Here are the latest sales on our radar! Check em out!

GiltMan.com

GoSmile Whitening System – $15 and up. Sale ends 11/24.

HauteLook

Caswell Massey soaps, candles and diffusers – $17.50. Sale ends 11/23.

I’m talking about Reach Total Care Floss. I know, odd, perhaps, but this is pretty cool… for a floss.

Background. My teeth shred dental floss like a cotton gin. Maybe they’re too close together, though my dentist says that’s impossible. The thread kind is too thick and the tape kind is too breakable. So when this Reach stuff showed up in a package from Johnson & Johnson, I was skeptical. Really? A new floss? Pshaw!

But it’s true. The stuff works better than most. It hasn’t broken once since I’ve started running it between my canines and bicuspids.

The floss is covered with “micro-grooves” that push away plaque “like a squeegee.” (Their words.) I will say my teeth feel clean and squeegee-d, so something is working.

Oh yeah, the Listerine flavors. Scary if we talking about jawbreakers or popsicles. But in floss, it’s kind of perfect. The mint is a little sharp not sweet, just how I like it.

Reach Total Care Floss with Listerine, Mint, $2.99 (30 yrds), visit drugstore.com —Aaron Krach

What is the safest way to whiten your teeth at home?
Custom trays made by the dentist gives the safest and best results.

Is it dangerous to use whitening products all the time?
Whiteners should always be used in moderation. Whitening too often can cause sensitivity and make the enamel chemistry change. You can become more vulnerable to staining because it never has a chance to recover. It’s best to use my patented peroxide-free intelliWHiTE Stain Eraser in between whitenings.

How often can I safely use whitening strips?
I recommend using one two-week treatment every two to three months max.

How does peroxide work?
Peroxide breaks down into active oxygen and goes into the tubes of the teeth to remove built up stains. If used in moderation it is very safe.

There are so many whitening toothpastes, rinses, gels, pens and strips out there, what should I use?
Of the over the counter products available at your drugstore, Crest Whitestrips are the best—but all of the drugstore products have drawbacks.

My toothpaste says its whitening but I’ve been brushing for months but they are still the same shade of mellow yellow. Why aren’t they getting any whiter?
Most pastes that claim to be whitening just remove surface stains from your teeth…it isn’t actually whitening them. The paste should list hydrogen peroxide in its ingredients for it to truly whiten.

How can I get movie star white teeth like George Clooney?
He had porcelain veneers done recently.

What’s the difference between the at-home white strips and the treatments in a dentist’s office?
The in office treatment is 35% peroxide and can be done in 45 minutes. The at-home strips are about 6% peroxide and take two weeks to get similar results.

Why are my teeth so damn sensitive after using whitening strips?
The store-bought strips are not custom shaped to your teeth and contact gum tissue slightly. If you use Sensodyne toothpaste for a week before you start whitening and while you whiten, your teeth won’t feel so sensitive.

I drink a lot of red wine and coffee, and I smoke like a chimney. Are my dreams of having white teeth ruined?
Not at all. Just use my intelliWHiTE Stain Eraser right after drinking or smoking and the stain will instantly be captured and buffed away!

What is the biggest mistake guys make when they try to whiten their teeth?
They overdo it!

intelliWHiTE Stain Eraser, $19.99, visit Rxbright.com

The Sonicare FlexCare brush with UV Sanitizer not only provides a deep clean using super-fast moving bristles (31,000 brush strokes per minute, to be exact) that deliver a high-powered sonic scrub to break up debris wedged between teeth, but it includes a UV Sanitizer to keep your brushes squeaky clean and bacteria-free between uses. Let’s see your manual brush do that!

Philips Sonicare knows everything about your dirty little secrets. Their recent research with GfK Roper found that 54 percent of Americans will reuse their toothbrush after it falls on the floor—even after 57 percent identified the bathroom floor as the area in their house with the most bacteria. Half of Americans said they’d share their toothbrush with their partner, spouse, friend or family member. Nine percent of men even admitted to using their toothbrush after it fell in the toilet! Dirty boys! That UV Sanitizer sounds like a great idea right about now.

The FlexCare also includes various features to note:
—Three modes of scrubbing in strengths to suit your mouth’s needs: Clean, Sensitive and Massage.
—Two cleansing routines for in-between scrubs—so you can give your mouth a quick once-over before your hot date comes over for a different kind of quickie or anytime between your deeper, three-minute cleanings.
—Improved brush head design to attack more plaque.
—Ultraviolet Sanitizer zaps 99% of bacteria in just 10 minutes between uses. And an automatic shut-off timer will conserve your energy bills.

Philips Sonicare FlexCare, $179, Amazon.com

All this talk of toothpaste got me thinking about my personal favorite toothpastes. So, here is my short list:

Crest Pro-Health Clean Mint: It is approved by the American Dental Association for the treatment of a ton of things including Cavities, Gingivitis, Plaque, Tooth Sensitivity, and Stains.

GoSmile Nighttime Therapy: It’s minty, but not overpowering. It is even mildly calming thanks to some aromatherapeutic ingredients like chamomile, lavender, valerian root and vanilla.
GoSmile Morning Rush:  Wake up with essential oils of lemon, lime, orange, mandarin and peppermint.  Hydrated silica also polishes away stains.
Colgate Total + Whitening: I like it mostly because it protects your teeth for up to 12 hours (even if you eat or drink), so that’s some great protection. It contains Triclosan which is a common antibacterial ingredient.
Crest Nature’s Expressions Mint + Green Tea: It tastes delicious and uses hydrated silica to polish away surface stains from your teeth.
BreathRx Purifying Toothpaste: BreathRx contains zinc to neutralize odors produced by bacteria in your mouth. Bacteria on your tongue are the cause of bad breath.  Thymol and Eucalyptol are also antibacterial ingredients to help evict unwanted bacteria from your mouth. If you’ve got persistent bad breath, check into the BreathRx line of products.

The most important improvement: the small brush head. In addition to the full sized brush, they folks at Philips include a smaller brush head, as well. It helps you reach those far back teeth where larger brushes struggle to fit between your gums and cheek. My dental hygienest always recommended that I purchase a smaller toothbrush that is meant for children to get those hard-to-reach places. However, when you go that route, those areas of your teeth and gum don’t get the magic scrubbing power of the “sonic” technology that loosens up plaque much better than manual brushes. I guess Philips heard the prayers of hygienests around the world and answered them with the E9000.

I’d also like to add that the E9000 is more powerful than the Oral B Vitality Sonic brush that I mentioned earlier. The E9000 brushes actually move, increasing the scrubbing power, whereas the Oral B Vitality Sonic brush relies on your brushing movements more. I’m not knocking the Oral B brush. It’s great if you don’t want to shell out the cash for the Sonicare.

 Here are some other benefits of the Sonicare Elite E9000:

A programmable timer–The brush automatically runs for 2 minutes, and beeps every 30 seconds to let you know that it’s time to switch areas of your mouth, but if you want to spend an extra 30 seconds scrubbing certain areas, you can do that!

Two Speeds–If you have sensitive areas of your mouth, you can switch the speed to “Gentle” instead of “Max.”

Easy Start– For the first 2 weeks (I think), the brush will slowly increase its strength and speed to ease your mouth into sonic brushing. How thoughtful!

Sonic brushes are fantastic at loosening up and removing plaque thanks to the sonic vibrations and super-speed brush strokes. Now use all of that saved money to buy dental floss!

Probiotic bacteria, Lactobacillus anti-caries, in gum have been tested in hundreds of people and have been proven to reduce the concentration of naughty bacteria in your mouth that cause tooth decay. You’ll still have to brush and floss regularly, but it will help reduce your cavities.

Dr Andreas Reindl of BASF said: “The effectiveness has been demonstrated and the first oral hygiene products containing probiotic lactobacilli are scheduled to appear in 2007.”

Probiotic bacteria is also being tested to reduce body odor by using Lactobacillus anti-caries in deodorant. This might sound a bit gross, but we have friendly bacteria living all over our bodies.