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Saginaw dentist Dr. Val Kolpakov may have the world’s most unusual collection of toothpastes. Some are whiskey-flavored, some taste like curry and others like bamboo. One dates to World War II and is made with a radioactive compound.
But the toothpaste isn’t for Kolpakov’s patients.Instead, the flavors are some of the 1,800 toothpastes Kolpakov has collected. He hopes the Guinness Book of Records will recognize him as owner of the world’s largest toothpaste collection.
“I’ve submitted my application, and since there is no record for a number of toothpaste tubes, they had to review whether they can open a new category,” said Kolpakov, a Russian native. “Finally it was approved, and now I need to submit evidence that I have all these toothpastes.”
About a fourth of his collection is displayed in the waiting room at the Denture Care Clinic, 1227 N. Michigan. Kolpakov works there as a denture specialist.
Kolpakov, known to patients as “Dr. Val,” said his interest in collecting tubes of toothpaste started when he read about Carsten Gutzeit, a German who collected 500 tubes.
“I thought that collecting toothpaste was a nice hobby for a dental professional. It allows you to learn more about your profession,” he said. “I had friends all over the world, so I asked them to mail me toothpaste from the countries where they lived.”
He began buying toothpastes on eBay and contemporary versions in stores.
“After I started my Web site, toothpasteworld.com, people were able to find me on the Internet. Several people donated me their small collections,” he said. “Some companies donated me their old and recent products. Now I have about 1,800 toothpastes and tooth powders, but only 1,481 are sorted and cataloged.”
One of the items Kolpakov considers to be the oldest, most rare and most expensive: an English antique Georgian 1801 silver tooth powder box. Toothpaste was not invented at that point, and tooth powders were used instead. He paid more than $1,500 for the box.
Among his favorite toothpastes? The whiskey, scotch, rye, bourbon, red wines, amaretto, champagne and other alcohol-flavored toothpastes.
“I have recently acquired a nice set of five booze-flavored toothpastes from the 1960s. My other passion would be the chocolate-flavored toothpastes. I have a set of pure chocolate cream packed into a toothpaste tube with a toothbrush for chocolate lovers. It’s more like a gag gift, though, and is not intended for brushing teeth regularly,” Kolpakov said.
A company called Breath Pallette topped all others by coming up with 31 flavors, including green tea, pumpkin pudding and Indo curry, he said.
Kolpakov also has a toothpaste tube that served as a movie prop from “Primary Colors” and another from “Prison Break.” He has tubes that have misspellings — “Cet” instead of “Crest” — and samples from all over the world, including one that is bamboo-flavored.
“I have several toothpaste tubes that were dug out of World War II trenches, including Doramad toothpaste that had an active radioactive compound,” Kolpakov said. “During those times, some people believed that radiation can revive dead tissues and that radioactive toothpaste can revive your gums.”
Kolpakov graduated from medical school in Russia and began working as a pathologist and a researcher. In 1993, he emigrated and worked as a researcher at the University of Michigan.
In 2000, he graduated from the University of Michigan Dental School and moved to Saginaw, where he now practices. Kolpakov also maintains a dental practice in Atlanta and travels back and forth.
