Trader Joe’s Anticavity Peppermint Toothpaste

This post contains affiliate links. 

I enjoy browsing in the personal care aisle at Trader Joe’s, which is a cousin to Aldi. Besides finding some practical items such as toilet paper, facial tissue, liquid hand soap, or body wash, I’ve also found some products that feel more on the indulgent side, including watermelon facial mist, cream shave, facial moisturizer, and eye cream. I’m still disappointed that Trader Joe’s seems to have discontinued some of my favorite shampoos and conditioners, but I still find other good products in their small personal care aisle.

As I work my way through trying the products in this section of the store, one of the items I picked up recently was Trader Joe’s own brand of toothpaste. It’s a straightforward-looking peppermint-flavored toothpaste tube packaged in a simple cardboard carton featuring illustrated mint leaves. This toothpaste is flavored with peppermint oil and contains baking soda for teeth whitening, in addition to fluoride for cavity prevention.

Trader Joe’s Anticavity Peppermint Toothpaste cost $2.99 for a 6-ounce tube at the time of publication. That comes out to about 50 cents per ounce.

I usually use Crest toothpaste with tartar control and whitening, and while I can get it as cheap as 34.4 cents per ounce at Walmart at the time of writing, I don’t usually shop at Walmart. Instead, I buy Crest toothpaste from my local grocery store or from Target, where it can run about 41 cents per ounce.

That makes the Trader Joe’s toothpaste a little more expensive than Crest or other name brands.

The TJ’s toothpaste carton states:

Trader Joe’s Peppermint Toothpaste with Baking Soda & Fluoride helps keep your smile whiter, brighter and healthier without harming your teeth. This formula contains fluoride to prevent cavities and naturally hydrated silica to polish your smile whiter. We use only those ingredients gentle to tooth enamel. Then we add Essential Oil of Peppermint to bring you extraordinary freshness.

The active ingredient is sodium monofluorophosphate .76%, which is an anti-cavity toothpaste. According to Wikipedia, sodium monofluorophosphate is used in place of sodium fluoride especially in some children’s toothpastes because it’s less acutely toxic. Other toothpastes that include Sodium monofluorophosphate are Tom’s of Maine Whole Care Natural Anticavity Toothpaste with Fluoride and certain Colgate and Crest toothpastes, although sodium fluoride seems to be the most commonly used active ingredient in many toothpastes (including the Crest tartar control and whitening toothpaste I usually use).

Inactive ingredients in this Trader Joe’s toothpaste are calcium carbonate, water, glycerin, sodium bicarbonate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, hydrated silica, sodium cocoyl glutamate, and carrageenan.

Overall, the ingredients list seems to be a bit shorter compared to some traditional toothpaste brands on the market, and it doesn’t contain dyes or artificial colors like some name brand pastes. It still contains some processed ingredients such as carrageenan.

Ingredients and directions. (Click to enlarge.)

This toothpaste contains no artificial sweeteners, no sodium lauryl sulfate, and no propylene glycol. It was not tested on animals and contains no animal products.

The toothpaste appears to be made by The Hain Celestial Group, which manufactures a variety of healthier foods and personal care products, including Joya plant-based products, Celestial Seasonings tea, and Earth’s Best snacks.

You use this toothpaste like you would any other toothpaste. The directions indicate that adults and children 2 years of age and older can brush teeth thoroughly, preferably after each meal or at least twice a day or as directed by a dentist or physician. The carton has the usual warnings about keeping out of reach of young children and not swallowing more than what is used for brushing.

Toothpaste in the tube.

This toothpaste has a plain white color and a brisk peppermint essential oil scent. It has a stronger peppermint smell due to the fact that it contains real peppermint oil, as opposed to the “flavor” that I found in several different types of name-brand Crest toothpastes. This smells more like peppermint essential oil sprays I’ve purchased.

So how does it taste? When you first start brushing, it has almost no flavor, other than a mild baking soda taste. Then after a few seconds the mint flavor kicks in. It has a mild mint flavor with a slight baking soda aftertaste. I’ve read that some people have found the flavor off putting, and while it’s not great, I don’t mind the flavor. Another family member who tried this toothpaste remarked: “It tastes like how a campground bathhouse smells after they’ve cleaned it.” It wasn’t a compliment.

I also noticed this toothpaste doesn’t seem to lather or foam up as much as name brands. Again, though, this is not really a problem for me.

This toothpaste might be appealing if fewer ingredients and more natural ingredients are a priority for you. It is a bit pricier than other name-brand pastes, but if I were at Trader Joe’s and needed toothpaste, this option is fine. Since most people in my house don’t care for the flavor, though, this isn’t going to regularly find its way into my cart.

The Verdict:

Trader Joe’s Anticavity Peppermint Toothpaste features peppermint essential oil and baking soda, and it contains no artificial sweeteners. Its active ingredient is sodium monofluorophosphate, which acts as an anti-cavity agent. It has a peppermint flavor with notes of baking soda that isn’t bad, but it might be different from what you’re accustomed to. It also doesn’t appear to foam up like traditional toothpastes. The main knock against this toothpaste might be the fact that it costs a bit more than name brands such as Crest. However, if you want a paste with more simple ingredients, it might be worth it to you.