Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face
conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.
― Greta Garbo
(Today’s quote isn’t relevant to today’s topic, strictly speaking, but dang, it’s TRUE.)
Over the summer we went to the beach house and I forgot to pack toothpaste, so I had to use Cass’s. It was one of those kid toothpastes; not a character one like Dora or SpongeBob, but maybe like Colgate Kids.
It was flavored Watermelon something (they always have ridic names; it was probably Wacky Wild Watermelon or similar), which sounds like it wouldn’t be too bad, right?
OH. EMM. GEE. It was freaking disgusting. It was this crazy gel consistency, like what comes in those little tubes for cake decorating. And it was soooo sweet that it was icky.
And I was BRUSHING MY TEETH WITH IT.
Turns out, kid toothpaste is SWEETENED so kids will love it and ask for it by name. Not with sugar, of course, even the most laidback parent is gonna sound the alarm when the ingredient list for toothpaste, that stuff you use to prevent tooth decay, has sugar in it. Nope, it has SACCHARINE. You know, that stuff that has been linked to cancer.
And our kids are using this stuff two, three times a day, and if your kid is like mine, probably swallowing some each time.
There are other questionable ingredients too, of varying levels of potential toxicity, and I’m just gonna point you over to the Good Guide to check out your current brand (but I do want to note that several that bring up the bottom of the list are allegedly “natural” formulas, so check those ingredients!).
Cass was sent Tom’s of Maine’s Silly Strawberry to try out, swapping sparkles for strawberries (dude, I don’t even want to know how they achieve sparkles in toothpaste).
Reasons to love Tom’s of Maine Silly Strawberry:
- First and only natural kid’s toothpaste to receive the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance for its proven effectiveness.
- No artificial dyes or sweeteners. Tom’s of Maine Silly Strawberry toothpaste gets its naturally sweet flavor from real strawberries.
- Available with and without fluoride: this is especially important for kids who are not adept at the whole spitting/rinsing thing yet.
- Rates an 8.0 on the Good Guide for health.
- Discloses all ingredients right there on the product page.
- No animal testing or animal ingredients.
- 10% of profits from all sales are donated to help people and the planet.
Now, I have been using the Silly Strawberry too, and I think it’s fine. I prefer the mint, but I have no problem with using this.
But the big question, of course, is: will my kid love it? Well, it’s sort of like food. If your kid is used to candy, soda, and potato chips, they are not going to be thrilled about sweet potato pie and kale chips with a nice tall glass of milk. Your best option is to start with this when those teeth first erupt and never introduce the sweet stuff.
Barring that, going cold turkey will probably meet with some resistance at first, but if this is the only option available, then they will get used to it.
Or, do as we do, and offer the mint version for the adults as an alternative. Cass HATES mint toothpaste so she doesn’t argue. This is important: Cass has tight teeth in the back and has to brush often to fight decay. It’s enough of a pain just getting her to brush for two minutes twice a day. Arguing every time over the toothpaste? I’d go Captain Insano.
I’ll be honest: she doesn’t love it. She tolerates it. And that is totally OK, she is not supposed to love the taste of her toothpaste. That’s what encourages kids to eat it. We don’t want them to eat it; we want them to brush their teeth with it and then spit it out.
See what I’m saying?
GIVEAWAY!
One reader doesn’t have to take my word for it, they will get a free tube of Tom’s of Maine Silly Strawberry toothpaste for their very own, to have and to hold and to clean their teeth with.
Just leave me a comment letting me know how good a tooth brusher your kid is for your chance to win.
And if you follow me on the Twitter @robinelton, leave me a 2nd comment telling me so for an extra chance to win.
I’ll pull a winner at random from all comments on Tuesday, December 27th.
Good luck!
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This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.
She is really so pretty and cute!!I think kids will love this toothpaste…
Well, I guess I can comment here. We are currently using toddler toothpaste and have been getting ready to make the switch to big kid (aka SPITTING!!) toothpaste. I have 5 kids brushing their teeth daily & they all are quite good at it. I think 3 are ready for the big stuff. I am worried that I will have to clean my sink A LOT more, but you gotta do what you gotta do. We adults have used Tom’s of Maine (now for big people!) for years and can’t go back to crunchy, sugary toothpastes ever again!
O is a TERRIBLE tooth-brusher but i am hoping that once she is old enough for toothpaste her desire to brush her teeth will improve.
I think this is a good idea for all the kids…
Good idea…this is applicable to all kids…
My son is a good brusher! Yay! I know someone who just tried Tom’s Strawberry toothpaste. She was so happy because until she tried Tom’s, her 2-yr. old HATED to brush his teeth, saying it was too “hot.” He actually smiled when he tried Tom’s and now loves brushing his teeth.
My kiddos absolutely LOVE to brush their teeth! We all sing the song about tooth brushing and washing your face(from Sprout) a couple times while they brush. The 6 year old is pretty good on his own but we still brush my almost 3 year old boys teeth for him. Watching him learn to spit is so darn cute! Thanks for the chance!
Rebecca Niehaus
imsosweepy at gmail dot com
I follow you on twitter as @sparkleglow
Rebecca Niehaus
imsosweepy at gmail dot com
I am all about trying to make my kids teeth brushing time fun!!! We get to pick our tooth brush because each kid has a variety. I love it. They are such better brushers after that!!! 🙂
Both of my gals do actually enjoy brushing their teeth twice daily. The little one often requests more paste and okay maybe she is sucking on it like a Popsicle but you gotta pick your battles, right.
I follow you on Twitter!
My oldest is horrible at brushing his teeth. We are always on him about it. My daughter LOVES to brush her teeth. She brushes sometimes four-five times a day. And my youngest also loves to brush his teeth. I always brush the younger one’s even after they’ve brushed just to make sure they got all of their teeth.
Out of my kids, my daughter is a good tooth brusher and is pretty easy to get to brush. My son, on the other hand, is not so easy and likes to bite the toothbrush when we try and brush for him!
I follow you on Twitter (@MommyEntourage) 🙂
We have one brushing pro and one in training. We’ve used this toothpaste before and love it!! Now we have a sparkly one but after reading your post I am wondering…what are the sparkles made of??? Yikes.