Was he or she one of the four out of five dentists?
I will definitely give it the ol’ college try to obtain the last bit of toothpaste that I can. Generally, the last couple of attempts result in a pea-sized amount, and I congratulate myself because I know that this, in fact, is the amount of toothpaste I’m supposed to be using each time that I brush, not the line spanning the length of the toothbrush that I usually use. And I never learn, of course. Once I bust out a new tube, I’m pushing out toothpaste like I had stock in Crest.
Not this one?
I squeeze out that last bit because I’m too lazy to rummage in the closet for a new tube.
I also believe that the soapiness of toothpaste helps remove gunk that’s been loosened by the mechanical action of flossing and brushing. But only a tiny amount of toothpaste is needed for that.
If I did that, I’d gag. Pea-sized–baby pea-sized–is how I roll.
At least our family isn’t like the Hecks on The Middle. When the toothpaste tube seems to be completely empty, they cut the tube open and scrape out whatever’s left. (They also put water in the nearly empty bottle of shampoo, shake it around, and get a few more washes out of it. It’s essentially the same thing.)
I took a Marriage and Society class in college, where the professor had some of the best marriage advice ever: if you find yourself in that situation, buy two tubes of toothpaste, one for each of you.
I cut open tubes of things to get the last bit.
Or haven’t you noticed the general high priced-ness of these nice toiletries?
Heck yeah(Hecks!), I get the last of my shampoo out with water, and use it.
My most all time favorite thing is the Dawn dish liquid that stands upside down. Never miss a drop.
Surprised me how it doesn’t leak at all.
Funny, I was about to start a thread about this. Could you replace toothpaste with mouthwash and toothbrush without ill effect? I’m sure it would be fine for a couple of days. But what about a week? A month? For the rest of your life?
Back to the OP I vaguely try to squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste too, but that’s it. However, I use moisturizing lotion on my hands, and those tubes I do cut open to get very last molecule of it.
According to my dentist, the amount of toothpaste the directions on the tube direct you to use is way too much. She says the toothpaste company is just trying to get you to buy more toothpaste by using more than you need. You need about 1/4 of what it says, and you should spread it evenly (as best you can) over your teeth before you start brushing. Otherwise, only the first few teeth you brush get any benefit from the the fluoride.
Also, and this is part of the “not using a lot,” she says don’t rinse after brushing, so you leave a fluoride residue on your teeth.
But she does agree that this is a lot of work to take advantage of toothpaste, which is the least important component of brushing.
She also says if you ever find yourself without a toothbrush, like you forget it when you are traveling, scrubbing your teeth with a cloth is better than nothing.
I’m definitely in the “get everything out that you can” school of thrift (like others, parents who went through hard times, WW2 “make do and mend”, etc). Not just toothpaste, but squeezy containers of shaving gel, moisturisers, etc).
I can well believe it’s the electric toothbrush rather than the paste that makes the difference, and I give it a good old dig around in every nook and cranny. My dentist told me I had a young man’s gums (I said I hoped he didn’t want them back - tumbleweed, not a flicker).
I rinse out the last of the shampoo and the dish soap as much to clean the bottle as to save money. Those bottles are usually recyclable, and i like my recyclables to be clean. I like to imagine that decreases the odds they will end up in a landfill. And also, the bag of recyclables sits around for a week, and i don’t like it to be full of stuff that’s wet or sticky or stinky.
Or a wad of tissue paper. Yeah, it’s actually fairly obvious that it makes a difference.
After decades of trying to squeeze out that last bit, I happened upon a new technique: flatten out the tube as best as you can and then, holding it by its ends, firmly drag the toothpaste tube from end to end across the edge of the counter top. After one or two passes, the tube will look like it came from under a cartoon steam roller, and you will have a surprisingly large quantity of toothpaste at the top.
My dentist gave me a plastic thing with a slot that fits around a standard tube of toothpaste. It works great to keep toothpaste out of the empty portion of the tube. It’s advertising for her, of course, but i really love that gadget, that probably cost no more than 25¢.
Children of the '70s or older will remember aluminum toothpaste tubes. Not only did those actually hold their shape with those little plastic tube winder keys our moms put in the bathroom, but if you simply squeezed the tube carelessly like we often do today, metal fatigue in the wrinkles would cause it to spring a leak within a week!
I scrape my toothpaste tube with the flat back of a comb to move all the paste towards the exit.
The fluoride doesn’t help? Does the fluoride in our water supply (assuming you’re not on a well) make the fluoride in our toothpaste superfluous?
Or just go to the dollar store or WallyWorld and pick up a cheap toothbrush.
Glad to know I’m not the only one who cuts the tube open to get the last little bit! 
(There’s often more left in there than you would expect!) I didn’t start doing this until well into adulthood, so it’s not a habit I learned growing up.
It’s late at night in a hotel room and i want to get to bed. Nope, I’m not running out on a shopping errand.
At home, i have a vast stash of toothbrushes in the cupboard. Because i have the ones i like, that i buy a few at a time, and i also have a bunch the dentist gave me, and a few that i was given by airplanes or hotels or whatever.