It can be hard enough to get children to brush their teeth before bed, but getting them to hold back on the toothpaste might be like, well, pulling teeth. But that's exactly what the Centers for Disease Control is urging because, according to a survey of parents with kids ages 3 to 15, almost 40 percent of younger children are using a potentially harmful amount of the stuff. Children in the 3-to-6-year-old range were often found to be using a full or half load of toothpaste, while they should be using only a pea-sized amount, according to the CDC and the American Dental Association. Meanwhile, children younger than 3 should use only an amount equal in size to a grain of rice. The worry is that children whose teeth are still developing could be ingesting too much fluoride and causing damage to their enamel. The survey, which took place from 2013 to 2016, included 5,100 children. Parents were asked to self-report, and the survey did not differentiate between the use of fluoride and non-fluoride toothpaste.
Brushing those pearly whites:
- Brushing cleans only about 70 percent of the surface area of teeth, which is why dentists urge people to floss as well.
- Brushing one's teeth should take between two and three minutes, but most people do their cleaning in less than 70 seconds.
- If you drink three glasses of soda a day, the likelihood of tooth decay and loss of teeth and/or fillings increases by 62 percent.