What makes Opalescence Whitening Toothpaste different? Well, we’re glad you asked! Peter Allred, Ultradent Products’ Director of Formulations Technology, had the following to say:
What makes Opalescence Whitening Toothpaste different from the regular toothpastes you can buy at a store?
“Quality,” Allred says. “When we decided to create Opalescence Whitening Toothpaste, the plan 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 is the taste. Jen Doll of New York Magazine said, “You know how store toothpastes can be a little too sweet, or not leave your mouth feeling fresh enough (which causes me to brush and then re-brush for the desired effect)? Opalescence 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 explained that achieving that perfectly fresh, not too hot, not too cool, not too sweet, and perfectly refreshing flavour just right took a whole lot of trial and error.
“Opalescence has three different, quite exotic, mint flavours that complement each other very well. All other store-bought toothpastes that I know of only have one mint or other flavour per tube. We kept testing flavours we liked, but always felt that something was missing, so we kept experimenting.
Dr. Fischer was ultimately the mastermind behind the flavour. 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 abrasion factor too an essential part of keeping teeth healthy without damaging the enamel.
She says, “Unlike traditional whitening toothpastes that use peroxide, Opalescence 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."
“When we made the toothpaste back in 1992, we never ever cut corners, and we still haven’t compromised on ingredients, flavour, 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 flavour 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.”