This was a Good Question the other night and I thought it was kind of interesting. There were a couple of things I didn’t know.
First of all I had no idea that there were 352 distinct types or sizes of toothpaste currently on the market. Can you even imagine? Now that I think about it, there is one WHOLE isle at Walmart and Target with tooth products. Whether they be toothpaste, mouth wash, all the flossing stuff and all the toothbrushes. If you had no idea what you were looking for, you could be there for days! When my mom was going through her chemo they told us a mouth wash to use that might help take that icky taste out of her mouth and it took me a long time to find it.
It really does make sense to me that no toothpaste will make your teeth white but they will help keep them white if you have them cleaned regularly and it won’t take tartar away but will help keep it away if you go to the dentist regularly. It almost does seem like false advertising doesn’t it though?
All this plus on our photo of the day challenge last week one of the words were “toothbrush” and it was kind of fun to see what everyone used.
So what about you? What kind of toothbrush do you use? Toothpaste? Do you use mouthwash? Do you floss? Do you get lost in the tooth isle? Do you go to the dentist regularly?
Us Girls..Our Views 
I use Crest… um… ultra, maybe? The one that has day and night versions.
I brush religiously in the morning, during (yes, during) my shower, and that’s when the flossing gets done, as well as “swish & spit”, as Josh calls it. It’s a fluoride rinse, and since we have well water, there is no fluoride in it. Flossing is daily, usually. Sometimes I miss, but I average about 5x a week. But I build tartar like CRAZY. My hygienist says she’s never seen anything like it, so I have to keep after it with the flossing. She’s told me that she’s seen marked improvement since I got this obsessive about it, maybe a year ago. So I guess I’ll keep it up.
At night, I’m not so good. That’s a hit-and-miss proposition, since I’m pretty bagged when I get up to bed.
I’m hit and miss too – much more “miss” than I would prefer. Usually in the morning, I use a pre-brushing rinse followed by a good brushing. I use Toms toothpaste – whichever one “does it all” (whitening, bla bla bla) – but I’m not picky about toothbrushes. Often I brush again around 6pm before I pick up my kids for our evening outings. But I’m bad about brushing before bed. I am either too exhausted or I don’t want to come out of my room lest someone think “she’s awake, let’s discuss work.” When I do have the time and energy at night, I also floss and use a pointy thing to scrape out stuff from under my gums. I would like to do the whole routine every night, but in reality, it’s not going to happen.
I don’t go to the dentist as often as they recommend. I went about a year ago, after not going for about 3.5 years. I had a painful cleaning and needed about 5 of cavities filled. I should probably go back pretty soon just to keep the cleanings up to date, but life gets so busy.
Ive been using Colgate’s Optic White white for about a month and I definitely see my teeth are whiter.
I don’t get lost in finding tooth products, but I could see how you could! Same with shampoos! Too many to pick from. I used to use Crest, but have switched over to Colgate and have stayed with that brand for a long time now. I switch it up with flavors though. I am not picky about my toothbrush. It just has to be medium, not soft, not hard, and the head of the brush can’t be large at all. I have an incredibly small mouth. I use the same brand of dental plackers, which I use quite often through out the day. But at least once all over, then whenever needed. I don’t always use mouthwash, mainly because it’s hard to find one that doesn’t tear my mouth up. I can’t use anything, mouthwash or toothpaste that has baking soda as a main ingredient. My gums will literally hurt.
I have thought about doing the whiting through the dentist. I don’t think it would take much, since I already have fairly nice teeth. I brush 3-4 times a day. Since I had to have teeth pulled, I go to the dentist when I should!! I’m lucky that I have naturally healthy teeth, my dentist couldn’t believe I hadn’t been in, in years!!
Oh, yeah i didn’t answer about whiting toothpaste working. I think it does to a point. But you have to take care of your teeth, have them cleaned, etc. It’s doesn’t hurt, but how much it really works, I don’t know.
We have some Crest White Strips here and yes i feel they work, but I don’t use them too often because they make my teeth sensitive.
aww you meant toothpaste!!!! I use Crest. as far as making my teeth whiter, im not sure. lol
I love them white strips! They are so darn expensive though…that’s why I ask for them for Christmas or something. 🙂
LOL!! That’s a good idea though.
I have a Philips Sonicare toothbrush and I’ve had it since I got my teeth fixed. It’s going on 5 years now and I love it and might buy another one now. After seeing it on Amazon, I just might. I paid over $100 for mine and this price is CHEAP. Anyway, I love it. It stops after 2 minutes so you know how long to brush and it’s so nice to brush everywhere and it feels really good.
I also got my teeth whitened at the dentist when I got some of my new teeth because we had to match the new ones to the old ones and Vicki’s right. It makes your teeth really sensitive for a while. It’s almost like there’s electricity running through them at times when that stuff is on. It looks nice though.
Both Paul and I use Aquafresh. He uses the tube and I have a stand up tube because I like to keep mine with my toothbrush and it’s so easy to keep clean and nobody gets mad if it’s not rolled up perfectly!!!! I just love the flavor of it.
I floss so many times a day that I can’t even keep track. I also don’t use mouthwash regularly but if I have a sore or I bite my tongue or something I’ll use it several times a day to try to keep it clean and it seems to help healing.