---
title: "Does Toothpaste expire? Degrades in quality"
description: "It stays safe, but the fluoride stops doing its job — which is the only reason to use it. What actually changes over time, whether it matters, and how to store it."
url: https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/toothpaste/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Does Toothpaste expire?

**Does Toothpaste expire?: It stays safe, but the fluoride stops doing its job — which is the only reason to use it.**

2 years from manufacture

Fluoride toothpaste is regulated as a drug in the United States and carries a date for that reason: over time the active fluoride compound can bind with other ingredients into forms that no longer strengthen enamel. The paste itself remains harmless and will still clean mechanically. Old toothpaste also dries and separates, which is cosmetic. If a tube has been open for two years you are almost certainly not using enough toothpaste.

## How to store it

- Room temperature with the cap on.

## How to tell it has gone

- Hard, dry, separated or gritty texture.

> "Use by" and "best before" are legally different. Use-by is a safety date and should be respected; best-before is about quality, and food is usually fine well past it. Where the two diverge matters, the page above says which applies.

## Common questions

### Does Toothpaste expire?

It stays safe, but the fluoride stops doing its job — which is the only reason to use it.

### How long does Toothpaste last?

2 years from manufacture

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## Sources

- US Food and Drug Administration — FDA (https://www.fda.gov/) [Public domain (US Government)]