What's The Best Toothpaste For Sensitive Teeth?

Walk into the supermarket and you’ll see shelves of toothpastes with fancy names—Sensitive Pro-Relief, Repair & Protect, Super Sensitive Pro Extra Special Sensitive… it gets confusing fast!

The truth? Most sensitive toothpastes work in very similar ways. Here’s what you really need to know before choosing one.

Why teeth get sensitive

Your teeth have an outer layer of hard enamel, and an inner, softer layer of dentin. Sometimes, this dentin layer can get exposed.

Dentin has tiny channels that connect to the inside of the tooth which has a lot of nerves. That’s why when you eat something cold, hot, or sweet, you might feel a little uncomfortable “zing” in certain areas.

Sensitive toothpastes are designed to block these little pain “zings”.

The two ingredients that actually work

1. Potassium nitrate (5%)

Blocks the pain messages expressed by your tooth from reaching your brain.
Lots of research over a long time period showing that this ingredient works
Very gentle

2. Stannous fluoride

Blocks those tiny channels leading to your nerves.
A good multi-tasker – already contains fluoride to protects against cavities.
Downside: it can sometimes leave mild surface stains, but your dentist or hygienist can easily polish these off.

Other options you might see (though these are being phased out in NZ):

Calcium sodium phosphosilicate, also called NovaMin
Arginine + calcium carbonate

How to choose the right sensitive toothpaste?

Here’s the simple checklist for picking the right one off the shelf:

Ignore the fancy marketing names and turn the tube (or jar) around.
Look for potassium nitrate or stannous fluoride on the ingredient list.
Make sure it still has fluoride in some form (sodium fluoride, stannous fluoride, or sodium monofluorophosphate) – look for 1000–1490 ppm.
Avoid “Sensitive + Whitening” toothpastes as these can be more abrasive.