# Almost Empty Tube of Toothpaste **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 23, 2025, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986 "2025-03-23T20:12:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/1 "2025-03-23T20:12:28Z")
Anyone ever have this experience? Your tube of toothpaste is almost empty but with some effort you can get just enough out to brush your teeth one more time because you are trying to be frugal. And the next day the same thing happens. Before you know it something like six weeks has passed and you still haven’t thrown it out even though you have a new tube in the closet in reserve. Also, I have had more than one dentist tell me that although it won’t hurt you, toothpaste doesn’t really do anything. It is the mechanical action of the bristles on the teeth and gums that give the desired effect. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/2 "2025-03-23T20:41:32Z")
I roll up my toothpaste tube as I go and secure it with a small binder clip, so that the toothpaste doesn’t migrate back down the tube after squeezing. As for the toothpaste itself, yes, I understand that you are actually better off without it, because it causes your mouth to taste minty clean before you have done a thorough job of brushing. I don’t care. I use an electric toothbrush that does most of the work for me. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/3 "2025-03-23T20:43:35Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Also, I have had more than one dentist tell me that although it won’t hurt you, toothpaste doesn’t really do anything. If it has some grit to it, it helps a little. But, yeah, toothpaste is essentially mouthwash. As for the OP. I used to try and get every last bit out of the tube and would settle for a smaller and smaller amount of paste on the brush. Somewhere along the line (probably correlated to my relative affluence) I got lazy and stopped even rolling the tube before replacing it. I leave peanut butter on the side of the jar now too. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/4 "2025-03-23T20:58:35Z")
When the tube was down to its last few squeezes, my late spouse wouldn’t replace it, he just refused to put the cap back on. I could never figure out this behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/5 "2025-03-23T21:03:14Z")
I’m gonna be more diligent getting all the paste out. My 3.5 oz tube now is 2.9 oz. Not in the least cheaper. With coupon it was still nearly the price of the last one. I like the bubbly scrubbing experience and of course the minty goodness. I used to use baking soda afterwards but the dental hygienist said I was scrubbing too hard. Didn’t need an abrasive. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/6 "2025-03-23T21:11:58Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Somewhere along the line (probably correlated to my relative affluence) I got lazy and stopped even rolling the tube before replacing it. This is me over the past few years. Used to squeeze and roll and expend massive amounts of energy to get that last little bit out of the tube. There came a time where I realized that I was saving about 25 cents a year. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/7 "2025-03-23T21:28:45Z")
I do it for the challenge, not to save money. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/8 "2025-03-23T21:34:23Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > I have had more than one dentist tell me that although it won’t hurt you, toothpaste doesn’t really do anything. It is the mechanical action of the bristles on the teeth and gums that give the desired effect. In terms of dental health, I can believe that. Possibly the main use of toothpaste is trying to mask bad breath? Which may come from somewhere other than the mouth anyway… But I am not a doctor or dentist. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/9 "2025-03-23T22:28:14Z")
Similar to the OP: **MrsFtG** asked for a fresh tube since she couldn’t get anymore out. Got a new tube and I kept using the old tube. That was about 3 weeks ago. I knew a guy in grad school who was newly-ish married. When I went back for a visit a year later I asked him how things were going. They had divorced. He said he realized they were arguing over putting the cap back on the toothpaste and he knew it was over. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/10 "2025-03-23T22:44:26Z")
I do my best to get every bit out of the tube - not because of frugality but because I flat-out hate waste. Same with shampoo and hand lotion. And I like my Crest because my mouth tastes nasty first think in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/11 "2025-03-23T22:54:21Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Somewhere along the line (probably correlated to my relative affluence) I got lazy and stopped even rolling the tube before replacing it. I leave peanut butter on the side of the jar now too. Clearly your parents did not grow up during the Depression. Mine did, and pointless bits of economizing have osmosed into my soul from the constant reminders when I was growing up. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/12 "2025-03-23T23:15:59Z")
I do it because I try to limit the things I trash that aren’t ready to be trash. It’s not like it particularly takes more time or effort to finish out the tube. I don’t experience anticipatory urgency to get to the new tube. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/13 "2025-03-23T23:32:43Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Clearly your parents did not grow up during the Depression. Oh, mine did as well (both born in 1920). It’s taken me decades to get over the ‘economizing’, as you put it so aptly. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/14 "2025-03-23T23:33:38Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > And I like my Crest because my mouth tastes nasty first think in the morning. Then you’re using the toothpaste in the wrong place… ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/15 "2025-03-23T23:34:19Z")
Toothpaste with fluoride does do something. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/16 "2025-03-23T23:40:44Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Clearly your parents did not grow up during the Depression. Mine did, and pointless bits of economizing have osmosed into my soul from the constant reminders when I was growing up. This describes my life perfectly. My Depression era parents have had long term influence on my spending and frugality. And I still engage in what you have so perfectly described as _“pointless bits of economizing.”_ I wouldn’t even want to begin to itemize my own bits of trivial thrift. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/17 "2025-03-23T23:41:13Z")
My dentist recommended Crest Pro-Health. He said it interfered with the formation of plaque and tartar, rendering it easier to remove during dental cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/18 "2025-03-23T23:54:13Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > My dentist recommended Crest Pro-Health. He said it interfered with the formation of plaque and tartar, rendering it easier to remove during dental cleaning. Far be it from me to question the advice of a professional who’s graduated from dentistry school (or college, for that matter), but did they mention a mechanism by which this would take place? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/19 "2025-03-23T23:58:49Z")
He didn’t say how, but he said it weakened the matrix as tartar was forming so that it was easier to scrape off. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986/20 "2025-03-23T23:59:17Z")
I’ve been sneaking in at night, and – using a large bore syringe with the needle removed – squeezing _just_ a little bit of toothpaste into your tube. Cruel? Maybe. But I did it for the LOLz. I’ll stop now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/almost-empty-tube-of-toothpaste/1015986.md?page=2)