Colgate Max White Expert Complete Whitening Toothpaste Review

How to remove stains from the teeth

Before & after results

Everyone’s teeth are different.

Our lifestyles, genetics and medical conditions all have an influence on our teeth.

Some people have heavily stained teeth, whilst others do not.

Colgate max white expert complete whitening toothpaste works by removing surface stains and may make your teeth appear whiter, but it will not change the natural colour of your teeth.

The results you achieve by using Colgate max white will be different to me.

I have tried many different products and have little to no staining on my teeth.

Because of these circumstances, it would therefore be inaccurate to show before and after images to suggest what results you might get, because simply put, your before and after results may be very different.

However, to give you an idea, visit our teeth whitening before and after page, and you can see the kind of results you can expect from a stain removal product such as this, and the results you can expect from professional bleaching.

Cost

The 90ml tube has a recommended selling price of £7.99, but a typical price is around £6.

That said I found it for as much as £12 for a single tube.

Where To Buy

As with many Colgate products there are a number of different stockists be they online or on the high street.

It can be purchased from Amazon, Boots, Superdrug, Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco and more.

Taste, Packaging etc

Amongst the wall of toothpaste boxes that great you when you enter the dental health aisle of a supermarket or pharmacy, the packaging design for the expert complete max white tube certainly stands out.

Red and white are the primary colours in the design, as is often the case with Colgate.

The 90ml tube stands upright in a rectangular box with a see through plastic sleeve that draws your eye to the tube itself.

The box is arguably a little more than is necessary to sell the product, but ultimately it makes it stand out amongst the competition.

A rather lengthy name for this paste, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that if this tube of Colgate max white expert complete does not whiten my teeth, nothing will, however it isn’t quite that simple.

On the front of the tube it says ‘deep and instant whitening’ followed by an asterix (*).

On the back of the tube is the remark ‘stains caused by food & drink, with daily use’.

This is good to see as Colgate are being upfront that this is a stain removal product and not a tooth bleaching product.
In essence what they are saying here (although they could be more explicit) is that this is only ever going to remove discoloration and staining on the external surfaces of the teeth caused by food and drink.

If your tooth is dark as a result of trauma or you have naturally yellow teeth, it can’t do anything to whiten them.

Also, for those who may regularly get a professional cleaning of the teeth from the hygienist, this paste will not deliver better results, it will help maintain the stain free exterior of the teeth, but don’t expect miracles.

To some degree this disclaimer gives the user a more realistic expectation of what to expect. However, I can’t help but think the name slightly overpromises.

Given that the selling price of this tube is at least 3 times that of a regular tube of paste, you might expect better results than it will actually deliver.

In fact, you really might want to stick to your regular toothpaste, as a recent Supershoppers test found that there is little difference between the amount of stains removed by a whitening toothpaste compared to a regular toothpaste. We cover this more in our post on the best whitening toothpaste.

Now whilst the actual results delivered might not be quite what you hoped for, there are some other benefits here.

To begin with the tube stands upright on its lid. I love this.

Screw caps seem to be the norm, but I find flip lids much easier to use, particularly with 1 hand.

It stands upright, so gravity helps pull the paste down the tube.

The paste itself is blue and white in colour, the blue being the slightly more dominant.

It appears thicker than most other pastes, or it did to me at least.

There is no gritty texture, it is very smooth and pleasant to use.

Now I like a minty fresh toothpaste, but even for me this seemed quite strong on first taste, but there is a long lasting freshness from it also.

If you do not like a strong fresh mint taste, this might not be the paste for you.

You use it like you would any other regular tube of toothpaste. A pea sized amount twice a day. It can be used with a manual or electric toothbrush.

A tube should last approximately 3 months with daily use.

It is designed to replace your existing paste and is not supposed to be used in addition to.

This is not a natural toothpaste, many of the ingredients are man made.

Of particular interest in this paste is the inclusion of hydrogen peroxide.

This is the same agent that is used by dental professional, albeit a much weaker concentration.

Hydrogen peroxide actually has the ability to bleach the natural tooth so that it looks whiter. Therefore, technically, it could be argued that this paste is more than just a stain removal product.

However, the concentration and exposure time to the teeth is so low that the effects are going to be minimal, if at all noticeable.

Dentists offer hydrogen peroxide that is 60 times more powerful. This 6% gel is left on the teeth for a couple of hours, not minutes, to achieve the cosmetic whitening.

The formula of the paste also means that it reflects blue light. Couple this with the glycerin in the paste that can dehydrate teeth and the result is, that after just a couple of minutes of brushing, the teeth will take on a brighter and whiter look immediately.

Now this is temporary and Colgate do state that this, but it might be something that works for you.

Unlike a lot of tooth whitening products, this paste does include fluoride, an ingredient that is generally recommended within toothpastes as it helps keep the teeth healthy. This means should you switch out your regular paste for this one, you are getting the essential protection.

Arguably as whitening pastes go this isn’t all that bad.

Whilst it is more expensive, it is far from the most premium and at least it actually has a professional whitening agent in it. It does too give an instant whitening effect, even if it is temporary.

That said, a regular toothpaste and a good brushing technique is more than adequate.

Ingredients

The ingredients within this paste are as follows:

Glycerin, Calcium Pyrophosphate, Propylene Glycol, PEG/PPG-116/66 Copolymer, PEG-12, PVP, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Silica, Aroma, Sodium Monofluorophosphate, Sodium Saccharin, Phosphoric Acid, Hydrogen Peroxide, BHT, CI 74160, Contains: Sodium Monofluorophosphate (1450 ppm).

Safety

Having been produced by one of the largest oral healthcare companies, you can be assured of certain standards being met.

Starting with the packaging, there is a telephone number, address and website URL included. This makes it nice and easy if you have any questions or queries about the product.

There is a best before date printed on the bottom of the box it comes supplied in, and on the tube itself. In this instance it is about 15 months away from the date of purchase. I suspect this therefore has a shelf life of about 24 months.

On the tube is a warning that children under 7 should not use this, but this is the only real warning. I was a little surprised not to see a warning about pregnancy, given it has a peroxide in it, but then again the concentration is very low with the most minimal of possible risk.

Hydrogen peroxide is the same ingredient that dental professionals include in the gels they provide for professional teeth whitening. It does not say, but legally only 0.1% hydrogen peroxide can be included in a product, unless it is distributed by a dental professional, who can offer up to 6%.

This 0.1% inclusion is set by the governing bodies as an amount that is considered safe, so although it is a peroxide, risk to the teeth or gums etc are extremely low because the concentration is so weak.

If you know of any allergies or reactions to the ingredients, stay away from this paste. If you do use it and find you suffer with sensitivity or side effects stop using and consult your dentist.

Is it eco-friendly?

This toothpaste is not sold as some environmentally friendly product, but with the amount of plastic being produced today it would be nice to think the manufacturers are thinking a little more about this.

Toothpaste tubes in particular are difficult to recycle, with almost all ending up in landfill.

Being a ‘premium’ paste this is not sold in the tube on its own. The paste has an outer box which is larger than most regular toothpaste boxes.

It is best to describe it more as a presentation box, with the paste centrally placed, with a plastic cover over the front that acts much like a window to see the product in the box.

I see why they have used plastic, but maybe cardboard with an image printed on it would have sufficed.

However, full credit to Colgate in the UK, they have implemented a recycling scheme, that allows for empty toothpaste tubes and used toothbrushes to be properly reused rather than going straight to landfill. You can learn more about Colgate’s Oral Care recycling programme here.

There is no mention of this on the packaging, but it is designed for international distribution, so I understand why it is missing.

Other whitening products from Colgate

As you probably know Colgate’s main products are toothbrushes and toothpastes.

Their whitening range of products does not include things like whitening strips or teeth whitening trays and gels, but they have quite a number of different toothpastes.

There are too many to name here.

Whilst technically this paste is potentially one of the more effective, because it actually includes hydrogen peroxide, the performance of most is very similar.

All are stain removal products rather than bleach infused toothpastes that can really change the colour of your natural teeth.

As a recent Supershoppers test found that there is actually little difference between the amount of stains removed by a whitening toothpaste compared to a regular toothpaste. We cover this more in our post on the best whitening toothpaste.

There are also a couple of mouthwashes under the ‘whitening range’ notably Max white expert whitening mouthwash and max white one mouthwash.

What we would like to see improved

Whilst Colgate are not lying when they say this includes ‘a professional whitening ingredient’ they do not make it all that clear or easy for you and I to understand what that ingredient is.

It may not make a huge difference to us as users, but if this ingredient is so special, why not call it out by name?

Hydrogen peroxide is the professional whitening ingredient, but the concentration is very low.

The vast majority of brands, Colgate included could do more to help educate the public on the overall topic of tooth whitening.

There is a lot of misunderstanding and confusion between stain removal and bleaching and Colgate as the large organisation they are, could do more to help explain the differences.

However, I must praise Colgate as they are very upfront on the box that this is a stain removal product. They have added * to certain phrases and even claim certain whitening effects are temporary. This is good to see and many could learn from Colgate’s example.

Ratings / Conclusion

As we’ve mentioned in the results section, it’s difficult for us (or anybody else) to systematically test numerous whitening products.

For this reason, we have chosen to omit star ratings.

However, below you can find a summary of our closing thoughts.

It is one of the few whitening toothpastes that will potentially do more than just remove stains.

The hydrogen peroxide included could technically penetrate the tooth surface change the internal structure of the tooth and change the natural colour to make it whiter.

However, the concentration of the hydrogen is so low (60 times weaker than from a dentist) and the contact time limited that any whitening effects will be barely noticeable.

This paste is in essence a stain removal product.

It will not deliver the results for everyone and many will expect better given the price. It is not the most expensive, but more expensive than the paste people know and love from the brand.

You could, and I suggest, you save your money and buy a regular tube of paste and likely see similar results providing you have a good tooth brushing technique.

FAQ

• Does it contain peroxide?
  • Yes, hydrogen peroxide.
• Does is contain fluoride?
  • Yes, 1450 parts per million.

Your Opinions

Do you own or have you used the Colgate max white expert complete whitening toothpaste?

Are there certain things that you really like or dislike?

Let me and other readers of this article know what you think, by commenting below.  Your feedback and opinions are incredibly valuable.