Supermarkets are charging huge mark ups on children’s toothpaste.

Toothpaste marketed at children is double the price of ordinary toothpaste even though it contains the same level of fluoride, an investigation has shown.

The average price of a 100ml tube of standard toothpaste at Britain’s biggest supermarkets is £1.21 while the typical cost of their equivalent children’s toothpaste is £2.40.

Colgate’s and Aquafresh’s kids range have just as much fluoride as their standard products yet they are up to three times more expensive.

The biggest mark up is on tubes that feature popular cartoon characters.

Colgate’s Minions toothpaste cost £4 per 100ml – almost four times the price of the brand’s standard version.

Morrisons’ toothpaste for kids is double the price of its standard tubes while Tesco’s is 90 per cent higher.

Manufacturers and retailers say children’s toothpaste is more expensive to make.

But experts claim there is no justification for the mark ups.

Dr Ewa Rozwadowska of the British Dental Health Foundation told the Times newspaper: “Sugar free sweets that use sweeteners are not more expensive. Kids’ toothpaste is more a marketing gimmick.”

Official guidance from Public Health England says there is no need for parents to buy children’s products and that a small smear of normal toothpaste is just as effective and safe.

Kris Coomaraswamy, a lecturer in paediatric dentistry at Birmingham University, said: “Children’s toothpaste should be the same price as adult paste.

“We should be encouraging parents to get kids to brush their teeth and not put a financial barrier in the way.

“It is quite safe to use adult toothpaste on even the youngest children, providing you only smear a small amount.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “The higher price reflects a higher unit cost of production compared to adult toothpaste.”

Aquafresh said: “Children’s milk teeth are 50 per cent thinner so our children’s toothpaste has low abrasivity compared to our standard pastes to meet this need.”

Source: mirror