I chose not to add this to the very long running thread that we had for more than a year about the loss of the real Biotene in the marketplace, and our search for a new idea when what it became under new ownership was really just another Crest toothpaste with the Biotene name on it.

So after years of using lesser products, the original manufacturer of the Biotene toothpaste (Laclede in Long Beach, CA) that we all loved, but the formula was grossly altered when it was sold to GSK, is coming back on the market with a new enzyme containing toothpaste almost identical to the original Biotene formula. Actually, it is better, as they added one more enzyme to it. Their non-compete with GSK has run out, and they are starting out by putting the new products (toothpaste, mouth rinse, spray moisturizer) back into the general market, first through Walgreen's Drug Stores. The name of the products are Salivea dry mouth care products.... yeah, I know, how do you pronounce that? Anyway, I have been testing the product for them for a few weeks, and I am sold on switching over to it. Mild taste so it doesn't burn my mouth, a formula with fluoride which we all need, sweetened with Xylitol which is a good thing, and free of many of the ingredients that make other toothpastes undesirable like SLS (sodium laurel sulfate) which can irritate and cause people that get canker sores to have outbreaks of them. I really like the mouth rinse as it has an ingredient in it that breaks down bio-films which are contributors to plaque build up, and as a moisturizer really works to make my mouth feel comfortable and not irritated from dryness.

I'll post more about them in the near future. But since we have all been looking for something that we can trust and addresses all of our issues, I wanted to let everyone here know. I'm pretty sure that in short order it will be available on Amazon as well.

Thank you for this information Brian. I will be watching for the Salivea products!
I also wanted to suggest something that has been beneficial to me. They are Xylimelts by Oracoat. They are small discs that dissolve slowly in your mouth and provide oral lubrication and the research done has shown they reduce tooth plaque as well. I originally started using them after my first round of radiation to help me when I exercised, but following my parotidectomy and second round of radiation, I found I need them through out the day to help during normal speech and swallowing. You may already be aware of these, but I thought it might be helpful to add to this thread in case someone else might find it helpful.
Thanks for all the helpful information you provide for us here!

Thank you! I can find the toothpaste and mouth wash on Amazon, but so far I haven't been able to find a mouth spray. Laclede's website doesn't say much.
Any thoughts?

best wishes

Jon Angel

From what Brian explained to me, Salivea will first be available thru Walgreens. Its only just beginning getting it on their shelves. After its out a while Im certain this will become more readily available and easy to find.

Jon, the original thread about Biotene product changes has some good alternatives to the toothpaste. Heres a link to that thread...

Original Biotene thread

I made a trip to Walgreen's and they had the Salivea mouthwash, spray, and toothpaste.

Thanks for letting us know, Sean!

This is indeed good news, Brian. Thanks so much for letting us know. Since the Biotene debacle I've been using The Natural Dentist paste and Tom's of Maine mouthwash. I'll look for Salivea (which to me sounds like the name either of an exotic dancer or a new genus of plant).

This is very much about the nature of a chain picking up a new product., The stores only have so much shelf space, and there is a lot of competition for who gets it. Also if you are lucky enough to negotiate a deal to get enough space for toothpaste, it doesn't mean they are going to give you space for the other products in the line. Last, if it is a new product to them which this is, (even though they have had a previous relationship with Laclede), if the product doesn't sell in about 6 months really well, you are out and off their shelves. So the strategy is not to try and get it everywhere right off the bat. It is better to drive everyone to a single source like Walgreens, and when your shelf space is secure you can add on CVS, and at the end when those two are well established and sales are happening, finally the giant killer Walmart. This might take a year or more to roll out. Bottom line, Walmart will always discount it and when they come in that's where most end up buying it. It is also pretty easy to get a product on Amazon, which also discounts, so that is usually stop number two, with strong national coverage. So as it becomes more popular you will find more of the line in more places. Bottom line right now is that I don't believe they have the budget to roll out TV ads like GSK is doing with Biotene, so this is very much a word of mouth campaign.

Disclaimer: OCF will be endorsing the new products in the near future. This is because the evidence which built the original Biotene formula, which does not exist any longer because of profit issues for GSK to put all the enzymes in it, (shareholders first patients second), is well established. Had they left the product formula alone, we would still be endorsing it. Also having worked with Laclede years ago and getting to know the people at the top of the food chain there, I became a believer not just in the idea of the product formula, but also in the ethics and motivation of the management team that drove the formula. It was always cheaper to put some glycerine in a stock Crest type formula and call it a dry mouth product. They were always driven by what would work the best, not be the most profitable as a privately held company that did not answer to shareholders, which they still are. I don't know if they will support OCF's efforts as a sponsor in the future, whether they do or do not will not impact our desire to see the best information put out in the world, and recommendations for the most useful, and scientifically sound ideas to be things that OCF promotes.

Given that we do not have a great funding stream, there is always the temptation to endorse something in a quid pro quo for money. OCF has a history of turning down big dollars from companies where the conflict would be clearly a compromise. We do this in spite of the fact that at the foundation lives in a quarter by quarter financial existential challenge to stay funded and keep the doors open. The most obvious example of this posture is that we historically have not applied for grants from Merck, the manufacturers of the vaccine that we promote the use of heavily, and fought with the CDC for vaccination of boys with, for three years (successfully) until it's approval for that use. This a multi-billion dollar a year firm that is generous with their grants to non profits. But I never want to be at a HPV lecture, or arguing an oral cancer prevention point at the NCI, and have someone ask me if we are getting money from them. True or not, there would be a belif that I am saying what I am saying for money. We do not. Our vaccine position is science based. GSK has taken their HPV vaccine to market just in Europe, leaving Merck alone in the US space. Anything that I argue would be in jeopardy if I take Merck's vaccine division money now that they are the only player in the US market.

We have, but not successfully, applied for a grant from a division of Merck recently that is involved in the immuno therapeutics for treatment of head and neck cancers environment. We have also supported through funding from OCF's donors, researchers working in the immuno therapy field at various institutions from MD Anderson to Johns Hopkins. Those researchers that your donations helped support, are providing information to both BMS and to Merck. These are both PDL-1 pathway immune checkpoint inhibitor drugs which you are now seeing advertised on TV that have come to market. We are proud of our ability to financially support them, which no other head and neck / oral cancer charity has done. We worked hard to help fill their clinical trials on these breakthrough drugs, which I have been watching go through the process in my position on the Immuno Therapeutics in Head and Neck Cancers Oversight Committee position at the NCI. Given that this is a different division of Merck than their vaccine division, and that we are actually giving the same researchers they are supporting money, I find any support that we might get from them in the future, to clearly be free from conflict. Because all of you that visit the forums often become OCF's most ardent donors and supporters, it is important for me to explain to you the nature of these relationships, so that you have the confidence in our ethics and the manner in which the foundation operates whether talking about a toothpaste or a vaccine.

I too was disappointed when Biotene took out the enzymes.
But Salivea seems to be my new favorite as they put them back in.
Local drug stores do not
have it yet but ordered via Amazon- got it in two days.

Great forum- so many wonderful threads.

My two cents: (not sure where to post) during radiation (of the head) when important not to lose weight as mask might not fit correctly,
I added high end ice cream (max out in calories) to my vanilla Ensure. Pick your favorite flavor.

Saliva deprived and can't swallow food easily? I use apple sauce. New soft pack containers are easy to carry around.
Pizza, hot dogs, french toast, pancakes? No problem- apple sauce will slide them right down.