Hacker News Reader

Comment by Wistar | Hacker News Reader

Although I haven't personally tried it, I have friends outside of the US that rave about Sensodyne Repair & Protect original with the "Powered by NovaMin" badging. NovaMin is composed of special ceramic particles that coat the teeth with a compound that reacts with the saliva to form a durable physical barrier.

The problem is that the stuff with NovaMin is not typically available in the US. I just searched Amazon and found that they do sell small tubes of the real thing for about $14 each. Looks like it is coming from Canada.

https://www.amazon.com/Sensodyne-Protect-Whitening-Toothpast...

Here is a 2013 article:

https://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/biomaterials/gsk-dro...

View on HN

As of a few years ago there's a similar FDA approved ingredient available in the US as BioMin. It works well for me and is cheaper than importing NovaMin.

Biomin also claims that their particles are smaller and therefore more effective at mineralization than Novamin.

Another option for leveling up on toothpaste is using those that contain micronized hydroxyapatite. Options here are Carifree or the Japanese brand Apagard available on eBay or Amazon. Biomin’s formula is proprietary but it might contain hydroxyapatite in part.

I stopped randomly getting cavities after using xylitol gum occasionally and brushing with these various toothpastes, n=1.

There also exist a variety of oral probiotics that claim to rebalance mouth flora away from species that cause cavities.

While no dentist ever told me about any of these options, at least Carifree is starting to market through US dentists.

HAP, available in Japan since 1970.

wow, just found this where they compared HAP to fluoride and found no difference: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41405-019-0026-8

I have novamin. I think it makes my teeth feel different. May be placebo.

A lot of people swear by HAP, novamin, etc. I suspect it all comes down to increased oral care and diligence though!

> I think it makes my teeth feel different.

I definitely feel something too, like the surface is slicker.

Just out of interest, and not detracting from what you're saying, but normal fluoride also forms a compound (flouro-apetite) more resistant to avoid than normal tooth material (appetite). At least according to this chemist: https://youtu.be/vtWp45Eewtw

(tooth chat at 5:10, but the whole video is interesting)

That Sensodyne paste struck some memories; I recall having seen it at a local shop, possibly even trying it, although at a much lower price, and a quick check on a local price list site confirms it.

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https...

All prices under €4, but of course shipping rates are for local delivery and I have no idea if the sellers can ship abroad, most of them might not even speak a word of English, however here they are; making quite a big order would defeat the costs for shipping to the US, which usually are high.

I live in Greece and use the toothpaste regularly. It really works. Prices here are about 4.5 euro each.

We have it? Is it called "repair and protect" here too? I'm gonna get it.

Yeap. Sensodyne Repair & Protect. It's a fairly new product, I accidentally found it at a pharmacy after reading a comment in here. Saw it at a local super market too the other day (sklavenitis).

I just bought 3 small tubes for $9 on Amazon, seemingly coming from Canada. I bought some previously from an Amazon seller in India, and have been using it for a few weeks. It seems to be working - teeth are less sensitive.

I’ve been using it for years - the first time I went to the dentist after having used it for a while was the first time I’ve ever had a dentist be so positive about the condition of my teeth.

There was an article on HN a few weeks ago that did a deep dive into Novamin and the like, I think it was https://medium.com/@ravenstine/the-curious-history-of-novami...

I stock up on it (and Eat-Mores) when I visit Vancouver, but it's not magical and won't fix a bad habit of not brushing very often.

Live in Vancouver. Where do you purchase it?

I suppose anywhere the sells toothpaste, just make sure it has Novamin on the package since Sensodyne has other kinds. I don't remember exactly where it was last time, some random corner store near the Waterfront station (perhaps Shoppers Drug Mart looking at a map, or Seymour mini mart).

It helps a lot for sensitive teeth.

It's here in Australia - around AUD10 for a large tube.

PS. Novamin is Calcium Sodium Phosphosilicate as the active ingredient.

Oh I need to try this. My enamel has been bad since I was a kid in spite of a great oral hygiene routine. Constant problems.

My dentist turned me on to Colgate Prevident and the regular Sensodyne fluoride pastes but never that one.

Not to be confused with the painkiller Novamin (Metamizole).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com