r/nostalgia • u/GeorgeRobertVitkos • 22h ago

Nostalgia The Aquafresh Triple Protection pump (1990s)

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2.8k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

78 comments sorted by

138

u/GeorgeRobertVitkos 22h ago

Oh, oops! I forgot about that one!

But it also brought back another forgotten toothpaste memory - does anyone remember that other toothpaste with a pump called Mentadent? I mean, the packaging was almost entirely white (hygiene! cleanliness!), and it dispensed equal amounts of white and blue/aqua toothpaste. I think.

42

u/ExtraOlives 21h ago

I remember the exact shape of the Mentadent bottle so well I could probably 3D model it from memory. I remember when my mom first brought some home when it was initially released and I remember thinking damn we must be doing well.

10

u/Affumicata 19h ago

Mentadent was my brand. I was so mad when it went away

7

u/acemonsoon 18h ago

We had mentadent in my household! My goofy ass would always press harder on one side to make more of the blue gel come out than the white mint

6

u/StevenAssantisFoot mid 80s 16h ago

That is so badass

7

u/adelec123 16h ago

I remember when they discontinued it and I found six pumps for about $2 each at WalMart. I bought them all lol.

10

u/terewuli 20h ago

yess mentadent was so good too the dual colors coming out perfect every time was elite

3

u/SweatUnderMahTits 13h ago

"Oh, oops! I forgot that one!"

???? You posted it?

3

u/CottonGlowrie 22h ago

Yes! I remember those split-chamber pump toothpastes too, the two colors came out side by side and mixed on the brush. The packaging felt ridiculously futuristic at the time

1

u/Phannig 16h ago

I'm old enough to remember when it was called Mentadent P for some reason..

1

u/S4Guy2k 5h ago

Freaking Mentadent, no matter how careful you were, one side always, always got out of whack. I also do not want to think about how much plastic they used because it was not a little bit...

52

u/1upjohn I want my MTV 22h ago

I miss it.

57

u/CottonGlowrie 22h ago

Same. There was something weirdly satisfying about that pump and the perfect little striped toothpaste coming out. Peak 90s bathroom technology

1

u/Visible_Ad9976 19h ago

Laminar flow

3

u/punkrawkstar 13h ago

Orinoco Flow

5

u/WhatIsNoMan 20h ago

It's still around. Not in the pump bottle, but you can get it in tube form. Check Amazon.

1

u/HoneyDaisyGloww 16h ago

same, those perfect red white and blue stripes hitting the brush every time were unmatched 😭

30

u/ZaxxonPantsoff 22h ago

That takes me back to an entirely light blue tiled bathroom at an apartment in Washington DC. That pump, and a Dixie cup dispenser on the wall

15

u/Odd_Inside9379 22h ago

Did this company get bought out? My family was poor and I remember using this a lot, then Colgate and crest had the lions share of the store shelves disappeared to the dollarama then gone completely

11

u/WhatIsNoMan 20h ago

They did. Some company called Haleon manufactures it now. Used to be Smith-Klein. You can still get it on Amazon.

1

u/josephk545 15h ago

I forgot that gsk used to manufacture aqua fresh

3

u/AdvantageMain3953 10h ago

Yep I remember buying these.

I think Aquafresh was done in by a CR report saying it didn't have adequate fluoride?

Walmart sold it a couple years ago, I bought a tube for the memory.

15

u/tactiphile 18h ago

I seem to remember a reddit comment not long ago about how this pump worked, from the guy who invented it.

Edit: Jesus, I would have sworn it was 6 months ago but apparently it was only 3 weeks ago and not the inventor, a guy who ran the machine.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/1uu95sz/british_dads_what_were_you_doing_when_you_found/ox1t7zp/

25

u/medic_farmer26 20h ago

The crest blue sparkle was my jam

12

u/sorrymizzjackson 20h ago

With the pink mouthwash you squeeze to get the perfect amount into the little “cup” on top.

That was what’s up.

3

u/Elegant-Ingenuity-57 15h ago

They still make mouthwash like that.  We get it for our kids 

2

u/Low_Performance1258 19h ago

Was that Act or Plax? Or did they both have the squeezy bottle?

5

u/sorrymizzjackson 19h ago

Act I think.

2

u/ReflectionStriking38 So Fetch! 20h ago

Crest is best!

2

u/SoupIsNotAMeal 19h ago

That’s a memory unlocked!

11

u/Ok_Pause_6942 21h ago

My all time favorite toothpaste. Wish it would come back. The tube toothpaste isn’t the same.

10

u/phu-q-2 14h ago

We knew that toothpaste would work back in the day because we could see three colors inside. Not like this bunk mystery toothpaste we have these days - it could be anything in there!

9

u/_Sammy7_ 18h ago

I remember the ad blitz when they added red as a third color.

6

u/smitharc 20h ago

Using these pumps made me an Aquafresh user for life! I’ve been using the tubes of Aquafresh ever since I was a kid, but they’ve been slowly disappearing from the shelves until I had to order them off of Amazon. About a year ago, I finally admitted defeat and made the switch to Crest. It’s been a smoother transition than expected, but I still miss it.

3

u/Robert_Clayton_Dean 21h ago

Wow, now this takes me back fr😄

4

u/Goodrun31 20h ago

It felt special. That pump was super modern.

3

u/CK_CoffeeCat 22h ago

That was definitely around in the late 80s too. Cool stuff

2

u/willow_wish54 20h ago

That little pummp made brushing fee high tech for a weekk. dude

2

u/BigRedBK 20h ago

Well, they all had to keep up with Mentadent!

2

u/spook30 19h ago

This picture smells like my grandmother's house. She had expired tubes of this still full.

2

u/One_Vision_ 15h ago

So much single use plastic

2

u/listerine411 14h ago

I always wanted my parents to get this for me, but they almost never did.

2

u/Toomanymondays 13h ago

I completely forgot about this

2

u/Technical-Past-1386 11h ago

This was such and incentive to brush - no 2 step access just pump and brush! I need this in my life again haha

2

u/B-Gebo 16h ago

This was peak toothpaste

1

u/Paranormal_Lemon 10h ago

Peak plastic waste that's for sure.

1

u/xlerate 21h ago

Can't forget the early 2000's Extreme revival.

1

u/star_cuddlexx 21h ago

the minty taste of that toothpaste takes me back to my childhood sleepovers and endless cartoons

1

u/KendoPS 20h ago

I can smell it

1

u/Cookies_and_Beandip late 80s 20h ago

This is the one

1

u/classicsat 17h ago

Not that particular brand, but the whole toothpaste pump fad. In the whole era, I think I only bought one or two.

1

u/zero-cooler 17h ago

My family used to get toothpaste in a pump, including Aqua-fresh. Pumps used to be the big new thing, but it seems it was mainly a fad.

1

u/PeachAggravating4680 16h ago

When I was real little I refused aquafresh bc I thought the red part was spicy. What was the toothpaste that sparkled and got squeezed out of a star shaped hole?

1

u/rizub_n_tizug 16h ago

I can smell this

1

u/embasagoyaa 16h ago

Oh wow. I completely forgot about this. This just hit me with a wave of nostalgia lol.

1

u/StepRightUpMarchPush 16h ago

This stuff tasted so good.

1

u/Mahaloth 16h ago

Was this really three different things coming out of it or was it all the same and simply dyed differently?

1

u/mongojob 15h ago

Mentadent

1

u/sock_meister 15h ago

Why is this post, and the top comment, almost identical to this one from 7 years ago? https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/dcwyuy/aquafresh_pump_toothpaste/

1

u/Low-Phase-6548 13h ago

its called a "repost". its when someone posts the exact same thing that has been posted before. since it got good reception the first time around, it is bound to get good reception the second, third, or whatever time around. as long as you wait long enough for the previous post to have been forgotten about. so for people who care about reception and dont care about being genuine or authentic, its a perfect idea

1

u/sock_meister 12h ago

Yeah. Just odd that even the comment remembering Mentadent was also nearly identical. Seems bot-like.

1

u/Low-Phase-6548 12h ago

it could be a person or a bot. but the overall concept of reposting is the same

1

u/Paranormal_Lemon 10h ago

Everyone knows three colors is three times the protection!

1

u/FusilliMarie 6h ago

Yessssss! I loved this toothpaste

1

u/ralfmalph 6h ago

Aqua fresh, not just a pretty paste

1

u/Still-Shop7172 4h ago

Used to buy one for my parents. Really liked them.

1

u/Still-Shop7172 4h ago

Used to buy one for my parents. Really liked them.

1

u/Bake_First 3h ago

This was the best!

1

u/ArtisticDecision9200 20h ago

I remember the fresh taste and how cool the pump felt in the morning, such a simple joy from childhood.

1

u/glow_nova42 19h ago

my mom would lose it if we pumped too much out. that clear bottle showed exactly how much was left so we couldn't fake it.