Colgate Duraphat Fluoride Toothpaste

Just recently I've had terrible teeth problems. I have always looked after them the best that I could but suffering an eating disorder my teeth have really suffered with a loss of enamel in general and a lot of my teeth look really white from a distance though look close up they look a bit brittle and underneath that you can see enamel adding a thickness to the base of my teeth with a more natural yellowish colour to them.

The problem other than that is grinding my teeth, something I have done for years and did have a gum shield to wear at night a few years back but I couldn't get on with it and actually I forgot I was a grinder till I had to go to the Dentist the other day due to terrible sensitivity in a couple of back teeth that over days was spreading to the teeth around them.

Anything cold, hot, warm whatever touching them hurt me. It hurt to brush them, even touching them meant I got shooting pains in about 4 of my teeth and the gums and that's what led me to make my appointment in the first place and I was so convinced I'd need a couple pulled out.

However my Dentist is a brilliant man and explained to me about my loss of enamel and the fact that two of my teeth had gone soft. The only treatment he was willing to offer me right now was this toothpaste which is a prescription only toothpaste (I am exempt from paying prescription charges luckily due to a thyroid problem) and he took a cast of my teeth to get a gum shield for me to wear at night. The idea is to try the toothpaste on its own, then in conjunction with the gumshield and if my teeth still gave me jip then its dental hospital for me!

The Packaging:

The box is oblong in shape and white in colour with red and blue writing all over it and the tube although plastic looks the same in its appearance as the box and of course is a squeezy tube with a small hole to one end of it. On two sides of the box we are told that it is Colgate Duraphat 5000 ppm Fluoride Toothpaste, Sodium Fluoride and that '1g of toothpaste contains 5 mg of Fluoride (as Sodium Fluoride) corresponding to 5000 ppm Fluoride' and there is a picture of a tooth on there and we are told that there is 51g of toothpaste in a tube. Other information on the box includes ingredients and contact details for Colgate-Palmolive. No instructions are given on the packaging as to how to use this toothpaste that's up to your Doctor/Dentist to give you via a label on the box and my instructions are to use this twice a day.

Using It:

Interestingly enough there wasn't a leaflet within my box so all I knew to expect from this toothpaste was what my Dentist told me. He told me this toothpaste was to replace my usual stuff and that it should help to stop sensitivity and to help to build my teeth back up. I wasn't to expect enamel repair though and that was that.

So as soon as I got my toothpaste home I used it and now have been several weeks, twice a day as recommended.

The toothpaste itself is a dark turquoise coloured gel. It has a minty aroma to it and tastes minty though the flavour isn't harsh or breathtaking and in actual fact is rather nice though not as out and out fresh as I had initially expected it to be. In use it doesn't foam up in the mouth very much at all which I actually appreciate but I do find myself using more of it. I give my teeth a good clean for the full two minutes, twice a day and that's it jobs done.

Verdict:

I never thought I would say I love a toothpaste believe me but this stuff is simply excellent on all fronts and I can see why this is a bit of a secret and on prescription only to be honest. First off its an excellent cleaning toothpaste. I am a smoker and this has brought my teeth up so white looking.(the enamel part I do have to my teeth that is) so now I'm not so conscious of two toned coloured teeth, they simply look so shiny and sparkling after using this and above all they feel clean and fresh for hours after using it. After just a couple of hours from cleaning your teeth with the usual stuff on the market teeth can start to feel a bit plaque ridden and grotty, not with this this really does keep my teeth feeling clean and fresh for hours! So on the whitening and cleaning front in my case it gets full marks and it wasn't even prescribed for that!

What about the issues it was prescribed for though I hear you ask? Well most of the sensitivity in my teeth has now gone! On the teeth I originally went to the Dentist about I won't lie..... I still have issues with them and am sure I will be referred to a dental hospital however that's only two of the teeth now and not four as this seems to have stopped the surrounding teeth from being so sensitive which is a blessing! I have always had general issues with sensitivity around other teeth due to enamel loss and this has really stopped that!

I have recently been for yet another check up on my teeth and my teeth I'm happy to report are apparently stronger and the two teeth that had gone way to soft have toughened up a bit and in general, to me my teeth feel healthier and stronger, not so falsely glossy and the dryness in my mouth caused by the loss of enamelled teeth has vanished!

This to me is a miracle toothpaste. Ok not all of my teeth issues have gone but this certainly has made my teeth more bearable to live with and for that it deserves top marks. I wont be giving up on this one and my Dentist if he knows what is good for him wont ever make me...its simply excellent stuff!

This review is also posted on Dooyoo under this same username.