This might be a tad much.
The perfect dab of toothpaste you see on your toothpaste box and all those advertisements is misleading. It’s a lot more than adults need and far too much for children. Really, a pea-size amount is all you should use to get the job done (and squeeze more uses out of a tube.)
Image by J Iannone.
Many of us could stand to squeeze a little less toothpaste onto our toothbrushes. Dr. Cheryl Watson-Lowry, a Doctor of Dental Surgery practicing in Chicago, tells Dentistry.com that we just need to place a small pea-size bit of toothpaste, or a very thin layer of paste that runs along the toothbrush called a nirdle. Plus, this is one of those instances where more is not better. In fact, using too much toothpaste leads to a condition called fluorosis, which is discolored or mottled-looking teeth.
Dr. Watson-Lowry further advises that parents apply the toothpaste for their kids, since small children could have trouble spitting out the excess foam and end up swallowing extra fluoride they don’t need. In addition, toothpaste isn’t the only thing we tend to use too much of; we could use less mouthwash, dishwasher soap, and laundry detergent as well.
How Much Toothpaste Is Too Much? [Dentistry.com]
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