£19.99 is more than most people expect to pay for a tube of toothpaste. We hear that often, from people who bought S3 Sensitivity Science™ and from people who decided not to.
So here is the whole answer: what a tube costs, how long it lasts, what it costs a household, and what the price pays for.
How long a tube lasts.
A tube of S3 Daily Sensitive Toothpaste lasts about six to eight weeks for one adult brushing twice a day. That is why our subscription frequency is flexible and easy to change in your account if your usage differs.
Everything below is worked out at eight weeks a tube. If yours runs closer to six weeks, add about a third.
Ways to get started with S3.
There are three ways to buy S3, and two of them are subscriptions. Each one suits a different starting point.
Subscribe & save: £14.99 a tube.
Best for: the lowest first order, at £14.99.
A subscription for one tube, saving 25% on the one-time price. About 27p a day.
Buy 2, get 3: £29.98 for your first box.
Best for: the lowest cost per tube, at £9.99 in your first box.
A subscription to two tubes, with a third tube free in your first box only. That first box covers 24 weeks for one adult, roughly 18p a day. After the first box you pay £14.99 a tube, as on Subscribe & save.
One tube, no subscription: £19.99.
Best for: anyone who would rather not subscribe straight away.
A single tube to try, with nothing to manage afterwards. About 36p a day.
Both subscriptions can be paused, rescheduled or cancelled at any time in your account.
For most people on a subscription, then, S3 costs under 30p a day.
If more than one person uses it.
The honest answer for a household is that a tube is one person’s supply, so the cost rises with the number of people using it. Three adults brushing twice a day will get through a tube each in around six to eight weeks.
On a subscription, that is three tubes every eight weeks at £14.99 each: about 80p a day for three people. The Buy 2, get 3 first box covers those three people for their first eight weeks at £29.98.
It is also worth saying that not everyone in a household needs a sensitivity toothpaste. S3 is formulated for sensitive teeth, and the people in your home without sensitivity may be well served by what they already use.
What the price pays for.
A tube of S3 costs more than most sensitivity toothpastes because it is doing more work. Here is exactly what that work is.
Most sensitivity toothpastes tackle one thing at a time. They calm the nerve, and leave the tooth surface as they found it. That is an outdated way of approaching a problem one in 3 people live with, and S3 was built on a different view: that sensitive teeth need three actions at once.
That is what patent-pending S3 Repair Technology™ is: a triple-active blend that helps calm sensitive teeth, strengthen enamel and protect against future damage, all at the same time.
Every active is on the ingredients list, at a level we publish.
Why the percentages matter.
An ingredients list tells you what is in a formula. It does not tell you how much. We publish the inclusion level of all three actives, because the level is what decides whether an active can work, and because actives at these levels are the expensive part of any toothpaste. Where a formula names an ingredient without naming its level, there is no way to compare it with this one.
Keeping fluoride.
Modern enamel science and proven decay protection are usually presented as a choice: a hydroxyapatite toothpaste that has dropped fluoride, or a fluoride toothpaste with nothing else in it. S3 keeps full adult-strength fluoride alongside the triple active, so you are not buying a second tube to cover what the first one leaves out. Prebiotic xylitol sits alongside it, and the formula is vegan and cruelty-free.
What the testing says.
S3 was tested in an independent consumer trial run by ADSL to Good Clinical Research Practice: 52 people, all of them already using a sensitivity toothpaste, reporting on their own teeth at 24 hours, one week, two weeks and four weeks.1
- 81% said their sensitivity bothered them less after one week.
- 90% reported their teeth felt less sensitive in situations that normally trigger discomfort, after four weeks.
- 88% said S3 helps manage their sensitive teeth effectively, at two weeks.
- 96% said S3 feels gentle on their teeth, at two weeks.
- 85% said S3 is more effective for their sensitivity than their usual toothpaste, at two weeks.
These are self-reported results from an interim read of the trial, and the eight-week point is still to come. The formula has also been tested at the University of Reading, in the laboratory rather than on people.2 We would rather show you a study and its limits than a number with nothing behind it.
What it costs to make something new.
S3 Repair Technology™ was developed by leading oral-care experts and is patent-pending under UK Patent Application No. GB2604755.5. It took more than three years of research and 31 formula iterations to get there. That work sits in the price of the tube, and it was paid for long before the first tube was sold.
If you already pay more for a hydroxyapatite toothpaste.
Then the tube price is not the comparison worth making, because you have already accepted that this kind of formula costs more than a standard tube. Four questions separate one premium sensitivity toothpaste from another.
- How many of the three actions does the formula cover?
- At what level is each active included, and is that level published?
- Does it keep fluoride, or ask you to give it up?
- Who tested it, and can you see the results?
Set the price of S3 against those four answers rather than against the tube alone, and the gap looks different.
On a subscription, that is about 27p a day: three actions, three published doses and full adult-strength fluoride, in the tube you already reach for twice a day.
Setting it against the dentist’s chair.
The toothpaste aisle is not the most useful place to judge the cost of caring for sensitive teeth. The dental chair is.
In England, an NHS course of treatment that includes a filling is charged at £76.60, and one that includes a crown at £332.10.3 Five tubes of S3 on a subscription, around 40 weeks of twice-daily brushing for one adult, cost £74.95: less than a single Band 2 course of treatment.
That comparison is context, not a promise. No toothpaste replaces a dentist, and sensitivity can be a sign of something that needs one. If your sensitivity is new, sudden or getting worse, book a check-up first.
The short version.
- A tube lasts one adult about six to eight weeks.
- On a subscription, S3 costs under 30p a day, and about 18p a day in a Buy 2, get 3 first box.
- The price pays for three actions in one formula, each active named and dosed on the pack.
- It has been independently trialled, with 90% reporting less sensitivity in trigger situations after four weeks.
We would rather you choose S3 knowing exactly what it costs than be surprised later. If the numbers work for you, both subscriptions can be paused or cancelled whenever you like.
Frequently asked questions.
Why is S3 more expensive than other sensitivity toothpastes?
Because it does three jobs rather than one. S3 carries three actives at published levels, 5% potassium nitrate, 10% nano-hydroxyapatite and 5% biomimetic hydroxyapatite, and keeps full adult-strength fluoride alongside them. Actives at those levels are the expensive part of any toothpaste. On a subscription it works out at about 27p a day.
How long does a tube of S3 last?
A tube of S3 Daily Sensitive Toothpaste lasts about six to eight weeks for one adult brushing twice a day.
Can I change how often my toothpaste arrives?
Yes. You can change how often your tube arrives at any time in your account, so if a tube lasts you closer to six weeks than eight, set your deliveries to match. You can also reschedule a delivery, pause your subscription or cancel it whenever you like. A subscription is also the cheapest way to buy S3: £14.99 a tube on Subscribe & save against £19.99 for a single tube, and £9.99 a tube in a Buy 2, get 3 first box.
How much does S3 cost per day?
On Subscribe & save, S3 is £14.99 a tube, or about 27p a day. In a Buy 2, get 3 first box it is about 18p a day. A single tube without a subscription is £19.99, about 36p a day. These figures assume a tube lasts eight weeks.
Are the S3 offers subscriptions?
Yes. Both Subscribe & save and Buy 2, get 3 are subscriptions, and both can be paused, rescheduled or cancelled at any time. The only one-time purchase is a single tube at £19.99.
