Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Wave of the Crest. (Navigating the toothpaste aisle.)


When you get older you are more likely to reminisce about the good old days. They seldeom were as good as we say, but they may have been simpler.

I can remember when they invented Crest brand toothpaste. It was a "sea change" in toothpaste. It contained fluoride to prevent cavities. Dentists recommended it. I remember a few other brands in that time period: Colgate, Ipana, Pepsodent and different brands of tooth powders and baking soda toothpaste. There weren't many choices. Rexall had their store brand.

Boy have things changed. We needed toothpaste and I counted 26 varieties of Crest in the store. I don't think they have room to stock all of them produced. There is Crest that whitens your teeth, crest that has Scope to clean your breath, Crest for tartar control, Crest to prevent cavities, Crest with baking soda, Crest for kids, (actually six children's Crest toothpastes). Nature's Expressions Crest, Crest Pro-Health, Crest for sensitive teeth, Striped Crest, Crest to loosen plaque etc. Then there are varieties of each of these. Some come in gel or paste. Some have sparkles in the gel. There are colors. There are tubes or upright dispensers. We haven't even touched on the fact they all come in a variety of sizes. Do you realize your could have a shop that just sold toothpaste? These are only varieties of Crest. This is all duplicated by Colgate varieties. When I sorted Operation Christmas Child boxes last week I must have spotted a dozen different brands of childrens toothpaste. They make several that a kid can swallow.

I purchased the Pro-health Crest that promises cavity protection, help for gingivitis, plaque fighting, breath freshening,whitening and helps sensitive teeth. I think that should about cover it. Couldn't they use that to replace the other types? Doesn't everyone want all these benefits? When I got home I noticed the toothpaste I bought is "clean cinnamon" flavored. Yuk. I like the orignal aqua colored paste. Probably wasn't room on the shelf to stock that. Will this get easier when I get to the point where my teeth are in a glass?

Oh, the wonders of modern science. Don't get me started on disposable razors. Are they up to 6 tracks yet?

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