Review & Giveaway: Silly Strawberry Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste (CLOSED)

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.