All of the pronamel toothpastes are mint flavored but if you pay close attention to the taste while brushing, you may notice a slight bitter taste. This bitterness is more readily apparent in the less minty tasting pronamels such as in their essential care line of products (Daily protection and Fresh breath).
The pronamel toothpaste bitterness comes from the surfactant in the formulation, namely cocamidopropyl betaine, which you'll find in all of their product lines.
Table of contents:
Cocamidopropyl Betaine tastes bitter
Cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) is the surfactant of choice for all of the pronamel toothpastes and it does have a bitter taste to it.
Out of the 3 most commonly used toothpaste surfactants (sodium lauryl sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium methyl cocoyl taurate) CAPB is the most bitter tasting one.
Children are more sensitive to the bitterness than adults.
Why it's in toothpaste
The primary reason that pronamel uses CAPB in their toothpastes is as a SLS alternative. Yes, their entire product line does not have sodium lauryl sulfate.
Why surfactants are necessary:
Wets the tooth surface to disperse toothpaste ingredients.
Helps clean teeth by removing food, plaque, and stains.
Foams to reduce the amount of required paste used.
The major consequence of having no surfactants would be ineffective and inefficient cleaning of the teeth. Do you know that squeaky clean feeling after using soap? That's from the surfactant in the ingredients!
Benefits of CAPB over SLS:
Safer. Less harsh (doesn't dry out your skin), less toxic and more biocompatible. It is derived from coconuts which makes it more natural as well.
No fluoride inhibition. It does not interfere with fluoride deposition onto the teeth. In fact, studies have shown that there is increased remineralization when compared to SLS dentifrices.
In summary, cocamidopropyl betaine is in toothpaste to be used as a surfactant to aid in the cleaning of teeth. It is used in lieu of SLS because it is safer and does not inhibit fluoride. The only unfortunate downside is the bitter taste.
How to minimize the bitter taste
There is no way for you to minimize the bitter taste from the pronamel toothpastes because the formulation is set in stone. You are unable to change and alter it on your own.
Alternative options to minimize bitterness:
Switch to the Active Shield toothpaste.
Petition Sensodyne Pronamel to change their formulation.
Active Shield toothpaste isn't as bitter
The bitter taste is more noticeable in the pronamel essential care toothpastes and is less so in their new Active Shield toothpaste. Yes, this pronamel tastes more minty and less bitter.
The primary reason why the Active Shield isn't as bitter is because the CAPB is mixed with sodium methyl cocoyl taurate. Essentially there are two surfactants in there and the latter is known to be less bitter according to studies.
The recommendation from that research study was to combine CAPB with other surfactants so that the adverse taste can be minimized. That is essentially what pronamel did with this new toothpaste.
Petition Sensodyne Pronamel
While you may not be able to alter the formulation, you can always send a suggestion to pronamel. You can try asking them to add in a larger amount of artificial sweeteners to mask the taste.
Common non-nutritive sweeteners in toothpaste:
Sorbitol
Sodium Saccharin
Xylitol
The pronamels already have sorbitol and sodium saccharin in them but the concentration is probably not very high. Perhaps adding more of it will help cover up the taste. Alternatively you could also ask them to make the formulation more similar to their Active Shield toothpaste which tastes less bitter. You never know they might just do it.
Historical reference: As a matter of fact, the active shield toothpaste was created to be more foamy because a lot of customers wanted a more foamy product. Sensodyne pronamel heard and made a toothpaste exactly how their customers wanted it.
Takeaway
Unfortunately the bitter taste from pronamel toothpastes are due to the surfactant in the formulation, cocamidopropyl betaine. Pronamel made the decision to use it instead of SLS, which is not bitter tasting at all. The reason is because CAPB is safer, less harsh, and less toxic. The only downside would be the poor taste.
With that being said, some of the pronamel toothpastes such as the Active Shield do not taste bitter at all. Perhaps you should give that one a try instead if the taste bothers you.
If you have any further questions, you can book a dental check up appointment with one of our dentists in Long Island City if you're nearby!
