In search for freshness

Having squeezed the life out of my current tube of Darlie All Shiny White Flouride Toothpaste, I went in search for another tube.

In spite of the variety presented to me, I couldn’t find the same one I’d been using. I’d gotten quite fond of this particular type of toothpaste from Darlie. With an electric toothbrush, every brush is like a trip to the dentist. The little granular bits in there polishing each tooth. After each brush, the molars feel smooth and clear of grit.

I couldn’t decide on what type to get this time. And although I wouldn’t say I’m brand conscious, I usually stay away from Colgate. To me, they’re the Microsoft, the PAP of the toothpaste world.

I remember the first toothbrushing lesson in school. Young and innocent then, we didn’t know all it involved was a toothbrush and saliva. My classmates mostly brought their red tubes of Colgate, while I had Aquafresh (which, now that I come to think of it, I’ve not used in a while) . Too many red tubes. What a turn off. I’ve not used Colgate ever since I had to pay for my own toothpaste.

Back to my toothpaste dilemma.

Not knowing what to pick, I got three tubes. Happily forgetting it’d take me quite a few months to finish each. But I was curious. What difference is there really? And why do people pick the toothpastes they pick? Are they adventurous to try new flavours and formulas? Do the toothpastes really leave you feeling fresh and clean? Do some formulas make you feel cleaner than another type?

So I picked up three tubes of Darlie.

Why Darlie?

Colgate, you know why I’m not trying.

Sensodyne? Oral-B? They’re serious about their toothpaste. Or so it seems. No fancy packaging. Not a lot of flavours. Sensodyne and Oral-B are to Asics and New Balance as Colgate is to Nike. So I’m really gunning for the Nike of toothpaste here.

Okay, so the three tubes I picked up were: Hydro Fresh Gel Flouride Spring Mint Toothpaste (offer S$2.69 usually S$3.10 at Sheng Siong Supermarket) that contains spring water from France, Fresh ‘n Brite Flouride Two in One Formula Toothpaste (offer $2.26 usually S$3.10 at Sheng Siong Supermarket) and Tea Care Natural Green Tea Essence Flouride Toothpaste that contains Tea Polyphenol (S$3.10 at Sheng Siong Supermarket).

This morning, I tried Tea Care.

Darlie makes few claims for this toothpaste, declaring that one will have a “a naturally healthy mouth”

The first thing that strikes you about Tea Care is (no surprise here) the strong scent of green tea. It’s quite powerful. As I do not usually drink tea, green or black, casually, the effect of smelling the green tea toothpaste immediately made me think of Japanese food.

At 7am in the morning, this is not a good thing.

Okay it was 9am.

As I proceeded to brush, mint started to battle with green tea. And somewhere in the middle of brushing, the green tea flavour seemed to disappear. And mint is all that is left. It’s a bit like chewing gum today. The taste seemed to go away too quickly.

But that conclusion turned out to be false. After rinsing out the mouth, you realise there’s still a whole lot of green tea flavour in your mouth. It’s quite a pleasing finish, but I’m still thinking about sushi. And, because of the underwhelming mint, it is actually reminding me of the Chilled Green Tea that I order at Hanabi – the only place I’ve had green tea cold.

However, feeling the surfaces of my teeth, I feel as if they still have a layer of grime. It still doesn’t feel as clean as the old tube of All Shiny White.

How long does the green tea flavour last in your mouth? Well, after a cup of water, drunk straight, no rinsing action like some people like to do, the flavour of green tea still remains in your mouth. And the flavour stayed in my mouth for about an hour or so after that.

In the afternoon, I gave Tea Care another try.

This time, the experience was a little different. The green tea smell and taste that I’d found a little overwhelming before was not as strong.

During rinsing, I found the mix between tap water and Tea Care not too pleasant.

This time though, I was using conventional toothbrush and a long line of toothpaste. I used a lot less toothpaste with the electric toothbrush. So it would seem strange that I found the green tea flavour less discernible.

How long does the flavour of green tea last after an afternoon brush? This time? About 25 minutes.

So does Tea Care give me a naturally healthy mouth? Not something I can prove.

All in all, quite a nice toothpaste. If you’re not big on mint, it just might be your cup of tea.

Now if only I can disassociate green tea from Japanese food…

PS: Taking a whiff of the toothpaste before brushing actually increases the taste of green tea. I think that was the difference between my morning and afternoon brushing session.