No, this is not a joke about people from Arkansa (or Mississippi, Virginia, etc.)

This is a serious PSA. My entire life I have been putting toothpaste on my toothbrush pretty much like this:




But recently, being down to the end of one tube between the wife and I, I was hard pressed to get more than about 1/4 of that out of the tube. And I discovered that I had no less efficacy with 1/4, or less, of the amount that I had used my entire life. It made sense, as most of what I had been putting on the brush ended up in the sink anyway. I did press it into the bristles a little, as I didn't want the precious amount I got out to end up in the sink.

Am I the only one? Did y'all realize this long ago? If not, try it with way less than you're used to and see what you think.

Yeah, I squirt it into my bristles.

What ticks me off about toothpaste though, and I've considered making a rant about this, is the new fangled plastic tubes they come in. I miss the old tin (or whatever they used) ones that you could actually roll up. These new ones you need to milk it down every friggin time and it's a PITA.

Christ no!

Pea-sized! Pea, man.

I'm 40 and you know how many cavities I've had in my life?

Zero.

I always thought the dentist said to use toothpaste the size of a pea. I use one of those fancy vibrate-y toothbrushes though and they have a much smaller head anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I use one of those fancy vibrate-y toothbrushes though and they have a much smaller head anyway.

Same here. The wife bought one of those electic toothbrushes and the head is tiny. I could not get that much toothpaste on it if I tried.

I put a whole toothpaste turd on my brush like it showed on TV until I was 19. Then a girlfriend on a camping trip saw me and made fun of me. She showed me i only needed to swipe the tube mouth across the top of the brush which used 1/4 of what I had been using. Was way easier to manage the foam. She said I looked like I had hoof and mouth disease when I used so much paste.

Yes, that is wasted paste IMO. About a third of that? Your mileage may vary.

Shit. I've misheard my dentist. I thought he said to save toothpaste, to pee on my toothbrush as that's all I need.

FWIW, my dentist is now telling me after brushing to let the toothpaste sit on my teeth for a couple minutes before rinsing. But yeah, a little bit goes a long way.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Shit. I've misheard my dentist. I thought he said to save toothpaste, to pee on my toothbrush as that's all I need.

Yeah, this has been a gimmick promoted by the toothpaste makers for as long as I can remember. I can still see the commercials, in black and white yet, with some stupid kid spreading toothpaste out as long as he could get it.

I ended up buying one of those clip things that gets all the toothpaste out of the tube. You crank it!

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:
FWIW, my dentist is now telling me after brushing to let the toothpaste sit on my teeth for a couple minutes before rinsing.

You shouldn't be rinsing after brushing at all...

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
Christ no!

Pea-sized! Pea, man.

I'm 40 and you know how many cavities I've had in my life?

Zero.

Same. But I'd say a big part of that is due to genetics.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:
FWIW, my dentist is now telling me after brushing to let the toothpaste sit on my teeth for a couple minutes before rinsing.

You shouldn't be rinsing after brushing at all...

Yeah, gotta let that flouride REALLY seep in.

mmmmm mental retardation and cancer...

I only put a very small dab on. I think I may have even heard that you don't really need toothpaste at all.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
You shouldn't be rinsing after brushing at all...

Ha! I just learned that two years ago! And, here I was rinsing my mouth out all these decades like a sucker! Now I just brush with no rinsing, or sometimes a very small tiny sip of water to get the paste off my tongue.

Probably. But it’s toothpaste. If an extra tube of toothpaste destroys my finances I’ve got much bigger problems than toothpaste.

I bought some Sensodyne while recovering from some repair work that caused sensitivity to temperature.

I just looked at the tube, and the instructions printed on it specify an inch-long portion of toothpaste. More profit for the toothpaste factory?

I wonder whether they sell this stuff in other countries. "What is this thing called an inch? We are metric here."

I load that toothbrush with as much paste as will fit. Damn the tree huggers. Damn the budget. I'm old enough and I feel I've reached a point in my life I can afford more toothpaste than I need.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:
FWIW, my dentist is now telling me after brushing to let the toothpaste sit on my teeth for a couple minutes before rinsing.

You shouldn't be rinsing after brushing at all...

As a retired dentist, I call BS. Pea sized gob of toothpaste, brush for two minutes, rinse and move on. Swallowing toothpaste (which will happen if you don't rinse) is not helpful and can cause fluorosis in kids. Don't do that.