BlanX White Shock & Sensodyne

Let's think about all kinds of things to do with weddings. Not just weddings, but also special occasions when we want to dress up or spruce ourselves up and feel extra special.

Back in April I had to have a surgical removal of coronectomy debris. I was prescribed some rather strong (nasty tasting) mouthwash by the hospital, along with Penicillin, and went on my way. The mouthwash, I had to use once or twice a day at least, until I had completed the course. I recently had to buy some more and was looking at Corsodyl (the next closest to the hospital stuff) when I stumbled across quite an assortment of other options.

The hospital solution was strong enough to sting and numb my mouth a bit but far too strong to use on a general day-to-day basis... good only for numbing the area where I had stitches put in

My teeth are a bit yellower than I would like them to be, i.e. not yellow at all. Although I don't smoke and never drink red wine, I did tend to drink a lot of tea, coffee and cola drinks in my youth, as they were supplied in abundance for free or next to nothing, to keep us all going on our twelve hour shifts come rain or shine.

Additionally, ten years of taking a concoction of medication has caused other problems, including weakening my teeth and eroding the enamel to almost nothing. I have spent years trying various brands of toothpastes in all their different formulas. In the months leading up to my own wedding, I certainly spent some time looking to home-whiten as much as possible, as a clinic whitening procedure simply wasn't an options; in terms of cost and practicality.

BlanX Intensive Stain Removal

My own dentist genuinely recommended that I used an enamel hardening toothpaste for sensitive teeth, which I found in Sensodyne Pronamel. They said it could help whiten the teeth as well, provided that for teeth with little enamel, a super soft brush wash used. I certainly jumped onto this advice and still use soft brushes and enamel hardening pastes. I do sincerely think my teeth are whiter now than they were when I was a teen, due to years of using the right formulas for my teeth. Brides - remember that you can't naturally whiten you teeth in a day or even a week! If you smoke or drink a lot of tea, coffee, red wine and/or cola, then certainly consider either reducing your intake or rinsing your mouth afterwards by having a glass of water, to cleanse the palate and wash away any potential stains before they sink in.

Think of your teeth like a white lace top... you wouldn't wash it with mixed colours, and if you got a stain on it you'd wash it out immediately rather than allow it to sink in and destroy the beautiful top. You only get one set of adult teeth, and nobody wants dentures, right?

I did use Sensodyne Pronamel for several years until I discovered BlanX. I absolutely love the stuff and wouldn't consider changing it any time soon!

There is a fairly new one BlanX released, called White Shock. It's a blue gel-like paste from a squeezy tube. The more you smile, the whiter your teeth get as the little thingies in the gel react to natural UV light and speed up the whitening process. There is another tube advertised on the website that comes with a light to brighten your teeth. I wouldn't know if this really works, so if you're happy and you know it, smile plenty!

BlanX White Shock

I just really wish it came in the same pump dispenser as their other pastes.

This gel style paste was a recent purchase and lasted me at least two months. I would strongly recommend trying it even if you think it's expensive. After all, you get what you pay for... 

I liked this formula as it was quite a clean, fresh taste without tasting too strongly of mint. It lathers up nicely without turning into a thick foam that's hard to rinse out. I would love to try it again... but BlanX, if you're out there, please consider a dispenser for it or a tube key!

The whitening power comes from an ingredient called Arctic Lichen... which I assume is a type of lichen found in the Arctic. The great thing about BlanX is that they don't put abrasive particles in the polish, so there's no damage done to your gum-line or the surface of your teeth. It's all natural, baby!

There are some strange competitive pricing wars going on... most weeks ASDA sells the enamel one for £7.00. In Tesco, for the longest time it was half the price and I always made a trip to buy it from there until they hiked up the price to £6.00.

At the weekend I bought the enamel paste, which comes in a nice pump dispenser. It's lovely and white, spreads nicely and isn't too thick. The density and texture is just right, and your teeth do feel really silky afterwards. I do feel it helps whiten and as it's 100ml or less, you can shove it in your travel bag for your honeymoon or weekend away.

The only qualm with the enamel paste is that it lathers into quite thick foam which it hard to rinse out unless you use mouthwash to get it all out... However, it is still a great paste/polish and I strongly recommend to all who would rather practice good oral hygiene than pay for someone to bleach their teeth. Most of us have seen idiotic celebrities sporting a row of insanely white toothy-pegs that are just as hideous to look at as a row of wonky brown gravestones.

Sensodyne Sensitive Mouthwash

Again from Tesco (I am not a 'lover' of Tesco since my weekly shops there always cost more than ASDA for the same stuff, bar the toothpaste of course) I bought some Sensodyne mouthwash for sensitive teeth. It was on a special offer - quite a good one at that - so I bought two bottles. 

It doesn't smell particularly pleasant at first but it has a great taste of delicate mint when you first rinse, then a warming licorice taste after you have rinsed. If you like licorice, such as soft-eating (old-school) bites or Pontefract cakes, I really think you would love this stuff. I think it sways more towards the warming taste of BlackJacks.

My husband is an avid lover of old fashioned licorice and will happily sit there chomping on his soft-eating licorice as a special treat. I will not be surprised to see him using quite a lot of this mouthwash over the next few weeks, as he satisfies his taste for guilt-free licorice.

Just to clarify, the solution is clear - you'll never have post-licorice brown teeth!

On the other hand, if licorice isn't your desired flavour, then perhaps it's not for you!

View the BlanX range for 2014.

View the Sensodyne range for 2014 and try out the product finder for your teeth.

Please give thanks to Sensodyne and BlanX for the images, and links to their websites.

*This product was purchased by myself and was not provided gratis by the brand*