Sophistry, the whole thread. Most dentists will not recommend brushing more than twice a day. Some will say three times. A 3 ounce tube of toothpaste is more than adequate to meet that need, even on multi-day trips.

If your prescription toothpaste is that much of a major concern to you, then pack it in your checked luggage. You can transport 4 gallons of it there if you like, the TSO�s wont care. But don�t tell me that your 7 ounce tube of toothpaste is a medical necessity during your flight. Sophistry is the most polite response you are likely to get.

Actually - you have no clue and that's obvious. The recommendation is to brush after any meal or food intake - EVERY TIME. Few do it but that is what you're directed to do. Clearly you've never had a toothbrush with you at work, but that's a personal issue we'll let you figure out.

Don't ever tell me what I need versus what a doctor might have recommended, particularly when its backed by a prescription - or do you consider yourself qualified to write those in your spare time, as well?

You're a disgrace in general and as a group - this attitude reflects why TSOs deserve (and usually get) absolutely no respect

Oh, don't beat up on TSORon so hard.

He's a former E-5 (Staff Sergeant) Air Force MP and that makes him a "Security Expert".

Just ask him!

*gag*

aa in their travel kits (which you get free when you fly business class intl) include a tube of toothpaste, generally 0.6 oz or less; once they included a tube that was 0.2 oz--somehow I was able to use this last one for several trips of 3 days each. I've found that with an electric (battery) toothbrush, toothpaste lasts longer than otherwise. 0.6 (and 0.2 of course) is so small, you can easily put it in your pocket--and not deal with the 3-1-1 rule.

Thanks, Ron -- great advice when your suitcase can easily end up 5,000 miles from where you are, or lost for days or weeks. First rule in packing: do not pack money, valuables, or prescription drugs in checked luggage.

Given TSA's remarkable inability to consistently detect actual weapons (like guns and knives) in tests, it is beyond my understanding why they spend any time at all worrying about a tube of toothpaste. One can only wonder how much safer we'd be if TSA put its efforts into training screeners to effectively and reliably detect guns and knives, and gave up on the shoe carnival, the water idiocy, and the kippie bag.

Just for the record, many people are not complaining about a tube of Colgate Extra Whitening Gel available at any drugstore in many, many sizes. Others, and me, are complaining about things that are more difficult to get such as OTC sensitive teeth toothpaste or toothpaste that does not contain the irritant sodium laurel sulfate (found in most soap).

These are generally available from a dentist, and can often be found in drugstores, but often in sizes heavier than 3.4 oz. This is because (and I AM an expert at this) they are specialty items and to keep the cost of production low enough, they are produced in larger quantities. Also, because the consumer is inelastic, read they NEED this product, they are often quite a bit more expensive than generic toothpaste, so it sucks to have to toss it out and buy a new one at the other end.

TSA should not be in the business of telling me not to do what my dentist and dermatologist told me to do.

I've had TSA problems with an actual RX toothpaste -- not an OTC.

And TSORon, please don't tell me to put it in my checked luggage. It's RX and it isn't easy or cheap to replace if my luggage goes walkabout.

RX's do not belong in checked luggage period, whether pill, gel, or liquid.

emphasis mine: just wondering if you perchance have dds after your name on your diploma and careful.....we're starting to tread into frpa & hiipa territory again

and apparently a dentist in a previous life as well

Glad to see you have gone to dental school! If by "some" you mean "almost all," you may be closer to the mark. Every dentist I've ever had has recommended brushing after every meal, and for most people, that's at least 3x a day.

Last year, I traveled a couple of times with a wisdom tooth which was on this side of needing extraction, and I brushed it literally every time I ate or drank anything but water, which helped carry me over to when my dental insurance reset (I wasn't about to spend several hundred $$ unless it was a medical emergency). You can bet that took more toothpaste than on the average.

And I also use flouridated but non-SLS toothpaste; the combo can be hard to find. I try to refill my little 2oz travel tube from the big tube, but obviously, you can see why that's problematic, and I can't always find it easily on arrival, either.

I see what you did there.

gdmf auto speller! arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh (tho it is kind of amusing huh? )

Ron,

First, you are wrong. You should brush every time you eat.

Second, you are overlooking a cultural aspect here. Having been brought up in Latin America, I was surprised to find out that people in the US do not brush their teeth after lunch, and even looked at me strangely when I did so in an office bathroom. I take my brush and paste with me everywhere, and feel rather dirty and uncomfortable if I don�t brush every time I eat. In this manner, making me "voluntarily surrender" my toothpaste is a cultural violation akin to making a Muslim woman remove a headscarf. It won�t kill me, but is unacceptable nonetheless. Remember that people going through airports frequently come from different cultures and traditions!

Third, toothpaste in the rest of the world is sold in metric weight units, and I have had more than one discussion with a stupid TSO regarding what the volume is of my 100 g toothpaste tube (the smallest size usually available commercially). These people are not even trying to be reasonable.

Sorry, that’s not what my dentist tells me. Enamel wear is a significant concern, and he recommends that I only brush after meals.

A Muslim’s head scarf is a religious observation and is protected under the Constitution of the United States. “Cultural” differences are not. Yet we still search head scarf’s and turbans daily, and if we have concerns at the end of the search the passenger will be given a choice, either remove the turban for additional screening or not enter the sterile area.

Go to Walgreens. Toothpaste in significantly smaller sizes is available there, or Walmart, or most airport vendors, or… 100ml IS 3.4 ounces. I’m willing to bet that 100 grams is quite a bit smaller than that. I never was good at metric conversions.

You obviously know the rules, otherwise you would not have posted here. As such, if you continue to bring your 7 ounce tooth paste to the airport, you know the chance you are taking and have no reasonable right to complain.

Sophistry I said, and sophistry it is.

Ron, the only time that you have a 1 to 1 correlation between mass (how heavy an object is) and volume is with the metric system (1cc of water equals 1 gram). MASS does not normally equal VOLUME due to differences in density.

The density of toothpaste is considerably higher than that of water. So it is conceivable that 7oz (remember MASS not VOLUME) might have less VOLUME than 3.4 oz (VOLUME not MASS) of water.

Density is derived from MASS/VOLUME link.

Bad science on the part of TSA is bad science.