Gibbs SR

Mentadent

Unilever's Mentadent P Toothpaste in the UK
Product type	Dental Products
Owner	Unilever (excluding North America) Church & Dwight (North America only)
Introduced	1982

Mentadent is a brand name for a line of dental products manufactured by Unilever for their home and international markets excluding the United States and Canadian where they sold their rights to the brand to Church & Dwight Company in 2003.

In 2016, Church & Dwight announced the discontinuation of their use of the Mentadent brand effective Spring 2017, however as they only hold the US and Canadian rights this does not affect Unilever which still market and sell the original Mentadent branded products worldwide.

Unilever first introduced the brand around 1982.

Mentadent SR, formerly 'Gibbs SR,' is one of the 3 toothpaste products still marketed by Unilever worldwide. The product was originally named after its active ingredient, sodium ricinoleate.

Gibbs SR was the first product to be promoted on UK television. The introduction of commercial television advertising was due to the Television Act of 1954 which created the commercial broadcaster ITV. The advertisement was first shown on 22 September, 1955 at 20:12 hrs BST, with a voiceover by Alex Macintosh. The advertisement was written and produced by Brian Palmer.

Unilever make 3 varieties of toothpaste under the Mentadent brand

In 2003 Church & Dwight Company acquired the United States and Canada rights to the Mentadent brand from Unilever and then operated it as a subsidiary brand of Arm & Hammer. They announced the discontinuation of the Mentadent brand in 2016.

Mentadent is most notable for its unique toothpaste dispenser: a dual chamber pump. This design is intended to keep two ingredients separated until they are dispensed. Upon brushing, the ingredients will react with each other in the mouth. Both the toothpaste (formula) and the design of the pump were originally invented and then patented by Hans Schaeffer - who later sold the patent.

In the majority of their toothpaste lines, the two separate ingredients are baking soda and peroxide. Upon brushing, baking soda and peroxide will combine to release oxygen bubbles. It is claimed that these bubbles will clean, whiten, and freshen the mouth.