Chocolate Toothpaste?

Why the heck not, I say! Hey...good to see you. Thanks for orbiting down out of the cyber sky. Oops! Mind the coffeepot! Pour a mugful and grab a virtual chocolate doughnut, muffin or cupcake, why don't'cha? Love chocolate? Me too! Read on...

When I was a kid, I thought it would be great if I could brush my teeth with chocolate. Well, apparently the people at Crest were listening, because they are releasing a chocolate-flavored toothpaste.

Though it doesn’t contain any actual chocolate, Crest describes its new product pretty deliciously. “It opens with a rich, creamy cocoa flavor that provides and indulgent and decadent experience.”

“Got an adventurous spirit or a sweet tooth?” asked Crest in a release about the new product. I’m not quite sure what a sense of adventure has to do with new toothpaste, but I’ll go with it. “Well, then this is the toothpaste for you. Now consumers can explore outside their boundaries, arouse their senses and energize their brushing routine like never before.”

Mint Chocolate Trek isn’t the only new flavor Crest is debuting. It will be joined by Vanilla Mint Spark and Lime Spearmint Zest. Customers told Crest they found toothpaste to be fairly boring, so chocolate toothpaste is what they got.

“It was difficult to make something chocolate lovers could love,” said John Scarchilli, head of Scientific Communications for Proctor & Gamble. “We actually use a proprietary flavoring-and-cooling technology that delays the onset of the mint, to let the chocolate make the first impression. Holding back the mint long enough – 30 to 40 seconds – lets the chocolate be decadent and satisfying.”

Though you get all the flavor of chocolate, it isn’t actually an ingredient. The tooth-protecting power of the toothpaste comes from sodium fluoride, which is found in original Crest.
However, a natural component of chocolate called theobromine is good for teeth. It protects from cavities and helps repair them. In fact, there is a line of toothpaste that contains it, Theodent. That line may have the benefits of chocolate, but it doesn’t have the flavor.

It may seem counterproductive to brush your teeth with something chocolatey, but Crest assures its customers that they’ll still receive the same teeth-cleaning benefits from this toothpaste as they do from any others. Consumers will just have a new flavor experience, said Srarchilli. “You don’t expect to find chocolate toothpaste in the aisle. It’s something beyond the everyday sea of mint.”

Crest’s chocolate toothpaste will hit stores the first week of February, making it a great Valentine’s Day gift for the dental hygiene-minded. Will you be giving it a try?

Well now ...I just might - just to fulfill a childhood fantasy! 

See ya, eh!

Bob