toothpaste you pick up at the drugstore? "Quality," Allred says. “When we decided to create Opalescence whitening toothpaste, the directive from Dr. Fischer was that we weren’t going to worry about cost or cutting corners. We were going to find the very best ingredients out there—similar to how a fine restaurant sources its food ingredients. We set out to make the very best product possible. The aim, from the very beginning, was to make a luxurious, high-quality toothpaste.” He adds
“We also wanted all of our ingredients to be U.S.-sourced so that we could ensure their quality. A lot of toothpaste companies out there will source their glycerin and xylitol, both key ingredients in toothpaste, from China. At first, we tried that, but the quality control just wasn’t dependable, so we decided to stick with U.S. manufacturers.”
The first thing most people notice about Opalescence whitening toothpaste is the taste. Jen Doll of New York Magazine said,
“You know how drugstore toothpastes can be a little too sweet, or not leave your mouth feeling fresh enough (which causes me to brush and then rebrush for the desired effect)? Opalescence toothpaste gives a tingly, clean mouthfeel—you can almost feel it killing the germs—with just one application. It’s just a step away from feeling like you’ve had a professional cleaning.”
Peter Allred said achieving that perfectly fresh, not too hot, not too cool, not too sweet, and perfectly refreshing flavor just right took a whole lot of trial and error. “Opalescence whitening toothpaste has three different, quite exotic, mint flavors that complement each other very well. All other store-bought toothpastes that I know of only have one mint or other flavor per tube. We kept testing flavors we liked, but always felt that something was missing, so we kept experimenting. Dr. Fischer was ultimately the mastermind behind the flavor. He would try it, tell me what adjustments to make, we would give out samples to our focus group, and continue tweaking it based on not only how hot, cool, sweet, powerful, and refreshing it tasted, but also on what the lingering effects of the flavor were. This went on for months until we finally got what we wanted.”
Jen Doll raved about Opalescence whitening toothpaste’s abrasion factor too—an essential part of keeping teeth healthy without damaging the enamel. She says,
“Unlike traditional whitening toothpastes that use peroxide, Opalescence toothpaste removes surface stains by scrubbing them away with silica. But—and this is key—it’s not so abrasive that you can’t use it every day. Not to get too wonky (sic), but the toothpaste has a relative dentin abrasion of 90, which is lower (meaning less abrasive and better on tooth enamel) than both Colgate and Crest Whitening—and just a hair lower than Aquafresh Sensitive.”
Opalescence Sensitivity Relief Whitening Toothpaste
Opalescence Sensitivity Relief Whitening Toothpaste
Indeed, Opalescence whitening toothpaste’s abrasiveness proved very important to the research and development team that brought the product to fruition. “As far as abrasion goes, we wanted to be a medium-abrasion toothpaste that would be safe enough to use twice a day, every day, and that would remove stains without damaging the enamel at all. If you whiten and use a good, medium-abrasion toothpaste, you can maintain that whiteness for a very long time and touch-up with whitening when needed. Opalescence toothpaste is the perfect accessory to the Opalescence line of teeth whitening products,” says Peter Allred.
He concludes,
“When we made the toothpaste back in 1992, we never ever cut corners, and we still haven’t compromised on ingredients, flavor, or even the foil tube that it comes in, when most other toothpaste manufacturers are moving to plastic tubes. The foil tube creates a hermetic seal that protects the flavor profile of the toothpaste long-term, and that’s more important to us than cutting costs by going with plastic. I think by doing these things, we really got it right.”
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