# So how toxic is toothpaste? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-toxic-is-toothpaste/310425 "2005-06-29T21:03:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-toxic-is-toothpaste/310425/1 "2005-06-29T21:03:02Z")
Someone told me that told me that toothpaste had enough toxicity that if a truck carrying a load of toothpast had a wreck, it would be considered a hazardous waste. I can see how a big pile of toothpast in the highway would be a hazard, but would it qualify as “hazardous waste.” I did remind him of the danger of water, and what it does to iron and wood if they’re subjected to it for long periods. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-toxic-is-toothpaste/310425/2 "2005-06-29T21:12:18Z")
It’s not as tinfoil hat territory as you might think. The active ingredient in toothpaste is [Sodium Fluoride](http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/SO/sodium_fluoride.html) which is nasty stuff if kept in a jar. In a tube (or tanker), not so much. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-toxic-is-toothpaste/310425/3 "2005-06-29T22:47:13Z")
don’t forget stannous fluoride ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-toxic-is-toothpaste/310425/4 "2005-06-29T22:58:06Z")
Tubes of toothpaste always say ‘avoid swallowing’ on the label—what’s the issue here? If you swallow it are you going to get a tummy ache and the screaming runs, or is it actually poisonous? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-toxic-is-toothpaste/310425/5 "2005-06-29T23:37:07Z")
Search for threads on here about toothpaste and you’ll probably get some better info. Toothpaste warnings come up twice a year. It’s basically scarelore. Or just bad understanding of science. As far as swallowing tootpaste warnings—don’t let your youngster 2-6 swallow large amounts. Not that they’re gonna die. But that’s what the warning is about. Basically just an “ass-covering” warning. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-toxic-is-toothpaste/310425/6 "2005-06-29T23:56:36Z")
I definitely wouldn’t cover my ass with toothpaste! But here is a [listing of placards](http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/hazmat/placards/) mandated by the USDOT. Clicking on “TOXIC” we get this: > [@](#): > > **Division 6.1 Poisons** > 49CFR 173.132 > > 1. Poisonous material (Division 6.1) means a material, other than a gas, which is known to be so toxic to humans as to afford a hazard to health during transportation, or which, in the absence of adequate data on human toxicity: > > i. Is presumed to be toxic to humans because it falls within any one of the following categories when tested on laboratory animals (whenever possible, animal test data that has been reported in the chemical literature should be used): > Oral Toxicity. A liquid with an LD50 for acute oral toxicity of not more than 500 mg/kg or a solid with an LD50 for acute oral toxicity of not more than 200 mg/kg. > […] And so on. Toothpaste has about 0.15%, or 1500 ppm concentration of fluoride (about 1500 times that of fluoridated water). Regardless of what volume of toothpaste we’re talking about, the concentration of fluoride stays the same. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-toxic-is-toothpaste/310425/7 "2005-06-30T06:55:56Z")
This is a remnant of the John Birch Society/Buck Turgidson mythology about fluoridization of water. A substance which, in large quantities is toxic, prevents tooth decay in tiny quantities. It’s amazing that the myth has survived this long.