toothpaste

I don't know about you guys but while I clean my teeth a couple of times a day and keep my dentist happy I don't really think much about toothpaste. Had to buy some more yesterday and was suddenly struck by the proliferation of varieties produced by the same manufacturer.

e.g. there appear to be about 10 Colgate varieties now ( but they aren't the only manufacturer whose range seem to have proliferated )

Do any of you try these new varieties when they come out? Or am I the only one that thinks that toothpaste is toothpaste and buy by price.

Has anyone else noticed that they all seem to come in different sizes so that you can't compare the price easily?

Looking along the dental health shelves there are upteen flavours of mouthwash, mint flavoured dental floss :confused: Why would you want to flavour dental floss?

Jackie ( wondering if I'm totally out of step with the rest of the world )

PS this was my favourite variety by description off of the Colgate site

Colgate baking soda & peroxide whitening with tartar control Brisk Mint Paste

I use Sensodyne because my teeth are temporature sensitive. I think it's something to do with your enamel thinning as you age.

Anyway, Sensodyne works a treat for me.

It's about twice the price of Colgate though :(

I use any of the gel toothpastes because they are not abrasive. I also use an electric toothbrush and the tape style floss.
I spent a fortune on a periodontist (gum) who recommended the above. The electric toothbrush works a treat.

Yep,wot Grunt said. Greatest aid to healthy teeth and gums is a good electric toothbrush and good floss.

I believe that Chad MOrgan flossed with baling twine :D :D
Electric brushes are good but be sure to use a good one, we have a Braun something that has a dual action and a price tag to match.
Mrs buys whatever is on special at the time but generally a colgate or similar product.
Do people use soot anymore???

I'm of the school that toothpaste is toothpaste and soap is soap etc - as long as it cheap, however it doesn't take much to figure out all is not what it seems.

Choice has some good articles on toothpaste, although their review doesn't really seem to judge wether the toothpaste actually works or not.

http://www.choice.com.au/viewSearchR...e&CatId=100525

And for what its worth the general consensus is that whitening toothpaste doesn't really work that well.

As for buying stuff at prices you can't compare I have to agree that toothpaste is one of the hardest. Being the home dad, I do all the shopping and have become an expert at buying the cheapest per kg, pound, gm, litre etc. For example, this is one for the kiddies, it is generally cheaper to buy a 2 litre carton milk at say $2.80 ($1.40 per litre) than it is to buy the 3 litre carton which can come at around $4.50 ($1.50 per litre). Sort of changes from time to time but oddly enough the 2 litres of milk are generally cheaper per litre than the 3 litres of milk. I also know that cashews at around $19 per kg isn't much of a bargain but they do drop down to around $12, and that mushrooms will sit at $7 per kg for 6 days of the week and drop down to $4 once a week or so (but you have to eat the little buggers fast though) And if you check with the deli you can generally buy fresh australian fish around 2 days after it was caught - if you get your timing right. blah blah blah

Back to the toothpaste. When tryin to compare prices I generally reduce the stuff to a common denominator - generally multiples of a 100. But with toothpaste the common denominator would I think be multiples of 5, which is beyond my capacity especially since all of this is done on the fly, whilst juggling kids, keeping a running total, ensuring there is enough for a six pack and trying to justify to swmbo why I also needed to buy a new coopers brew pack eventhough there's about 400 bottles already in the shed!!!

As for pancake mixes - don't bother!

It's all too confusing. I don't know whether to eat it, rub it on myself, or bake a cake with it half the time. I leave that up to SWMBO. It's just goop that you put on your toothbrush to me.

I go from an 800 to a 1200 then finish off with green honing compound.

P
:D

"wonder where the yellow went!"

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I go from an 800 to a 1200 then finish off with green honing compound.

P

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Explains the pointy teeth.

We are living in a world of marketing. They keep coming up with new product, new formula. Yesterday it was a new product and today it becomes “so yesterday”.

I don’t go to the supermarket very often. I always buy the same shaving cream and shampoo. The new ones are just too complicated.

A $1 toothbrush is good enough for me but some of the new ones cost about $6-$10.

i use the gel that comes in the little bottles rather than stuff that comes in the tubes etc as I really hate the dried gooby bits that end up on the end of the tube. Also the little bottles make less mess and therefore I get in less touble.

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Originally Posted by bitingmidge

I go from an 800 to a 1200 then finish off with green honing compound.

P
:D

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LMAO
very clever

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Originally Posted by namtrak

And if you check with the deli you can generally buy fresh australian fish around 2 days after it was caught - if you get your timing right. blah blah blah

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your deli has fresh fish!!! I'm fed up of the little signs saying "thawed for your convenience" which generally isn't convenient for me as I may not want to eat fish that day and might like to freeze it myself :(

I agree with you on the milk and stuff ... you really do have to do your sums to find out the best price per litre/kg etc and biggest is quite often the most expensive. Last time I went back to the UK the supermarkets had done the work for some products e.g. toilet paper they'd tell you how much per roll on the shelf ticket which was really useful ( if, of course, you trust their maths ). I just love trying to work out the price of a roll of toilet paper when the choices are in packs of 4, 6, 9 :( But toothpaste is definately the worst, and it doesn't help that all of the boxes look the same size :(

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Originally Posted by bitingmidge

I go from an 800 to a 1200 then finish off with green honing compound.

P
:D

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Thats OK for going through skin, but I find that I have to take it to 4000 and 6000 before the green compound for that extra edge otherwise I spend more time sharpening than eating. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by bitingmidge

I go from an 800 to a 1200 then finish off with green honing compound.

P
:D

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So how many pints of blood do you need each time you smile?

My biggest challenge with toothpaste is getting the kids to brush their teeth with it rather than just sucking it off the toothbrush. SWMBO buys it and we are a Colgate family.:D

HH.

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Originally Posted by jackiew

your deli has fresh fish!!! I'm fed up of the little signs saying "thawed for your convenience" (

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Yeh, its only Coles - but after shopping around at all the local "fresh fish" places - the local Coles here has by far the best set-up. The bulk they do sell is imported Basa, whiting etc and there is a fair bit which is "TFYC = Refreeze at your own risk". This is of course after coming down from FNQ where we were spoilt rotten. I could spend half a day out botton bashing and fill the chest freezer with all sorts of beauties - Journeyman Mick if you ever leave Kuranda, make sure you get your fill of Fish, Lychees and Mangoes cause it just isn't quite the same!!

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Originally Posted by HappyHammer

My biggest challenge with toothpaste is getting the kids to brush their teeth with it rather than just sucking it off the toothbrush.

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Tell me about it. :mad:

"No, just spit it out. I said spit it out. NOOOOOOO!!!!" :mad: :mad: :mad:

I understand that colgate total in gel form is the best - I saw independant studies when I was at big school.... thats what we buy... by the way the polishing pastes evidently use baking soda which is an abrasive.

No amount of teeth cleaning will ensure their longevity. Cleaning your gums is just as important. Good gums = good teeth :)

Tikki (wearing her dental nurse hat!)

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Originally Posted by jackiew

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Colgate baking soda & peroxide whitening with tartar control Brisk Mint Paste

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I used to buy plain old Colgate with baking soda. Most pastes contain abrasive pumice powder, various flavours and binders, and I think the baking soda may give a slight 'effervescent' effect which you may or may not find pleasant. Probably the only effective ingredient in this was the pumice powder. This worked for me, & tasted OK.

Now they've stopped making this, and you can only get the one with 'peroxide whitening with tartar control Brisk Mint Paste'. Probably will cost an arm & a leg more and I won't like the taste.

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Originally Posted by AlexS

I used to buy plain old Colgate with baking soda. Most pastes contain abrasive pumice powder, various flavours and binders, and I think the baking soda may give a slight 'effervescent' effect which you may or may not find pleasant. Probably the only effective ingredient in this was the pumice powder. This worked for me, & tasted OK.

Now they've stopped making this, and you can only get the one with 'peroxide whitening with tartar control Brisk Mint Paste'. Probably will cost an arm & a leg more and I won't like the taste.

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Well why not switch over to EEE? :D

Charcoal is meant to be good for cleaning teeth. There's a woody connection there, that should appeal to some.

Hands up if you've ever 'cleaned' your teeth with your finger after waking up on someone else's lounge room floor (or in their bed :eek: )

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Originally Posted by Tikki

No amount of teeth cleaning will ensure their longevity. Cleaning your gums is just as important. Good gums = good teeth :)

Tikki (wearing her dental nurse hat!)

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Only too true. I know from sad experience :(

Nowadays I brush my gums not my teeth.

Craig (who'd still rather watch paint dry than floss :o )

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Originally Posted by silentC

Hands up if you've ever 'cleaned' your teeth with your finger after waking up on someone else's lounge room floor (or in their bed :eek: )

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http://www.yell.com/img/consumer_advice.jpg
Considered using their toothbrush before I sneeked out the door but thought that wouldn't be polite.:D

HH.

If you're finding that brushing and flossing are not enough. At night, before bed, after brushing and flossing try rinsing your mouth with a hot cup of water fully saturated with table salt. Swill it around for about a minute and then spit it out but don't rinse out your mouth after. This will kill most of the bacteria that are left in your mouth. At night, when you're sleeping is the worst time for your gums. You don't flush out your mouth when you're sleeping like you do when you are awake. This allows the bacteria to build up and cause damage to your gums; which causes them to recede and your teeth to fall out. Tooth sensativity is often related to receding gum lines.

It's all about numbers really. If you have 1 million bacteria in your mouth before you brush and 500 000 after you brush; bacteria double every 30 mins. After 8 hours of sleep youn could have 32,700,000,000 bacteria feeding on your gums and other organic material in your mouth leaving behind a mountain of bacteria ***** dentists call plaque.

If you have 1 million bacteria and brush and then flush with a strong anti-bacterial agent such as salt (and don't rinse) you will have maybe 100 000 of the little buggers left when your head hits the pillow. After 8 hours of sleep you could have 3,270,000,000. Nearly 30 billion less bacteria feasting in your mouth by morning and a lot less bacteria turds to brush away in the morning.

Less bacteria turds = reduced gum problems and over all less problems with your teeth.

Any anti-bacterial mouth will work but I don't like ingesting man made chemicals that are for the most part poisons if I can avoid it, salts been around since time began and unless you eat it by the table spoon a day won't hurt you.

Side note: some bacteria like a high salty environment they're called extreme halophiles and are not normally found in human mouths. All other bacteria implode in a high brine solution, if I remember correctly it has to do with osmosis.

Has anyone seen the North American show Cheers? That was my Cliff Claven moment...:D

I suddenly feel a bit ill. And no, it is not the 4 schooners I had for lunch.....

:p

You will notice after only using a tooth brush and nothing else that your teeth don't feel clean. The pumice is only an abrasive used to aid in scrubing the bacteria, tartar and caked on plaque off your teeth anything else in tooth paste has little if any benefit.

I'd stay away from those teeth "whitening" agents. Hydrogen Peroxide is extremely caustic and it wouldn't surprise me if they finally found these agents to be damaging to your teeth and gums. In fact I doubt the tooth paste manufacturers and any other company producing these whitening gells... has ever done any sort of study to find out if they are damaging or not. That way they can legally say they didn't know.

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Originally Posted by AlexS

I used to buy plain old Colgate with baking soda. Most pastes contain abrasive pumice powder, various flavours and binders, and I think the baking soda may give a slight 'effervescent' effect which you may or may not find pleasant. Probably the only effective ingredient in this was the pumice powder. This worked for me, & tasted OK.

Now they've stopped making this, and you can only get the one with 'peroxide whitening with tartar control Brisk Mint Paste'. Probably will cost an arm & a leg more and I won't like the taste.

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You could get them all ripped out and replaced with falsies, like the sister of a friend of mine did. Just chuck 'em in the dishwasher with the plates.

If you don't like brushing do what my dad and a lot of other brit men his age did in their 20s - have them all pulled whether they're in bad shape or not:eek:.

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Originally Posted by silentC

You could get them all ripped out and replaced with falsies, like the sister of a friend of mine did. Just chuck 'em in the dishwasher with the plates.

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:D
We're talking about teeth here, right? :confused:

It used to be a 21st birthday present ...paying for your daughter or son to have all of their teeth pulled.

Not only in the uk. There is a museum in Hobart with displays of rooms fitted out from different eras with lots of info on the era. One of the info pieces indicated that the same thing was done in Tasmania too.

Think back to how many of your grandparents had most of their own teeth, not too many at a guess, dentistry has come a long way from the time when all dentists did was rip 'em out.

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Originally Posted by jackiew

......... had most of their OWN teeth.......

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I have dentures so the question is somewhat irrelevant to me.

However as I have paid for my dentures with good old fashioned cash, at a time when a dollar was worth a dollar :D , I consider them my own teeth.

Maybe not my original teeth but still my own. :D


Peter.