Home care

What we tell patients to buy

Name: Products We Recommend | Fort Worth Family and Implant Dentistry
Creator: Dr. Morton Baker, DMD

The brushes, pastes, rinses, and floss our hygienists and Dr. Baker recommend for the months between visits, and where to pick them up around Fort Worth.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Morton Baker, DMDLast updated July 29, 2026

Brushing

Electric toothbrush

A sonic toothbrush with a timer does more for most people than any change of toothpaste. Get the handle once and keep buying heads.

Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush

Any current Sonicare model. The 4100 is the entry point; ProtectiveClean and DiamondClean add pressure sensing and modes.

Sonic brushes clean more consistently than a manual brush, and the built-in two-minute timer with 30-second quadrant pacing keeps most people brushing long enough.

How to use it. Two minutes, twice a day. Let the brush do the work; hold it at the gumline and move slowly from tooth to tooth.

Costco and Sam's Club usually stock a two-handle pack for less than two singles.

Where to buy

Best value

Three Philips Sonicare C2 Optimal Plaque Control brush heads

Sonicare replacement brush heads

C2 Optimal Plaque Control for most people. G2 Optimal Gum Care if your gums are tender.

Bristles wear down and stop cleaning well after about three months. Genuine heads fit the handle correctly and snap in without wobble.

How to use it. Replace every three months, or sooner once the blue indicator bristles fade.

Warehouse-club multi-packs are the lowest per-head price.

Where to buy

Best value

Toothpaste

Pick a toothpaste by its active ingredient

Turn the box over. The active ingredient should be fluoride or hydroxyapatite; those are the two things that stop cavities. Everything printed on the front of the tube is flavor and marketing. If your teeth are sensitive, add potassium nitrate to the list.

Sensodyne Pronamel

Intensive Enamel Repair is pictured. Any non-whitening Pronamel works.

Fluoride for cavities, potassium nitrate for sensitivity, and one of the least abrasive formulas on the shelf. The default for anyone with sensitivity or acid wear from reflux, sparkling water, or citrus.

How to use it. A pea-sized amount. Spit, don't rinse, so the fluoride stays on your teeth. Sensitivity relief takes about two weeks of twice-daily use.

Costco and Sam's Club sell Pronamel in multi-packs.

Where to buy

Best value

Colgate Sensitive

Enamel Health or Complete Protection. Skip the Sensitive Whitening version.

Same two actives as Pronamel, potassium nitrate and sodium fluoride, in a paste that is usually a dollar or two cheaper.

How to use it. Same routine: pea-sized, twice a day, spit and don't rinse.

Where to buy

Arm & Hammer Sensitive

The Sensitive Teeth & Gums tube. Not the Advance White line.

Potassium nitrate plus fluoride on a baking-soda base, which is one of the gentlest abrasives there is. A good choice if other pastes feel harsh or you have exposed root surfaces.

Where to buy

Colgate Cavity Protection

The plain red tube, Great Regular Flavor. No whitening, no tartar control, no extras.

If your teeth aren't sensitive, this is all a toothpaste needs to be: fluoride, low abrasion, ADA accepted, and the cheapest tube in the aisle. Extras on fancier tubes don't add protection.

Where to buy

Best value

Boka Ela Mint nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste tube

Boka hydroxyapatite toothpaste

Ela Mint is the standard flavor. Fluoride-free, and that is fine here because hydroxyapatite does the same job.

Hydroxyapatite is the mineral your enamel is made of. Nano-hydroxyapatite pastes rebuild the surface of enamel and reduce sensitivity, and are the right choice for people who prefer a fluoride-free paste.

How to use it. Same as any toothpaste: pea-sized amount, twice a day, spit and don't rinse.

Where to buy

Best value

Davids Sensitive + Whitening nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste metal tube

Davids nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste

The Sensitive + Whitening tube is the nano-hydroxyapatite one. Despite the name it is a low-abrasion paste; the whitening is from the hydroxyapatite, not grit.

Another well-made nano-hydroxyapatite paste, and easier to find at natural grocers. Fluoride-free.

Where to buy

Three kinds of toothpaste to skip

Whitening toothpastes

They whiten by abrasion: grit that scrubs surface stain off. That same grit wears enamel and exposed root surfaces, and worn enamel is the most common reason teeth become sensitive. Toothpaste can't change the color of a tooth. If you want whiter teeth, peroxide strips or in-office whitening do that without the wear.

Fluoride-free pastes without hydroxyapatite

Charcoal, most "natural" pastes, and anything that lists neither fluoride nor hydroxyapatite as an active ingredient does nothing to prevent cavities. They clean like flavored soap and protect like it too.

Gum-health toothpastes

Healthy gums come from cleaning between the teeth and regular hygiene visits, not from a paste. The gum-health tubes cost more and add nothing a plain fluoride paste doesn't already do.

Between the teeth

Floss, picks, and water flossers

A toothbrush reaches about two thirds of each tooth. The rest, where most cavities and gum problems start, needs one of these.

Waterpik water flosser

Aquarius (countertop) or Cordless Advanced (shower or travel).

Flushes food and plaque from under the gumline and around bridges, braces, and implants where floss is awkward. People who won't floss will usually use one of these.

How to use it. Warm water, lowest pressure that feels comfortable, trace the gumline for about a minute. Lean over the sink.

Costco often bundles a countertop unit with a cordless one.

Where to buy

Best value

Dental floss

Any Oral-B Glide for tight contacts. Cocofloss if you like a thicker, textured floss.

Floss is still the most precise way to clean the contact between two teeth. Glide slips through tight contacts without shredding; Cocofloss scrubs a bit more.

How to use it. Once a day. Curve the floss into a C against each tooth and slide it under the gum edge.

Where to buy

Best value

GUM Soft-Picks

Soft-Picks Advanced. TePe interdental brushes are the other good option, sized by the gap.

Rubber-bristle picks clean between teeth in a few seconds and fit in a pocket, so they get used at work and in the car. Especially useful around crowns, bridges, and implants.

Where to buy

Best value

Rinse

Fluoride mouth rinse

A fluoride rinse at night adds a second dose of fluoride after brushing. It matters most for people who get cavities easily, wear braces or aligners, or have dry mouth. Look for "anticavity" and sodium fluoride on the label; a rinse that only freshens breath is not the same product.

ACT Anticavity Fluoride Rinse

The alcohol-free 0.05% sodium fluoride rinse. ACT Total Care and ACT Restoring are the same idea with extra flavors.

Sodium fluoride at this strength is the over-the-counter dose shown to reduce new cavities. Alcohol-free matters if your mouth runs dry or you have any tender tissue.

How to use it. Once a day, ideally last thing at night after brushing. Swish for a minute, spit, and don't eat or drink for 30 minutes.

Costco and Sam's Club carry ACT in twin packs.

Where to buy

Best value

Listerine Total Care

Total Care is the Listerine with fluoride in it. Get the alcohol-free version if your mouth runs dry. Plain Cool Mint Listerine has no fluoride.

Fluoride for cavities plus the essential-oil antiseptic Listerine is known for, so it covers plaque and cavities in one rinse. It carries less fluoride per swish than ACT, so if cavities are the main problem, ACT is the stronger pick.

How to use it. Twice a day after brushing, 30 seconds, spit, and nothing to eat or drink for 30 minutes.

Costco and Sam's Club sell the two-liter twin pack.

Where to buy

Best value

ACT Kids Anticavity Fluoride Rinse bottle, bubble gum

ACT Kids Anticavity Rinse

Bubble gum or wild watermelon. Alcohol-free, same sodium fluoride as the adult rinse.

For kids six and up who can swish and spit without swallowing. The single most useful thing for a child who keeps getting cavities, and for anyone in braces.

How to use it. Once a day at bedtime after brushing. Pour the dose into the cap so they don't overfill, and watch the first few times to be sure it comes back out.

Where to buy

Dry mouth and cavity-prone

Xylitol and dry-mouth relief

Saliva is the mouth's own defense against cavities. Medications, sleep apnea, and mouth breathing all cut it down, and these help fill the gap.

Spry xylitol gum

Spry is pictured; Epic and PUR are the same idea. Look for xylitol as the first ingredient, about 1 gram per piece.

Cavity bacteria can't use xylitol for fuel, and chewing brings saliva back. Five grams a day spread across meals is the amount studied for cavity reduction.

How to use it. One piece after each meal or snack.

Where to buy

Biotene Dry Mouth Oral Rinse

The Dry Mouth Oral Rinse for daytime. XyliMelts adhering discs are the best option for overnight dry mouth.

Moisturizes without alcohol or sugar, so it relieves the dryness without feeding the bacteria that dryness lets take over.

Costco carries Biotene in a twin pack.

Where to buy

Best value

Implants, bridges, and dentures

Caring for replacement teeth

Implants don't get cavities, but the gum and bone around them still need cleaning. A water flosser from the section above is the single most useful tool here.

Oral-B Super Floss

Pre-cut strands with a stiff threader end and a spongy middle.

The stiff end threads under a bridge or a full-arch implant prosthesis; the spongy section then wipes the underside clean. Regular floss can't get there.

How to use it. Thread under the bridge or arch, pull the spongy section through, and slide it side to side.

Where to buy

Polident denture cleanser tablets

Polident or Efferdent tablets plus a soft denture brush.

Regular toothpaste is abrasive enough to scratch acrylic, and scratches hold stain and bacteria. A soaking tablet plus a soft brush cleans without scratching.

How to use it. Brush after meals, soak nightly, and give your gums the night off from the denture.

Costco and Sam's Club sell the large-count boxes.

Where to buy

Best value

Whitening

Whitening at home

Peroxide is what actually changes the color of a tooth. Strips deliver it without the enamel wear of a whitening toothpaste.

Crest 3D Whitestrips Professional White

Professional White (the box that used to say Professional Effects) is the strength that gets noticeable results at home.

The same peroxide chemistry as in-office whitening at a lower concentration. Works on natural enamel only; crowns, veneers, and fillings won't change shade, so ask us first if you have front-tooth dental work.

How to use it. Brush first, apply once a day for the listed time. Expect some sensitivity; skip a day if it bothers you.

Costco and Sam's Club carry a larger box at a lower per-strip price.

Where to buy

Best value

Near our office

Closest store to 3600 Hulen St

Each link opens Google Maps at the nearest location, so you can stop on the way home from your appointment.

From our office

Two things a store can't sell you

Prescription-strength fluoride toothpaste

Clinpro 5000 and PreviDent 5000 carry about four times the fluoride of a store paste. For patients with dry mouth, exposed roots, or a run of new cavities, this is the toothpaste we prescribe. Ask at your visit and we'll send it to your pharmacy.

A night guard made from a scan of your teeth

Boil-and-bite guards from the drugstore are bulky and shift your bite. A guard made from a digital scan of your teeth fits precisely, lasts years, and protects crowns and implants from grinding.

Night guards and mouthguards

Due for a cleaning?

Book online in about a minute. Your hygienist will tell you which of these actually matter for your mouth.

Book an Appointment Call 817-924-0506

We don't stock or sell anything on this page, and everything on it is sold in many places. We have no arrangement with any store listed. Recommendations are general guidance for healthy adults; your hygienist will tailor them at your visit. Prices and stock change, so each link opens the store's own search for the product. Philips Sonicare, Sensodyne Pronamel, Colgate, Arm & Hammer, Boka, Davids, Waterpik, Oral-B, Glide, GUM Soft-Picks, ACT, Listerine, Spry, Biotene, Polident, and Crest are trademarks of their respective owners, as are the Amazon, Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Sprouts, and Whole Foods names and logos. Product images come from each manufacturer's own site and are used only to identify the product.

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