Question
Recently heard that it is permitted to use regular toothpaste on Shabbat. Is this so?
Answer
Someone for whom missing a day of brushing teeth with toothpaste is a hardship can rely on poskim who permit brushing teeth with toothpaste on shabbat (Shu”t Yabia Omer IV, 30; Shmirat Shabbat K’hilchata ch.14 n.49 and 95). The brush should not be cleaned after brushing in preparation for the next day. Someone whose gums bleed during every brushing should not brush on shabbat.
