Toothpaste overdose

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Tooth anatomy

Toothpaste overdose

Definition:

Poisoning from an ingestion of toothpaste.

Poisonous Ingredient:

Sodium fluoride
Triclosan

Where Found:

Various toothpastes

Symptoms:

For fluoride:

Body as a whole
- Salivation
- Salty or soapy taste
- Tremors
- Weakness
- Convulsions
Respiratory
- Breathing difficulty (shallow respiration)
Gastrointestinal
Nervous system
- Shock

For regular toothpastes:

Gastrointestinal
- Possible intestinal obstruction with resulting abdominal pain

Home Treatment:

For any toxic ingestion or allergic reaction, seek emergency medical care immediately. Give milk or water to dilute. Do not induce vomiting.

Before Calling Emergency:

Determine the following information:

The patient's age, weight, and condition
The name of the product (as well as the ingredients and strength, if known)
The time it was swallowed
The amount swallowed

Poison Control, or a local emergency number:

They will instruct you if it is necessary to take the patient to the hospital. See Poison Control centers for telephone numbers and addresses. Take the container with you to the emergency room.

What to expect at the emergency room:

Some or all of the following procedures may be performed:

For fluoridated toothpastes, regular poison management procedures may be instituted (for swallowed poison):

Placement of a tube down the nose and into the stomach (a nasogastric tube, or an NG tube) to wash out the stomach
Activated charcoal administration
Endoscopy -- the placement of a camera down the throat to see the extent of burns to the esophagus and the stomach
Give IV fluids
Admission to the hospital
Give an antidote
Treat the symptoms

For regular toothpastes:

The patient may not need to be seen in the emergency room
Treat the symptoms

Expectations (prognosis):

For fluoridated toothpastes -- If the patient survives for 48 hours, recovery is usually likely.
For regular toothpastes -- Most non fluoridated toothpastes are relatively nontoxic. Recovery is very likely.

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