Pump-Valve Devices: A Promising Alternative for Safe Toothpaste Dosing

Standardizing the amount of toothpaste used by children may reduce dose variability and unintentional ingestion of fluoride, which is important considering dental fluorosis risk. This study aimed to evaluate the amount of toothpaste dispensed by two different pump valves (SMALL and LARGE), according to toothpaste brand and storage period. An in vitro study with a factorial design was conducted using four toothpastes brands (COL, EVEN-P, EVEN-G and TAN) and three storage periods (baseline, 14 days and 21 days) with two metered pump valves of 0.1 (SMALL) and 1.5 mL (LARGE). Ten samples were measured for each experimental combination, totaling 240 observations. Data were expressed as means and standard deviations. For each pump valve, the effects of toothpaste brand and storage period were assessed using two-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s test, with the significance level set at p<0.05. The SMALL valve dispensed between 0.084 and 0.177 g of toothpaste, with all mean values remaining below the reference amount of 0.3 g. Significant differences were observed among brands and storage periods. TAN presented mean values equal to or lower than 0.1 g and showed no significant temporal difference, although its variability increased on Day 21. The LARGE pump valve dispensed between 0.573 and 1.614 g of toothpaste. COL produced significantly lower values than the other brands, whereas TAN showed a progressive increase during storage. It may be concluded that the 0.1-mL valve (SMALL) showed potential for controlling the amount of toothpaste dispensed in the toothbrush for children. However, the influence of formulation and storage indicates that the nominal valve capacity alone does not ensure standardization of the dispensed amount.