Of Toothpaste and Toothbrushes.


I’ve been pondering doing something about the colour of my teeth for quite some time now. Celebrity worthy perfect white teeth sound great in theory but the maintenance required is right up there with keeping your hair that shade of Bergdorf blonde. Frequent trips to the dentist (for the teeth), care with the foods you eat and drink (for both, I guess), the cost (ditto)…. It all sounded too much like hard work.

 
 
Until I happened to be given a tube of Colgate’s new Optic White toothpaste to review. My review today will also include Colgate’s new Slim Soft toothbrush. Both are available at retailers including Priceline, Coles and Big W. Optic White retails at $7.99 for a 110g tube and the Slim Soft toothbrush is $3.99 for a single and $6.99 for a twin pack.
 
Optic White toothpaste
General observations:
  • Sturdy flip top tube in a shade of iridescent red I’m quite liking. Looks rather chic on the bench top in my bathroom.
  • Is more expensive than regular Colgate toothpastes, around $3 more from my research. It’s also at the pricier end of other supermarket whiteners.
  • Definitely has a different taste to regular toothpaste but not as unpleasant as I thought it would be. It tasted a little chalky and less ‘minty’ than what I usually use. In the scheme of things, I’m more than happy to live with this if it will give me lovely looking teeth.
  • The key ingredient in Optic White is hydrogen peroxide. Colgate clams this is successful in both removing surface staining as well as deeply whitening teeth. The brand’s research promises teeth three shades whiter after four weeks of use.
  • I’ve not experienced any sensitivity of my gums in the weeks that I’ve been using Optic White twice daily.
  • It’s too easy! All you have to do is use the toothpaste. No additional treatments, no food restrictions, no appointments.
  • It’s fine to use with both electric and standard toothbrushes.


You might be wondering why I’ve included a photo of my front loader near the end of a cycle at this point. It was noted in other reviews of this toothpaste that the longer you can leave some product on your teeth, the more rapidly you’ll notice the whitening effect on your teeth. Emptying the washing machine took just the right amount oif time to let my teeth ‘soak’ a little while longer.

Results:
  • I’m impressed. It’s been just over a week and I’m already seeing results. My teeth are normally strained and probe to yellowing. At the moment, they definitely look cleaner. Not a perfect dazzling white (yet), but much better than usual. It will be interesting to see how good they’ll look in a few weeks’ time.
Colgate Slim Soft toothbrush
 
Bristle comparison.
Colgate Slim Soft on the left, my regular Colgate toothbrush on the right.

 

 

The unique selling point of this toothbrush is its size. The bristles are softly tapered and 17 times slimmer than those of a standard toothbrush. The toothbrush head is also noticeable slimmer than those of others on the market. The aim of these modifications is to provide a gentle and more through clean.

 

Toothbrush width comparison.
Colgate Slim Soft on the left, my regular Colgate toothbrush on the right.

 

I was a bit sceptical that Slim Soft would have any advantages over current toothbrush but I was pleasantly surprised. By jingo, it’s a toothbrush that can really clean! The finer, softer bristles actually did clean my teeth more thoroughly than my firmer toothbrush with its fancy bristle arrangement. If you have sensitive teeth, the Slim Soft toothbrush is definitely worth considering.

 

And there we have it, all the latest on my dental goings on.

 

The products discussed in this review were provided to SSG by Colgate-Palmolive and Magnum PR. I would like to thank both parties for their support of this blog.

 


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