Do you believe Colgate, advertising that dentists use their toothpaste?

Question

When I found that Sensodyne works as well as people say I binned a tube of Colgate, don't care about the higher price.

For anyone who is still looking at this question - their most recent advert says "dentist practice what they preach". Very misleading.

Thank you Humbugsmum, scary stuff that. I hope they get kicked hard.

Answer 1

Colgate are owned by Nestle, and as we all know, Nestle are evil and immoral liars

http://www.babymilkaction.org/pages/boycott.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9_boycott

Answer 2

First of all, Colgate-Palmolive is an independent company listed on the New York stock exchange (check your facts bozo). They have one joint venture with Nestle, but that doesn't mean ownership.

Second, when it comes to advertisements, companies usually tell you half the truth (the half that makes them look good... look for the other half in the small print!!) For example, if they say that dentists use their toothpaste, they probably put a "most" in that sentence somewhere. That could mean that of the 30 dentists that they asked, 18 used their stuff, which means that it's the brand most used. That does not mean that every dentist uses it, nor that as many use it in the whole country as they say, nor does it necessarily mean that the study was made recently (it could be years old).

The company that uses this technique the most (by my experience) is L'Oreal. They always have stuff in their commercials that says this product is "68% better"... then in small print at the bottom of the TV screen they write "based on the opinion of 14 women". Are they lying? No. Is the statement true? Not in my opinion.

Conclusion: always look for the small print!

Answer 3

My dentist told me that he never pushed people towards one over the other until a few years back when Colgate came out with Colgate Total. To me, they are all about the same so I might as well go with Colgate Total. There are always coupons for it too!

Answer 4

I asked this question years ago about Dentyne gum. My dentist said that advertisers come up with their info by tallying how many dentist choose the product being handed out at a dentist conference. Who wouldn't take the free sample if it were something that they might use or give to someone else.

After that explanation I learned to not always believe at face value what is advertised.

Answer 5

I am sure there are some dentists who use Colgate toothpaste--so there is some truth in their statement. I also believe there are dentists who use Crest, Aim, and all the others.

Answer 6

Not everyone needs Sensodyne and every brand of toothpaste is recommended by some dentists somewhere. Just get the kind you like and chill.

Answer 7

How Colgate do it is that they send loads of free samples to dentists, and then a follow up asking how many of them used the samples. (I don't know that for a fact in the present instance, but that's the general process).

Answer 8

I believe the Colgate chemical testing is forced into the monkeys stomachs, causing them great pain and distress and that anyone that uses it is a bastard, since there are so many others alternative toothpaste.

Answer 9

I agree with Humbugsmum, Colgate's part of the Nestle Corporation, and they are immoral liars, see her links above. And anyway, there's better things to clean your teeth with that don't contain sugar and fluoride, both of which are bad for your teeth. (Yes, fluoride is bad for your teeth!) And mint tastes a bit rank if you ask me.

Answer 10

doctors/dentists in advertisements are getting paid.