My Child Ate Toothpaste: What Should I Do?

A few weeks ago, I was straightening up my four-year-old daughter's room while she brushed her teeth in preparation for bedtime. I noticed she was taking her a bit longer than usual, so I peeked in on her-- and saw that she had eaten a half a tube of her new Toms of Maine "Silly Strawberry" toothpaste. She stared at me with an expression that can only be described as, "Oh, no-- I've been caught," and dropped the toothpaste tube to the floor. In a few moments of brief panic, I had to figure out: what am I supposed to do if my child eats toothpaste?

The first thing I did was call the poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222. This (as confirmed by the operator) is the first and most important step that any parent should take in this scenario. It is very, very important to make this phone call so a poison control expert can determine whether or not your child needs medical assistance. The poison control hotline can evaluate the problem more quickly and efficiently than a call to 911 or your doctor's office.

The good news is that children's toothpastes are designed with the assumption that kids will occasionally decide to eat them-- so they are made with fluoride levels too low to cause poisoning except when consumed in very large amounts. Some children's toothpastes don't contain any fluoride at all, so they are effectively nontoxic. It's unlikely that your child will get sick from eating any imaginable quantity of children's toothpaste.

You'll need to tell the poison control expert what kind of toothpaste your child ate, when she ate it, her age and approximate weight, and any symptoms she is showing that might be out of the ordinary. With these facts, the expert will be able to direct you to the emergency room, or to tell you how to treat the problem at home.

If you don't have to go to the E.R., your child should be fine with a simple home remedy. In almost all cases, the prescribed treatment for a child who has eaten toothpaste is-- surprisingly-- milk. The National Institutes of Health notes that having a child drink a large amount of water or milk after eating toothpaste will help to prevent poisoning. At my order, my daughter chugged a huge glass of whole milk after eating toothpaste and went on to show no symptoms at all-- except a little gas caused by all that milk!

You'll need to watch out for signs of fluoride poisoning for the next few hours after your child eats toothpaste, and to call 911 if she starts showing worrisome symptoms. Diarrhea, vomiting, tremors, convulsions, drooling, and difficulty breathing are all signs that your child has experienced fluoride poisoning and needs to go to the hospital for treatment. If you notice these symptoms, seek emergency care promptly. Otherwise, you can be rest assured that your little one isn't in imminent danger.

After the problem itself has passed and your little one has been treated (either with a hefty glass of milk or a trip to the emergency room), shift your focus to preventing this from happening again. Most cases of toothpaste overdose occur in toddlers, who should always be supervised while brushing their teeth, and whose toothpaste should be kept well out of reach. Consider locking your tot's toothpaste in a medicine cabinet until she's mature enough to handle brushing her teeth on her own. If you've got an older child who ate toothpaste, you'll need to have a serious talk with her about the dangers of ingesting things that aren't food (including vitamins, medicine, and toothpaste)-- and you'll need to go back to directly supervising her tooth-brushing for the time being.

Considering how many children eat toothpaste at some point in childhood, we're actually very lucky that it isn't as toxic as it could be-- and that most children who indulge in a squirt of Berry Bliss toothpaste or two won't suffer any long-term harm from it. However, as a parent, you have a responsibility to seek (and follow) expert advice if your child eats anything that isn't food. If your child has eaten any amount of toothpaste, don't hesitate to call the poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222 and to follow all instructions given to you.