In honor of National Children’s Dental Health Month, we’re here to talk about recommended toothpaste use. Kids may end up using too much toothpaste if no one tells them otherwise. It’s easy to overlook this as a non-issue. What harm can using too much toothpaste actually cause? As strange as it may sound, studies indicate that using excess toothpaste as a child can cause tooth decay later on in life. More specifically, it may cause dental fluorosis. Fluorosis is a condition that’s caused when we’ve exposed our teeth to too much fluoride during the first eight years of our lives.

You might have heard of fluoride before. It’s in our water and soil. A study indicated that people who drank water with more fluoride suffered from fewer cavities, so we started adding it in our toothpaste. Unfortunately, we have now discovered that too much fluoride can cause damage to our teeth.

It’s recommended that a child use a pea-sized drop of toothpaste. However, many kids cover half their toothbrush with toothpaste, which can be detrimental later on in life. This isn’t to say that fluoride should be removed. In fact, fluoride is great for your teeth but only when we use the right proportions. If you are looking for other tips on children’s dental care, feel free to check out our previous blog post.