Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Pablo]

Hello

The only western brand toothpaste available where I live (Arm and Hammer) unfortunately irritates the skin around my mouth, and, not speaking Korean, I am adrift in a sea of outwardly alarming domestic brands that I cannot decipher much if any information on from the packaging. Can anyone recommend a good, widely available Korean toothpaste and describe what the packaging looks like so I can zero in on it?

Of course toiletries are personal, but if it helps my toothpaste for many years has been COLGATE TOTAL paste.

My preferences would be:

Flouride- YES

Tartar Control- YES

(Extra) Whitening- NO! I have concerns with the whitening chemicals used.

Flavor- MINT (no bubblegum, strawberry, banana, blah blah blah)

Refreshingness- MEDIUM TO HIGH

Form- Paste (first choice) or gel (second choice)

Thanks for any recommendations.

Pablo

[alongway]

I've never heard of a Korean toothpaste that has fluoride in it.
The only other common western brand here is the Amway Glister.

You're probably not going to find Colgate or Crest here. I once saw some kids Colgate for sale on naver, but that's it.

I stand corrected, someone is selling big packs of Crest on Gmarket,
Most are whitening, but this guy is selling 2 kinds, whitening and regular:
http://item.gmarket.co.kr/DetailView/Item.asp?goodscode=239108642&GoodsSale=Y&jaehuid=200001169&nv_pchs=2hLE5%2FpzWCdRXMaS8QpgjNNCIYwvMbaTd8%2BtpCYwPJA%3D
better get it while he's got it.
It's a 6 pack
sell some to your friends, it's about 8,500 a tube.

[Swampfox10mm]

Amway Glister is good, and can be bought on Auction.co.kr and probably Gmarket.

I swear by 2080 Original, a Korean toothpaste that is quite excellent, has flouride, whitens well without tons of whiteners. Comes in different flavors, too.

I've tried several brands, and they all leave a lot to be desired. Perioe leaves your teeth yellow over time, for example. 2080 is the ticket.

And please... floss... or at least use an inter-dental toothbrush. Makes a huge difference. The last time I had scaling, she hardly had to do anything.

[akmakim]

you can get your Colgate Total at several places around Seoul - obviously not in the regular mom n pop shops and it's not going to be cheap (8,000-10,000W a tube), but there are specialist import good/black market goods shops around town, like the one on the 5th floor of Doota, as well as around Shinchon in front of and to the side of Hyundai Dept Store, in Gwangjang market, etc. There are import shops everywhere.

Toothpaste lasts long enough that the price shouldn't preclude you from buying what you like if it's ten bucks.

[matthews_world]

I just ran out of Crest Tartar Control NO Whitening and am looking for a couple tubes.

I could make a trip up to Daegu and look for it in the grey market stalls outside Daegu Station but if someone wanted to send me some from Seoul then I'd gladly reimburse them + extra for there troubles.


Yep, those interdental brushes work wonders. My gingivitis has almost gone away and my next visit also should be a breeze.

Better than leaving strands of dental floss all over.

[orosee]

Maybe silly but if you're in Thailand or have a friend visiting there, ask them to bring "Darlie" mint toothpaste. That's the one that has worked for me for the last 17 years. Skip the lemon flavoured one, it tastes weird.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlie
http://www.darlie.com/

Apparently you can get it in China too, not sure if the recipe is the same.

[Dazed and Confused]

I use 2080 or Clinx. Do they still sell Close-up here? Years ago they did but I never used it because I don't like it.

[jvalmer]

[gugu009]

thanks for the 2080 rec. i'll probably switch to that. i've been using arm and hammer and it's pretty salty.

[atwood]

Jason's Powersmile via iherb.com.

[strange_brew]

I'm leaving in a month, and I have a whole bunch of toothpaste (maybe 5 or 6 tubes) left over from the stash I brought to last me a few years. Sounds like people might want it. It's a mixture of Crest and Colgate.

[Swampfox10mm]

Just wanted to mention about the 2080 toothpaste, which I like...

The different colors/flavors have different levels of abrasiveness. For example, I find the 2080 Original Alpha (blue box) to be the strongest, and whitens the best. It's not as rough as a tartar control toothpaste, but it is a bit more rough than their "2080 Green Mint," for example. The 2080 Family in the white box is probably the cheapest of them all, and least abrasive. I'm not as thrilled with that one as the other two.

[alongway]

[jvalmer]

[atwood]