Put toothpaste on the brush

#toothpaste#toothbrush#teeth#hygiene#brushing teeth

A blob that is too big can decide how the whole brushing goes, long before the brush reaches a single tooth. The steps below show how much toothpaste to use and how to handle the tube without it spilling over the edge.

A girl squeezes toothpaste from the tube onto a toothbrush.

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Toothpaste on the brush

A girl squeezes toothpaste from the tube onto a toothbrush.

About this visual support

The amount is what decides everything. A pea-sized dab is enough, but a tube rarely gives exactly that much: press a little too hard and suddenly there is a full stripe across the brush head. The taste gets stronger, the foam gets thicker, and brushing that could have gone fine becomes something the child wants to stop straight away.

With visual support, dosing becomes something the child can see instead of something you judge on their behalf every evening. A picture of the brush with the right amount works as a reference to compare against, and the steps before it, take off the cap, hold the brush steady, squeeze gently, give the hand movement its own focus rather than letting it happen on autopilot. For children with strong taste and touch responses, this one detail often decides whether the rest of brushing is possible at all.

One practical tip: place the dab across the bristles rather than along them. The amount is easier to see that way, less of it ends up on the sink, and comparing with the picture becomes straightforward. If you want the whole toothbrushing sequence as pictures with time built in, the Routined app can be tried for fourteen days at no cost.