The Best Oral Care Products to Keep Your Teeth Where They Belong

The Marvis toothpaste tube near my bathroom sink tends to invite comments ranging from mild curiosity to admiration (“Ohh, fancy, eh?”). The Italian oral care house is an OG favorite, blending heritage, eye-catching retro design, and an excellent formula, but it raises a fair question: why consider another toothpaste when drugstore go-tos have been keeping teeth clean for as long as we can remember? Part of the answer is that men’s grooming, from simple skin care to scalp care (ahem, microbiome), has become more curated and ingredient aware. Lately, the oral microbiome has entered the chat. For decades, toothpaste and mouthwash lived in soulless bottles and relied on aggressive additives. But a wave of elevated oral care is bringing forward-thinking, natural-leaning formulations, cooler aesthetics, and a refined sensory experience to an otherwise mundane routine. What’s not to like?

Buzzy Swedish brand Selahatin brings personal fragrance-style scent pyramids and a luxury atmosphere to the category (just see the recent Rick Owens collaboration). Kristoffer Vural, founder of Selahatin, explains, “Oral care used to be purely functional. Now it sits closer to fragrance than to soap. A considered toothpaste or mouth rinse does not just clean the teeth- it calibrates the moment.” The formulations have also progressed. Brands like Davids and Boka champion hydroxyapatite, whose microscopic particles bind to tiny cracks in enamel, helping remineralize and reinforce it. Long used in Japan for cavity prevention, the ingredient is now catching on in the U.S.

As Dr. Chris Classi of Apa Aesthetic LA adds: “Harsh abrasives, artificial dyes, and sulfates can be tough on enamel. (These) elevated formulas favor biomimetic ingredients that support enamel, reduce sensitivity, and promote a healthy oral microbiome.”

There are plenty of adjacent rituals worth exploring, from oil pulling and teeth whitening to water flossers and tongue scrapers, but here we focus on the core pillars of a daily routine: toothpaste, rinse, and floss. Elevated oral care is still a fairly specialized category, so you’ll notice a few brands appearing more than once. No judgment if your sink holds a classic bottle of Crest Pro-Health mouthwash. Mine often does too. (variety, folks) But if you want a more considered routine, these brands respect the science while offering a sensory ritual you might even look forward to. Below, the best elevated toothpastes, flosses, and rinses, along with insight from Dr. Classi on what to look for.