Colgate

Colgate covers the two steps of a daily routine. White Teeth toothpaste comes in a 75ml recyclable tube and uses hydrated silica as a gentle polishing agent to lift the surface staining that tea, coffee and spices leave behind. It carries sodium fluoride at 1450 ppm, the standard adult strength, and the pack states it is not for children under seven.

Plax Fresh & Protect in Cool Mint is the rinse that follows, a 250ml bottle with sodium fluoride at 225 ppm and cetylpyridinium chloride, and no ethyl alcohol in it. Both are stocked in our oral care collection, part of the personal care and household department.

Brush for two minutes, twice a day, and spit out without rinsing with water, which leaves the fluoride on the enamel instead of washing it down the sink. Use the mouthwash afterwards, swill it between the teeth and spit it out without swallowing. Because there is no alcohol it does not sting, so twice a day is easy to keep up, and the 250ml bottle fits a washbag for travel.

Once opened, use the mouthwash within twelve months; the bottle prints the period after opening. Keep both out of reach of children. For soaps, bars and the rest of the bathroom shelf, see skin care.