I do remember some years ago that My Friend P and I wrote about the plethora of toothpaste options that Colgate had on display. I think at the time we counted something like 17 different varieties - bordering on, no pass, this is too ridiculous. The biggest problem for me was all I ever wanted was just good ole regular no strips or odours added, amendment free, Colgate toothpaste, and it has become a chore to find it.

But no sweat. I have found a way around this. Buy the one in the reddest box. Simple.

Now though, not only Colgate, but all the other companies that claim to be into oral hygiene, and we speak here specifically about the toothbrush manufacturers, are getting real high-tech.

First they worked on the length and the strength of the bristles. Then they spent years on the angle of the brush - get it to look like a dental instrument and it's all good. Then they got into the grip of the handle of the brush, because who can brush their teeth properly if you don't grip the brush well? Not I. Of course, in between these years, they got cute and coloured the bristles and the handles, and got all fancy with cartoon characters for the kids. And, of course, the ultimate sense of being your own dentist came with the electronic brush so that you, in your own bathroom can get the wrrrrring sound from the dentist office without the stress and without the cost of going there. Never mind the fear of electrocuting yourself if water gets in the wrong place, it would be worth the power [pun intended] feeling of being your own dentist for a day.

Improved prices

And with each of these 'new and improved enhancements' the price of the brush has sneaked up and now a brush can cost more than the toothpaste - just like how the ink for the printer after two purchases can cost more than the printer. They make sure by hammering in that you need to change that brush regularly - nope, you cannot have a toothbrush for life. Shame on you!

But the latest toothbrush improvement puzzles me. A sticky thingy on the backside of the brush head to clean your tongue? Hello? What is that? For years I have been using the good old brush to clean the tongue and it seemed to be working quite fine to me. I am hard-pressed to understand why we need to have a special thing that is just designed for the tongue when the original brush bristles seemed to work quite well.

You know that they really want to sucker you into thinking that you are doing something cool when they separate the tongue cleaning aide from the brush. They are trying to get at the 'Do-It-Yourself' crew when they present you with the opportunity of being able to peel off your own personal tongue cleaner and stick it on to your brush yourself!

So cool.

Yes, I bought one. Suckered I was. I am not sold on not using my brush bristles to clean my tongue, but I bought one of the tongue cleaning special brushes just for the heck of it. Have you?

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