This Is The Way We Clean Our Teeth… (Tooth Whitening)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Tooth Whitening
Date:	25/09/02 (3964 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tastes nice, seems to do the job

Disadvantages: slight gritty feeling

This is the way we clean our teeth,
Clean our teeth,
Clean our teeth,
This is the way we clean our teeth,
On a cold and frosty morning.

I wish I had perfect teeth. You know the sort, lovely white even teeth, the sort you are proud to show off. I think having perfect teeth would be my number one choice if I could change a body part. Well, after my tummy tuck, obviously ;-)

I don’t particularly like my teeth. One of my front top teeth has a yellow stain on it from when I was a child. I am also very conscious that my teeth are not white. When I split a tooth on a crisp last year (no, really!), I had to have a crown put in and when the dentist showed me my new tooth, I was shocked that my teeth were that colour.

The last time I went for a check-up, I asked my dentist how much it would cost to have my teeth whitened and straightened. He said they really weren’t bad enough to have straightened, but if I was serious, I could see an orthodontist and it’d cost over a thousand pounds!

As for the whitening - well, he could obviously understand my desire there, as he didn’t try to dissuade me! He said I could pay to have a sort of mouth guard, which you slept with it in your mouth every night. This would whiten the teeth over time and cost around £250.

Unfortunately, I don’t have that option, we just haven’t got that sort of money spare. So I looked at cheaper ways of trying to improve my teeth and to get closer towards that bright white ‘pop star’ smile.

In our local chemists, I saw a little white container saying COLGATE 2-in-1 WHITENING TOOTHPASTE. It’s a strange shape – I suppose it could be in the shape of a tooth, with a little imagination! It’s about four inches tall and in squeezy white plastic. It looks completely different to your average old tube of toothpaste and this, along with the label design, drew me to it.

The br
and name ‘Colgate’ is emblazoned across the front in its familiar white on red way. The container holds 100ml of liquid gel and according to the label, this did everything. Besides the standard, boring teeth cleaning bit, this is a special 2-in-1 formula, which also acts as a mouthwash and whitens your teeth. The sparkly shiny silver bits of the label were just an added bonus. Honest.

We are definitely in the ‘cheap own brand 50p’ type category of toothpaste buyer, so shelling out a whopping great £1.79 for this seemed rather steep. But I paid up and took the little beauty home, making sure it was hidden behind my thirty-three bottles of shower gel, so the kids wouldn’t use it all up.

Once home, I read the back of the label but there were no special instructions, just the usual. The three claims were there again – ‘cleans teeth like toothpaste’ (a good start really, for a toothpaste!!), ‘freshens breath like mouthwash’ and ‘gently restores the natural whiteness of teeth’. Of course, I suppose this depends on how white your teeth were initially, but we’ll see.

The top of the container is a flip-up type with a little indent to place your thumb in. However, I have found this can be quite tricky and my fingers have often slipped. Once I even broke a nail! (A million women gasp in horror, a million men say “SO???”) But on the good side, the toothpaste has never leaked.

There is a little pointy bit under the flip-up lid where the toothpaste comes out, by turning it upside down and squeezing. I have more confidence of getting out the last little drop with this method, than by the old trial of bending round a toothpaste tube into indescribable contortionist positions.

It smells of mint – a kind of cross between peppermint and spearmint. It is a pleasant smell and quite strong. (Nowhere near as strong as the Original Source Tea Tree an
d Mint shower gel, thankfully!)

But what does it taste like? After all, it’s got to go in your mouth at least once a day (preferably twice), so it should taste nice really. Well, it does, it’s a very refreshing kind of taste and – as you’d expect – a minty one. It leaves your mouth feeling clean and fresh and yes, I think the mouthwash aspect works well here.

After brushing, there is a slight gritty feeling left in your mouth, which feels a bit like you are chewing bits of sand between your teeth. It doesn’t last long and it’s not unpleasant especially, it’s just a bit strange. I wonder whether that is something abrasive to help clean or whiten the teeth. I couldn’t find anything that looked likely in the ingredients, but then most are long chemical sounding names, so what would I know?

Although this toothpaste is expensive, it does last well. With two adults using this on a daily basis (and the odd child, when no one’s looking), I would say we’ve used up a third of it in around three weeks. You can see how much liquid gel is left too, as although the packaging isn’t clear, it is possible to see through the side.

Colgate 2-in-1 is very effective at cleaning teeth too, so it scores highly on the cleaning and the mouthwash parts. As for the whitening, well, maybe, it’s hard to tell. My husband (who loves this stuff!) is very impressed though and thinks his teeth are whiter, but they have always been whiter than mine, so maybe the toothpaste has less work to do on his? Still, my philosophy is that it might work, but in the meantime, I am impressed with it, so will continue to use it anyway, whether or not I can tell my teeth are whiter in the future.

Overall, I would recommend it. It leaves you feeling like you’ve just eaten a packet of Polo mints, but without the calories. Confidence is always a good thing. I can smile happily now. So, just
need to worry about the tummy tuck then ;-)



This opinion is Part Two in a series of four.

Look out for ‘This Is The Way We Brush Our Hair’ coming next.

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