Shopping for Colgate at Walmart

I’m kind of a snob about certain products I use. There are only a few that stick out in my mind, and trust me, they’re not high end, but I don’t usually step out of my comfort zone when it comes to oral care products.

Then along came the opportunity to work with Collective Bias, Colgate, and Walmart. I figured this was a great way to check out a brand I didn’t have any experience with. I headed to Walmart after I got off work, checked in with Foursquare, and went about my shopping.I had no idea how extensive Colgate’s oral care line is! I was really surprised. They have a great selection of toothpastes. I have one area in my mouth that is sensitive to metal and my hygienist suggested using a sensitive toothpaste before visiting them next time. I know which one I’ll get!

After I perused my toothpaste selection, I tried to figure out which toothbrush to get. I really liked that Colgate points out that if you have a cold, you should change your toothbrush. What a great reminder. Another feature I liked on their packaging is the ability to feel the sample part. Don’t you ever have a strong desire to open a package just to feel the rubbery part? Well, I do! Colgate puts that on the outside of some of their packaging!

The Colgate 360 Surround was the toothbrush I ended up getting. It looked like it had a lot of cool features:

1. Surround bristles to simultaneously clean both sides of your teeth
2. Wrap around feature on the side of the brush for more cleaning
3. Tongue & cheek cleaner
4. Polishing Cups to remove surface stains
5. Special tip to reach back teeth & hard to reach areas

But I have to say, the head on the toothbrush is HUGE! I felt like I had a shoe in my mouth. From the look of the toothbrush in the packaging it didn’t seem different than any other toothbrush, but this baby is big!

I also liked that they show on the package (thank you very much) that the back of the toothbrush has a cleaner for the tongue and sometimes the cheek. Now, I like that on a toothbrush, although I have a terrible gag reflex so I do that part really quickly!I was surprised when I looked for dental floss and only found one option. I prefer waxed floss to the silky kind. It just doesn’t seem to cling on to my teeth enough to pull anything off. The rope floss always get caught between my teeth. I used to be terrible at flossing, but last year I put my dental floss in my van where I’d see it daily and I do it at least once a day! My dentist would be so proud!

Do you ever get canker sores? I do when I bite the side of my cheek when I’m chewing gum or if I’m super stressed. Guess what? I had no clue Colgate has a product called Peroxyl for mouths with irritations!Now, as for my boys, they’re an entirely different issue when it comes to brushing their teeth! During the summer we get out of our routine and remembering to get them to brush when they’re still sleeping and I’ve left for the day isn’t very easy. They don’t mind brushing their teeth, it’s just the remembering party.

  

Well, when I brought home their new Bakugan toothbrushes and toothpaste, insanity ensued! The bag was flying off the bathroom counter, hands were grabbing, items were being claimed that wasn’t even for them. It was nuts. My oldest of course grabbed the 2 pack of Bakugan toothbrushes why the 8yo grabbed the toothpaste. Ok boys, how about you work together on this!

I think for my boys, I wish there were more than just fruity and bubble gum flavors. Yes, there’s one mint flavor, but that’s it. We’re really a minty family and kind of cringe when we think bubble gum or fruit flavor. For some reason, those flavors remind me of medicines when it comes to children’s products.I don’t take my boys shopping with me. 1) because I go to Walmart after work and I’m not driving a 1/2 hour home to get the boys to drive all the way back to shop to drive all the way home again and 2) if they saw the Spongebob selection or the other Bakugan products, I’d be in the poor house.

One of the things I was disappointed in not finding were dental picks for adults or children. My boys need to get better at flossing and I think dental picks would be a great idea.

Speaking of kids and oral care…Have you heard of the campaign from Colgate & Walmart called Building Smiles Together? You can find them on Twitter as #BuildingSmiles . Here’s what it’s all about:

In an effort to help combat rising cavity rates and build healthy smiles, Colgate's Bright Smiles, Bright Futures® is working with Walmart to create "Building Smiles Together™" — a new initiative dedicated to providing free dental screenings and oral health education to children in need.

There’s a Van crossing the U.S. visiting Walmarts! You can see where they’ll be and if they’ll be in your area when you visit the site.

Do you take your kids shopping with you? Is getting your kids to brush their teeth hard?

*This shop has been compensated as part of an insight study with #CollectiveBias. The opinions expressed are my own and are never influenced by the company.