For most children, we recommend adding a small smear of toothpaste onto the toothbrush at 2 years old, and then increasing to a pea-sized amount from age 3 on up. This helps to control the amount of toothpaste that a child swallows. While it's perfectly fine to swallow a little bit of fluoride, we want to help your child avoid swallowing a large amount of fluoride.
If your child appears to be at a higher risk for developing cavities, we will discuss whether toothpaste should be introduced earlier.