Adults only toothpaste? (Macleans 40+ Toothpaste)

Member Name: The Operator

Product:	Macleans 40+ Toothpaste
Date:	27/05/02 (1949 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice taste and appears to work

Disadvantages: None at all. None.

Toothpaste? Uh? You're going to review toothpaste? Got to be a twist here somewhere. Has it got beer in then? Or Vimto even?

Neither. It's a plain and simple review of a new toothpaste, so cut the snide and listen. Or read.

Shock news: The-Operator, 41, has all his own teeth. Except for the four that were removed for "cosmetic purposes" when I was 13 that is. Yes, I wore a brace for three years or so on the premise that my peggy-weggies would look magnificent once the springs had forced them back into their correct positions. I can still remember the consultant pointing to the name on my sportsbag in his surgery as he was fitting the contraption saying that "one day you'll look good enough to play for them". The guy was clearly mental; no footballer worth his salt back in 1974 had his own teeth and neither did I want to play for Adidas. He did bear an uncanny resemblance to Laurence Olivier, though.

Anyway, I endured the pain, the chewing gum that stuck to the plate, the crap that got underneath it and the ridiculous taunts from my peers. No wonder I was hopeless with girls; one smile at the navy-clad 15 year old temptress sitting opposite on the 508 and it was head down and back into the maths homework as the dazzle from the array of shiny steelwork enveloping my eating gear caused temporary blindness (and no small amount of fear) in the eyes of my heart's desire. Even now, I smile broadly only when occasion deems it fit, my inability to laugh out loud oft mistaken for a seriously warped sense of humour or none at all. When all around are falling on the floor in fits, I'm reduced to a mumbled giggle between tight lips. Such is the legacy of a proud but misguided mother.

You might have thought that this would engender some form of fear of dentists in me. Actually, I've no problem with them. I've always been a twice a day man. Brushing that is, so the teeth have stayed in relati
vely good nick. What I don't do as often as I ought to, is physically go to the dentist. It's laziness. When after 8 or so years I did bother to go I was told that I needed one tiny filling but my teeth were still in tip-top shape. Then about 7 years ago they started to hurt. And bleed. I asked my dentist why and in a word I was told that I had receeding gums. I brushed too hard and too much. "Bit, no worriss. Eee hef examin on dis t'morrow, eee can tray s'ming." To this day I have no idea what his name was or where he came from. My dentist employed the cheapest labour he could possibly source, usually those just out of university. Never an English university though. Either that or they looked like Benny Hill's Fred Scuttle character and wore clothes many sizes too small for them and grinned scarily at children. I ended up leaving the surgery having had my teeth effectively repointed around the edge of the gums. This concrete would I was assured, act to prevent further deterioration of the base of the tooth. Most of it's since fallen out, the cement, not my teeth but I suppose it did work to a degree.

I was careful now with my brushing, I even bought an electric toothbrush but still the pain from the sensitive teeth and the bleeding gums endured. I tried sensitive toothpastes and total care products but to no avail. Every rinse would be tinged with crimson and the pain persisted. Then, one day, a few weeks ago in a delightful South Cheshire town only 12 minutes away by bus from Nantwich, I experienced a chance encounter with something that would change my life irrevocably. There, in amongst the myriad of other dental hygiene products which had served me so poorly in recent years was a blue and gold box bearing the legend "Macleans 40+. Specially formulated for maturing teeth and gums". Wow, I looked at my friend and pointed with delight. "I'm 41. I can use this!" In the basket it went. (Hah! She
paid!)

That evening I tried it for the first time. The box said that it had a new "age defying formula" (not "new age defying" It won't frazzle your crystals or reduce your "Sounds of Nature" CD to mush should they accidentally come into contact). It will also fight the bacteria that can lead to gum problems and "gently yet effectively clean areas exposed by gum recession". I expected huge blasts of light to emanate from the tube when I unscrewed the cap and removed that irritating bit of foil but no, it looked like any other toothpaste. It tasted fresh and clean and foamed well, even under the fading battery power of my toothbrush. It did seem to have a slightly lighter consistency than other toothpastes, an airier texture but this wasn't unpleasant.
It left my mouth feeling very clean and unlike some speciality toothpastes, there was no sickly aftertaste. It felt like I'd sucked a whole tube of Polos and not a tube of axle grease. There were no complaints from the opposition camp either. Breath must have been ok then. Definitely a winner there.

I've used it religiously twice a day for about four weeks now and the results are wonderful. I soon realised that my teeth hadn't hurt for ages and that I was no longer literally spitting blood everytime I brushed. If they can combine this formula with a whitener then they really are onto a winner as it's not the most effective cleaner I've encountered. Mind you, I've been a bit naughty and recently started smoking again (OK, I'm bad I know but it was two days short of a year I gave up) so maybe I'm being a bit previous expecting it to work wonders. New batteries in the vibrobrush might help, too.

I've not seen it on sale down here in the south-east, maybe I just wasn't looking; and it wasn't listed as a product on the Macleans website. Which leads me to suspect that it's being market-tested in
the North-West prior to a national launch. I emailed Macleans and had a very friendly response from their PR people but it's still a bit vague as to where it's available nationally apart from Waitrose/John Lewis and selected larger outlets of Boots, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and the Co-op. Apparently from June it will be also be available in Tesco, Superdrug and Safeway's - again, only the larger stores. No indication as to whether it's still a regional release. Anyway, mid-lifers, keep 'em peeled - I dare say you'll clock it somewhere in a store near you. The rrp is £2.49 for a 75 ml tube.

Now the boring bit. I wish I had one of those little scanner pens:

Aqua/Water
Glycerin
Hydrated Silica
Sorbitol
PEG-6
Sodium Laurel Sulphate (They say sulfate. No way!)
Titanium Dioxide
Aroma/Flavour
Xanthan Gum
Sodium Fluoride
Triclosan
Sodium Saccharin
Carrageenan (Isn't that carcinogenic in unfeasibly large amounts?)

Contains: Sodium fluoride 0.306% w/w (1350 ppm fluoride), Triclosan.

Made in the UK (Whoopee!)

I'm usually very sceptical about maker's claims for products such as this but what can I say? It seems to do what it claims. My mouth is pain and blood free for the first time in years. It won't stop the receeding gums, they never grow back, although something is definitely happening to the roots as they're just not painful anymore. Something the hugely expensive specialist stuff couldn't manage. Just thought - maybe I can now find out whether I really do like ice cream...

Summary: