Multi-Action AND Whitening! (Aquafresh)

Member Name: Foxy-Lady

Product:	Aquafresh
Date:	29/05/03 (505 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great results

Disadvantages: Quite pricey

* Where did it all begin?....

Toothpaste, in some form or other, has been used for thousands of years - as long ago as 300/500BC in the ancient countries of China and India. According to Chinese history, a man named Huang-Ti was the first person to develop a dental cream to clean debris from teeth.

During the years 3000/5000BC, Egyptians also made toothpaste. It was a rather lovely recipe of powdered ashes of oxen hooves, myrrh, powdered egg shells and pumice. It is thought that the Egyptians used their fingers to rub the mixture onto their teeth. Nice!!

From ancient records, it is believed that the Greeks and Romans developed toothpaste but in 1000AD, evidence shows that the Persians improved it even further. Their recipes included dried animal parts, herbs, honey and minerals or a mixture of green lead, verdigris, incense, honey and powdered flintstone - neither of which I would particularly like to put in my mouth!

In 1850, a chemist and dental surgeon called Dr. Sheffield invented a toothpaste in America which became known as Creme Dentifrice. This became available in Britain shortly afterwards. It came in small ceramic pots and was available either as a powder or a paste. Poor people applied it using their fingers while the rich upper classes used brushes. These brushes were made from carved bone and horse hair or stiff pig bristles.

Several years later, Dr. Sheffields son created the tube for the paste. It was originally a collapsible metal tube like those that hold paint. This led the way in developing the toothpaste that we know today!

* What do we use toothpaste for?....

Toothpaste has several purposes. First and foremost, it makes the toothbrush more effective at removing food debris and plaque, which is a layer of bacteria. It also supplies the teeth with fluoride which has been recognised for more than half a century as the most decay preventing agent we know.

Finally, toothpaste obv
iously contributes to general oral hygiene.
To meet these requirements, toothpaste contains...
* An abrasive agent (chalk, aluminium hydroxide, silica or phosphate)
* A detergent (sodium lauryl sulphate)
* A humectant (glycerine)
* A binding/thickening agent (gum arabic, alginate)
* A flavouring (peppermint, menthol)
* Colouring (usually approved food colours)
* Therapeutic agents (sodium monoflourophosphate, sodium fluoride)
* Preservatives to discourage growth of moulds (sodium benzoate)

* Whitening toothpaste....

Throughout civilisation, man has always needed to have healthy teeth, the primary reason being for survival. Today though, teeth seem to play a far more aesthetic role in our lives. Because of the demand for beautiful dazzling teeth, whitening toothpastes have been developed in more recent years. These claim to contain a formula which will whiten teeth.

Within one minute of cleaning your teeth, the surface becomes covered in a thin, glycoprotein layer called a pellicle. The pellicle is invisible to the naked eye when first deposited but a build up of brown or yellow discolouration can occur on the pellicle surface. Whitening toothpastes work by removing these stains from the pellicle.

At the moment, there are many different brands of whitening toothpaste on the market, all claiming to give you brighter, whiter teeth. I have considered purchasing a tube for some time now. My teeth arent particularly yellow or stained but when you compare them to the gleaming white sparklers that are shown on the ads, mine are a disgrace! All part of the ploy to get you to buy the stuff I suppose.

I hadnt bought any before because I have been put off by the price. It usually costs approximately £2 for a 100ml tube. But would you believe it....a few weeks ago, I saw Aquafresh Multi Action and Whitening toothpaste (crikey, what a mouthful!) on offer at my local supermarket - buy one get one free
. I couldnt resist!

It offers....
* Complete protection
* Gentle whitening
* Fresh breath

What more do you want? With the added bonus of protection aswell as whitening, I thought it sounded like a great product. As the slogan says *Everyday gentle whitening and complete protection in one toothpaste*

* The packaging.....

Aquafresh Multi Action and Whitening is presented nicely in an attractive packet. Its the usual design with a tube inside a box and the box is covered with a shiny blue hologram to give a dazzling and sparkly effect.

* The toothpaste.....

With its Aquafresh trademark blue (freshens breath), white (fights decay) and red (fights plaque) stripes, I suppose you could also say that the toothpaste itself is quite attractive - or as attractive as toothpaste can be anyway! It has a nice, smooth texture and doesnt feel chalky or gritty.

* Did it work?.....

* Whitening.....

The box states that as it contains no harsh abrasives, the toothpaste gently breaks up stains and helps break down deposits that attract stains. The result being whiter teeth!
Instructions on the box tell you to brush twice daily to bring teeth back to their natural whiteness. Well I brush mine twice a day anyway, I always have done. I therefore thought that this was going to be an easy-peasy way of getting my teeth a bit brighter.
I have been using this product for quite a few weeks now and I am pleased to tell you that I have noticed a change in the colour of my teeth. They are by no means pure white but they have gained a natural looking cleanliness. I would like to point out that it has worked on the top row more than the bottom for some reason!

* Protection.....

Obviously, you cant really see if toothpaste is actually protecting your teeth but this paste did seem to leave my gnashers feeling very smooth and clean. This therefore made me feel like it was working well in
cleaning and getting rid of any debris on my teeth.

* Taste......

The flavour is nice and minty but not too strong or as overpowering as some toothpastes can be. The aftertaste, which of course allows your breath to remain fresh, was good too but unfortunately didnt last that long really. It could have been better.

* Ingredients......

For those of you who need to know or are just interested, here is full list of the ingredients of Aquafresh Multi-Action and Whitening toothpaste:

Aqua/Water, Hydrated Silica, Sorbitol, Glycerin, Pentasodium Triphosphate, PEG-6, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Aroma/Flavour, Titanium Dioxide, PVP, Xantham Gum, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Flouride, CI 73360, CI 74160

Unfortunately, because of some of the ingredients, this toothpaste is not suitable for children under 7 years old. If you are considering using this product, make sure you have a regular toothpaste for the kids!

* Overall....

I would strongly recommend this toothpaste to anyone who is unhappy with the colour of their teeth. I am extemely pleased with the results but if my teeth had been worse in the first place, I would have benefited even more from this product. Ive got to admit that it doesnt make teeth dazzling white but with prolonged use it definately works to an extent that means you have bright, but natural, looking pearly whites.

Summary: