ORAL HEALTH INSIDER
Home › Dental Health › Sensitivity

HOW ONE MINERAL YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF IS QUIETLY “REBUILDING” SENSITIVE TEETH — Without Sensodyne, Without Fluoride and Without A Dentist Poking Around in Your Mouth!

"I TOLD THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS TO USE SENSODYNE. THEN I FOUND OUT WHAT IT WAS ACTUALLY DOING TO THEIR TEETH,"

Edited - Tuesday 5th May 2026 Author - Dr. Michael Smith | LICENSED DENTIST
Woman wincing in pain while drinking cold water

My name is Dr. Michael Smith. I’m a licensed dentist.

For twelve years and thousands of patients,

I was part of the problem.

Every time someone complained about sensitive teeth, my answer was the same:

Sensodyne.

Brush gently.

Come back in six months.

It was what I was trained to say.

And it felt right at the start…

But after 12 years, (embarrassingly long I know) a pattern started keeping me up at night.

Picture this:

Rachel — a nurse in her early thirties. Brushed twice a day, flossed daily, used Sensodyne without fail,

Hell, even cut out acidic foods.

She does everything I tell her, and yet:

There she is back in my chair. Third filling in four years.

Still skipping cold drinks to avoid stabbing tooth pain.

Still anxious about needing a root canal every time she came to see me.

Rachel sitting at a cafe looking concerned

"Dr. Smith?" she said, tiptoeing around the words.

“Yes…?” I spun my chair with a smile.

"Am I just prone to this?” “is this just how my teeth are?"

She was defeated.

And I had no answer for her.

I gave her the same reply I always gave.

And she nodded the way patients nod when they’ve stopped listening.

The “gold standard” advice I was giving her wasn’t cutting it.

And to be honest?

It looked like her teeth were getting worse.

That night I felt uneasy.

So I went back to the research. Not the outdated ADA guidelines I memorised in school — the new peer-reviewed studies I never had time to read properly.

What I found changed everything for my patients.

Open research papers and a laptop on a desk at night

Here’s what nobody tells you about your sensitive teeth.

It’s not a nerve problem.
It’s a hole problem.

Let me explain:

Your enamel is the outer armour of your tooth. Below your enamel is a bunch of micro tunnels called “tubules”.

Where do these tunnels lead?

Each one to a red hot nerve deeper inside your tooth.

Tooth diagram showing pain path through tubules to the nerve

Like a dark tunnel that leads to a scary clown at the end...

What happens when your teeth are sensitive?

Well, those tunnels are open;

So cold water, ice cream, a breath of winter air — everything gets inside the tunnels.

And they upset your red hot nerves at the bottom.

The ones that are supposed to be untouched.

That’s why you can’t enjoy a cold smoothie.

That’s why you can’t drink ice water anymore.

Sensodyne tube next to a microscope photo of worn enamel

Now here’s what stopped me cold.

Sensodyne? The big tooth sensitivity brand?

It’s only job is to numb that nerve. (with potassium nitrate)

“Let’s not worry about what caused it in the first place, let’s just numb the site.”

That’s the attitude.

It blocks the pain signal,

But it’s like turning off the smoke alarm when your kitchen’s on fire.

And if you ever stop using it?

Well the pain comes back, but it’s even worse this time.

(How’s that for a business model…)

The pain comes back worse because the holes in your enamel that opened up your tunnels in the first place:

Got worse rather than better.

Why?

Termites burrowing into a tooth

Well because the food and drink you had in the meantime are like termites for your teeth.

Any dentist will tell you that.

(It’s why I keep telling you to floss)

They bring bacteria and acids into your mouth that chew holes in your enamel

24 hours a day 7 days a week.

So for twelve years I’d been recommending the product that IGNORED the termites, and opened up the tunnels EVEN MORE,

The very thing that caused this mess in the first place!

So what actually closes the tunnels?

And kills these damn critters eating your enamel.

The answer has existed in Japan for 45 years.

NASA astronaut next to a hydroxyapatite molecular structure

In the 1970s, NASA developed a mineral to help astronauts strengthen their bones in zero gravity.

The body didn’t reject it —

because it was nearly identical to what bones are made of.

That mineral was HYDROXYAPATITE.

Here’s the cool thing:

97% of your tooth enamel is made of hydroxyapatite

(Funny how we don’t learn that in school)

So Japan started making it the gold standard in toothpaste. Since 1980 it's been used safely by tens of millions of people.

More than four and a half decades now.

Card stating Japan has the fewest cavities in children globally after four decades of hydroxyapatite toothpaste

Spoiler: (1) They cut the population likelihood of getting cavities in half, and (2) have the least cavities among children in the world.

Most Americans have never heard of it.

I barely had, (as a dentist!) until I went looking.

Here’s how hydroxyapatite can make your teeth pain free (and stronger)

Nano (tiny) hydroxyapatite particles are tiny enough to enter those tunnels directly.

Then, they physically fill the inside and form a powerful mineral seal.

Your teeth recognise it.

They treat it as their own.

It is completely absorbed directly into the tooth.

Because it’s the exact same material your teeth are actually made of:

They simply say “hello, old friend.”

No rejection, no fluorosis risk, no side effects.

Microscope illustration showing enamel before and after 14 days of nano-hydroxyapatite use

And the result: your tunnels are blocked.

(which they should be)

Which means cold drinks, winter air and whatever else can’t travel down the tunnels to upset your nerves!

Pain: gone

Your teeth get stronger AND less painful.

See why I’m embarrassed I didn’t find this earlier?

The question on everybody’s mind

"But what about fluoride? I need it for my teeth. You told me that!”

The gotcha moment.

You finally get one back at me after poking inside your mouth for years!

Yes, yes. Well done detective.

But…

Fluoride is genuinely effective. It hardens enamel, makes teeth more acid-resistant, and has evidence behind it. I’m not telling you fluoride is bad. (although I’ve read the studies you have and understand the concerns)

Comparison table of fluoride versus nano-hydroxyapatite with the Fills holes row circled
A 2023 clinical trial ran hydroxyapatite head-to-head against fluoride for 18 months. The result: nHA matched fluoride. (actually it performed even better, but I digress)

The thing is: fluoride can’t fill the tunnels like hydroxyapatite. It just strengthens the existing enamel.

Different tools. Different jobs.

This is backed by hard clinical data.

Back to Rachel

She came back two months later.

She had used the best nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste I could find for 2 weeks now.

"I ordered soft serve last week," she said. "as a test"

I chuckled.

She was dead serious.

“It was amazing! My best friend was actually shocked.”

She paused,

“Although I haven’t bitten directly into a popsicle yet. That will be the true test…”

I laughed out loud. Grinning ear to ear.

Her enamel genuinely looked healthier too; it was noticeably thicker and less transparent.

Woman happily eating an ice cream cone outdoors

Her cheeky grin and uplifted mood was contagious.

Never had I seen Rachel with so much joy, she was a new person.

That’s when it clicked for me.

Because here’s how life really feels after you fix the cause instead of numbing it:

  • You gain the relief of a cold smoothie on a summer day
  • You gain the bite of ice cream with your child
  • You gain the look from a friend who asks what’s different, why you seem, more at ease.

You gain the feeling you’ve genuinely put this behind you.

Most importantly you lose the feeling of being controlled by your pain.

3 Reasons I’m Recommending This Crestiq Toothpaste Specifically

Let’s quickly go over “why toothpaste?”

Short answer: Toothpaste is the gold standard in the research.

Long answer: I did try some of the hydroxyapatite powders (not yummy) and drops — They’re ok, but I’m skeptical about the efficacy and they’re annoying to use.

Everyone brushes their teeth anyway.

But I digress.

Crestiq 7.5% nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste box and tube

Here’s Crestiq’s leg up on other nano-hydroxyapatite toothpastes:

Reason 1. They Tell You Exactly What’s In The Tube -
Most nHA brands hide their concentration — not on the box, not on the website. Crestiq prints 7.5% right on the box.
Reason 2. Handles the termites on your teeth -
8% Xylitol content kills Streptococcus mutans — the #1 bacteria behind most cavities.
Reason 3. Nothing You Don’t Want -
SLS-free. No artificial dyes. No sweeteners 300x more potent than sugar. *cough* Sodium Saccharin *cough* in Sensodyne *cough cough*
Crestiq 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Give it 60 days. Crestiq actually backs it with a full money-back guarantee; because 60 days takes you well past the time needed for a mineral seal to build.

Most patients who make it past week three never go back.

The patients I’ve pointed to this toothpaste are, for the first time in years, not managing a problem.

They’re past it.

— Dr. Michael Smith, Licensed Dentist