toothpaste

Everyday

Toothpaste is a soft paste that you put on a toothbrush to clean your teeth. tree →

In the lessons

In health and hygiene, you brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes with toothpaste that has fluoride, which makes teeth strong and stops holes (cavities). Children need only a small pea-sized amount, and should spit it out, not swallow it. You can rinse lightly or not at all after brushing so the fluoride keeps working. In everyday life a «tube of toothpaste» is squeezed from the bottom.

Examples

• Put a pea-sized blob of toothpaste on your brush. tree →
• Don't swallow the toothpaste; spit it out. tree →
• We've run out of toothpaste. tree →
• This toothpaste tastes of mint. tree →
• Fluoride toothpaste helps stop tooth decay. tree →
• Squeeze the tube of toothpaste from the bottom. tree →
• My little brother likes strawberry toothpaste. tree →

Note

Usually uncountable: «some toothpaste», «a tube of toothpaste». One word: toothpaste. Swallowing a lot of toothpaste is not good, especially for small children. Toothpaste is not for cleaning cuts or burns (a myth says it helps burns — it does not; use cool running water).