Boots Disclosing Tablets > Reviews (5)

On a recent visit to the dentist with my 2 children (aged almost 10 and 7 1/2) I had to admit their tooth brushing skills weren't as good as I thought they were, which left me feeling a bit guilty as I didn't always supervise through lack of time in mornings, and now grudgingly admit also that perhaps my two little angels may even on some occasions have pretended to brush their little molars to avoid being late for school or making me late for work.

Whose fault? Mine entirely as I shouldn't try to rush them to get ready in time, and by doing so have neglected my duty in ensuring they are healthy in all ways. Instead I should be organising my routine better.

But enough of the guilt trips I've laid on myself, time for action! First of all a trip to Boots was necessary for some dental supplies. On the advice of my dental nurse I purchased some new toothbrushes aimed at my children's age, (by letting them choose the colour/theme) and bought each of them their own tube of toothpaste. The last thing on my list was to purchase some disclosing tablets.

Now we all must surely remember the days in school when the school dentist would visit and give each of us a small pink tablet which we would chew and then spit out, leaving our tongues, lips and teeth bright pink? Then we would brush away all that pink to reveal nice white teeth again. These tablets are exactly the same only now are a lovely shade if blue (somehow I couldn't see my son wanting to have a pink tongue)

Boots advanced disclosing tablets come in a pack of 12 and cost around £1.70 which may sound rather expensive especially when you have two children or more children to consider, but on the advice of the assistant in store these could be cut in half and so doubled the amount. I bought 2 packets so that I would have enough to last me a couple of weeks to give the children a good start. (watch out for special offers on these though as I suspect they would be on the 3 for 2 offers quite often)
They come in a blister pack similar to that of paracetamol, and so must be kept out of the reach of children as they could be taken for sweets as could any other tablet. They are recommended for use by children over the age of 6, this is because younger children may swallow them and this is not advised.

I prefer to get my kids to use them at night a little while before they go to bed, I say a little while because try getting children to do anything whilst they are tired and you are facing a tantrum! First of all your child has to brush their teeth as normal and then they chew one of these tablets (make sure they are over the sink when doing this as quite often they leak saliva and blue stains on clothing may come out quite well in the wash but it does take a fair amount of scrubbing to get that face clean) As I mentioned I like to cut the tablets into two halves, not a simple task but with a sharp knife can be achieved. There is a line across each tablet which makes it a little easier to do. Once my two have brushed their teeth and I am satisfied they have done their best I pop half a tablet into each of their mouths, and instruct them to chew it, making sure they swish it about in their mouths a little to make sure they coat all of their teeth in the blue dye.

This only needs to last for a short time and then they spit the residue down the sink…or as my son likes to do, down the toilet turning the water blue…little imp! Only then do I allow them to look in the mirror to see where they've missed brushing, the blue dye sticks to the missed bits of plaque and allows they to see exactly where they've missed and then they continue brushing their teeth to try remove all traces of blue (plaque)

This has been hugely successful in that they now are more diligent when brushing their teeth, especially at night when using the tablets, but also a little more in the mornings when they remember how blue their teeth were and after I explained what that plaque left behind could do to their teeth and gums!

I will continue to use the disclosing tablets for a while longer until I am 100% confident that they are brushing their teeth to the best of their abilities twice daily and my son has been instructed by the dentist to use his brush at lunchtime in school also as he has very thin enamel possibly due to a mixture of drinking fruit juices and also using his asthma inhalers and other medication over the years.

The disclosing tablets use the food colouring additive E131 (Patent blue V) which is a synthetic coal-tar dye. This additive can cause allergy to some people, resulting in skin rash etc and is not recommended for consumption by children, It can also cause hyperactivity and is apparently banned in USA, Australia and Norway according to the UKfoodguide.net - I suspect though that the quantity of the dye is not sufficient to cause alarm and that with proper adult supervision that this is not swallowed then should cause no suffering to children or Boots would not sell it. I have noticed no adverse reactions in either of my children and my son as many of you already know does have allergy problems already with many things.

To recap, I would highly recommend using these disclosing tablets as a way of making sure your children are brushing their teeth correctly, perhaps not for an extended period of time but to get them into a better routine and seeing where they are going wrong. As long as the child remembers to spit it out it shouldn't cause any harm, although I'm not sure swallowing such a small thing would cause any damage either…but I am not a doctor or do I claim to have any medical knowledge so don't take my word on that! If you're at all unsure then I would consult your dentist for more information.

Thanks for reading
Michelle April08