Before It's Too Late, Beware of Crest's "Little Secret"!
Written: May 21 '08 (Updated Oct 01 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Attractive product box and tube. Nice concept.
Cons: Too abrasive! Greenish-blue toothpaste residue messily accumulates around the inner cap.
The Bottom Line: Why should I--or you--trust a product whose "abrasion number" its manufacturer refuses to reveal? Besides, it dries my gums and mouth. And the tube's inner cap gets messy.
henry_thoreau's Full Review: CREST Pro Health Fluoride Toothpaste Clean Mint 7....
Consider this:
If you were to phone "Colgate" (1-800-468-6502) to ask how abrasive any given variety of their toothpaste products is, you'd get a straight answer. Oh, the phone rep might require a moment or two to look it up; but shortly you'd be told precisely what the "RDA" ("radioactive dentin abrasion") number for any of their toothpastes.
Likewise, if you were to ask "Arm & Hammer" (1-800-524-1328) for the "RDA" numbers pertaining to their various toothpastes, you'd get precise answers.
HOWEVER, if you phone "Crest" (1-800-594-4158) and ask the same question, their phone reps will cordially decline to share--or don't themselves know--the precise "RDA-number" information. Proctor & Gamble seemingly doesn't want consumers to know!
Why not? Could it be because their toothpaste products generally rank among the most abrasive in the industry?
"Pro-Health": An Enticing Concept
The concept of a "do-everything" toothpaste was initially impressive and appealing. Obviously, it's nice to think that that one toothpaste could combat cavities, gingivitis, plaque, tartar, and sensitivity while whitening teeth and freshening breath.
A dental hygienist recommended that I start using Crest's Pro-Health toothpaste; she said that she herself planned to make the same switch. [UPDATE INSERTED HERE ON 10-01-2008: For whatever it's worth, theaforementioned hygienist, when I next saw her (months later), reported that she herself had stopped using this toothpaste after trying it for two weeks; she strongly disliked the way it affected her teeth/gums.] However (and, admittedly, maybe this is merely my dumb luck), I've yet to encounter a hygienist who takes seriously the abrasiveness of toothpastes (or gels). Indeed, I recall one hygienist casually remarking that since tooth enamel is strong, it can surely withstand virtually any toothpaste on the market. Such a "blanket" statement seems at least somewhat spurious; moreover, even if tooth enamel can survive the abrasion, what about gum tissue? If you're concerned about the long-term integrity of your tooth enamel and/or your gum tissue, I'm not so sure you'd be wise to accept at face value what "just any" dental hygienist might say. As my current (aforementioned) hygienist herself glibly granted about comparable questions, "if you talk to ten different [hygienists], you could end up with ten different answers."
But it does behoove us consumers to ask questions. If we have trouble getting straight answers, we should be at least a little suspicious.
Has "Crest" Got Something to Hide?
On a prior occasion I phoned "Crest," and their phone representative (after putting me on hold) told me that he didn't have any "RDA" information to share regarding Pro Health toothpaste. On a subsequent occasion, another Crest phone rep (after putting me on hold) told me that she didn't have the precise "RDA number" but that she "knew" it was "under 200."
Now, if you know anything about RDA values, you know that "200" is relatively abrasive. Indeed, I've read that it's the FDA-recommended limit. Therefore, saying that a particular toothpaste (or gel) is "under 200" seems tantamount to saying that it's approximately "less than the maximum number." I don't know about you, but I'd appreciate knowing precisely how much less than the maximum.
For whatever it may be worth, there is a "customer review" at Epinions.com that was originally posted in 2003 and which discusses specific "RDA" values for various toothpaste products, including some by Crest (but--as of this writing--not including "Pro-Health"). Given that two Crest "Whitening" products on that list have RDA values ranging from 130 to 144, I would assume that the RDA number for "Pro-Health" (which, among other things, touts itself as a "whitening" toothpaste) is comparably high, if not higher. Obviously, that's merely my surmise.
What I do know is that when I tried "Pro-Health" toothpaste, it felt more abrasive than other toothpastes (such as Arm & Hammer Dental Care or Colgate Total Mint Stripe Gel) I'd used; and it left my gums feeling displeasingly dryer than any other toothpaste I'd tried had done. I've read that it's much healthier to have naturally flowing saliva coating one's gums and teeth; the conspicuous dryness I experienced after using Crest Pro-Health toothpaste made me suspicious. [But presumably not everybody experiences such dryness with this toothpaste?]
On an admittedly much less significant note, I also noticed that the greenish-blue Pro-Health toothpaste residue accumulates around the inner cap. While that oversized "flip-top" cap's design might initially seem spiffy, after a short time it seems merely messy. In that regard, more conventional cap configurations (e.g., the smaller, combination "flip-top/screw-on" cap used for Colgate Total) strike me as tidier and more practical.
The Upshot:
I could live with the fact that this toothpaste looks abrasive. And perhaps I could live with the fact that it feels abrasive. But I don't like the evident fact that it actually is more abrasive (than alternative products) to dental enamel and gum tissue.
Moreover, I wasn't thrilled about the way it left my gums feeling relatively dry after brushing.
I'll grant that the concept of a "do-everything" toothpaste was initially impressive and appealing. It's nice to think that that one toothpaste could combat cavities, gingivitis, plaque, tartar, and sensitivity while whitening teeth and freshening breath.
But the slightly unpleasant brushing experience itself, coupled with the near-term and (potentially) long-term aftermath was enough to make me back away. Why should I--or you--trust a product whose "abrasion" number its maker won't publicly reveal?
In closing, let me share with you some information that I recently obtained via phoning "Colgate" and "Arm & Hammer." According to their respective phone representatives, below are the "RDA" numbers for some of their well-known toothpastes/gels.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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