Coffee Breath is Horrible, and at the wrong time could be disastrous to you both in a personal and business sense. Not that there is ever a right time for bad breath. Enter a product a recently received to review the  Colgate ® Wispâ„¢ . The wisp is a portable disposable toothbrush. It advertises that the device needs no water, and no rinsing to get your mouth to that just brushed state. I am running a few of them through the paces for you today.

Anatomy:

The Wisp comes in a plastic pouch with 4 brushes to one unit. The package splits into two and each brush comes in a foil backed compartment. The brush itself is roughly 3.5 inches long and plastic. There is no mention on the packaging as to whether or not it is recyclable but I believe it is.   As for the brush itself is listed as a #7 plastic.   According to their website

“Because Colgate ® Wispâ„¢ is comprised of more than two different types of plastic, it is categorized #7 for recycling, which is not recycled by most municipal programs in the US.”

Brush brush itself has three different parts to it in one small unit. The brush, which should need no explanation. The Toothpick / Gum stimulator at the bottom. and the tongue cleaner. All in all a very small package.

Three Flavors Peppermint, Spearmint and Cinnamint

The fine folks at Colgate claim that the brushes work without water and freshen your breath at the same time. “Colgate ® Wispâ„¢ is a single-use mini toothbrush with a breath freshening bead that allows you to have a clean, fresh mouth anywhere, anytime – no water or rinsing required.”

Reality:

A products true worth is always tested in real life circumstances. So I took on the hardship of drinking a cup of coffee on the way to a meeting and used a Wisp before i headed in. My mouth did indeed feel a lot cleaner and fresher.

Could it replace a morning brush? No, nor was it meant to. this product was meant to be a situational use.

Disposal:

I’m not a huge fan of disposable products, just in principle I feel that in most cases a multiple use product is the better way to go. However in the realm of brushing your teeth on the go, shoving a travel toothbrush, toothpaste and bottle of water in your bag isn’t a very easy solution, nor a sanitary one depending on your pockets. So in this case I could see the draw.

Price:

A package of 16 Costs $8.49, which comes down to a cost of $.53 per brush. Not a bad expense when prepping for an important meeting or an intimate moment.

Changes:

Every time I use something new I like to see where the experience could be better. So i came up with three very small suggestions.

• The packaging seems a bit bulky for a guy’s pocket. Now we might not be the target audience but I like clean breath as much as the next guy. Perhaps having the brushes lay on their side and nesting like spoons would save money on packaging and space.
• The tongue scraper is a great Idea and a welcome addition to the unit as a whole, however it is poorly placed. It the tongue scraper was on the back of the brush head it might be a bit more useful. in its current location one would have to hold the brush in order to use it.
• Better labeling on the package itself to reflect whether or not the packaging and brush are recyclable.

Other than those minor things These brushes do everything they set out to do! Coffee Drinkers of the World Freshen Up.