Kids Are Using Too Much Toothpaste; Here's What The CDC Recommends

The health agency surveyed parents of over 5,000 children whose age ranges from 3 to 15, where they were asked the amount of toothpaste their kids are using and the age they started brushing.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children today are using too much toothpaste to brush their teeth. Nearly 40% of children between the ages of 3 and 6 are using toothpaste to excess, per the study.

The recommended toothpaste amount for children at three to six years old is of pea-size, while those under three should use a smear the size of a rice grain, according to the report.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC recommend that parents begin brushing their child's teeth with toothpaste at age 2.

You can't have too much of a good thing and in the case of your children's toothpaste use, this is especially true.

Dr. Alene Marie D'Alesio, chief of pediatric dentistry at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, said that problems following brushing guidelines often arise from parents not being present alongside their children when they are brushing.

While this data seems like a minor issue, the proponents of the study warned that because brushing one's teeth is a regular occurrence, with some doing it more than three times a day, the accumulation of fluoride can reach risky levels.

The CDC also found that almost 80 percent of 3 to 15-year-olds started brushing their teeth later than advised, which is when the first tooth grows out. They add that this can be a concern because of excessive fluoride ingestion among the children. This could lead to streaks on the teeth when they age. The study give a warning to all those children who use tooth paste in larger quantity might suffer from dental fluoridise when they get older. The CDC survey discovered that just about 80% of youngsters started cleaning after 1 year. Despite what we know about the benefits of fluoride, there is a limit to how much toothpaste you should be squeezing onto your brush. And this led to the addition of fluoride to toothpaste, mouthwash, tap water and few other products.