Toothpaste pregnancy test is one of the quickest homemade pregnancy tests as it can be carried out easily at home by women whenever they want. It is an easy way to find out if you are expecting or not. Many women who avoid getting a pregnancy test by kit use the homemade toothpaste test to confirm whether they are expecting or not.
In this test, a woman uses toothpaste and her early morning urine to check whether the pregnancy hormone is present in the urine or not. This is primarily because the toothpaste by nature is HCG (the pregnancy hormone) sensitive.
When can you perform the homemade toothpaste pregnancy test?
You can perform this homemade toothpaste pregnancy test when you have unprotected sex, miss a period or observe any symptoms of pregnancy.
Symptoms of pregnancy
- Nausea
- Headache
- Missed period
- Cramps
- Swelling in the vaginal area
Also Read: When Can I Become Pregnant Before Period?
How to perform the toothpaste pregnancy test?
Performing a homemade toothpaste pregnancy test is really an easy task, as you only need a few items to do the test. This test was used by women in rural areas for decades as a pregnancy test kits were not easily available back then owing to a lack of large medical stores.
Things required
Items required for taking the test are
- Urine sample
- Two small-sized cups
- Toothpaste
Steps for performing the test
- Take your urine sample in a cup
- Take a small amount of toothpaste in the second cup
- Add your urine sample to the toothpaste
- Wait for a couple of minutes
- Observe for any visible changes
- If the color and consistency of urine changes then the test is positive and you may be pregnant
- If you observe no change and the color remains the same, then you are not pregnant and the test is negative
- Throw away the mix
Things to take care while taking this test
The most important thing is to ensure cleanliness and quality as both of these can have great effects on the outcome of your test. The toothpaste should be of plain white color as it contains fewer chemicals and the color change is easily visible as compared to the colored toothpaste which contains more chemicals and dyes, affecting the results of the homemade toothpaste pregnancy test. The cups should be cleaned before performing the test. This ensures that there are no false results that occur as a result of any foreign substances already present in the cup.
How accurate is the toothpaste pregnancy test?
The accuracy of the toothpaste pregnancy test is not as good as that of the pregnancy test kit. Although if compared with other homemade pregnancy tests (which include baking soda test, salt pregnancy test, sugar pregnancy test), it is the one with the most precision of the result. The accuracy of the test depends upon the quality and condition of the things you are using for taking the test. If you are using clean items and taking care of the proper time, the results will be more accurate.
What are the results of the toothpaste pregnancy test?
The result of this test can either be positive or negative. There can also be a false result.
Positive Result
Add urine sample to the toothpaste, if the color and consistency of urine change within 2 minutes, then the test is positive and it should ideally mean that maybe you are pregnant.
Negative Result
Add urine sample to the toothpaste, if the color and consistency of urine do not change within 2 minutes, then the test is negative and you may not be pregnant.
False result of toothpaste pregnancy test
The toothpaste is HCG sensitive, that is why if taken too early, it might give false results. It is also very important to time toothpaste pregnancy test correctly. If the mixture is kept for too long, the color will change due to chemical reaction but not because you are pregnant.
You can repeat the test if you think its a false result.
How does the test work?
This homemade test works with a simple principle. The urine of a pregnant woman contains HCG which is a pregnancy hormone and is produced in large quantities during pregnancy. This hormone reacts with the chemicals in the toothpaste and a visible change in the color and texture of urine is seen.
If the hormone is not present in the urine, there will be no chemical reaction. This means that you are not pregnant.
Does the toothpaste pregnancy test really work?
This homemade pregnancy test does certainly work. It gives quick results within 2-3 minutes. The results appear as a change in color or texture of the urine. If the urine becomes frothy or forms bubbles, it means that the pregnancy hormone HCG is present in the urine which has reacted with the toothpaste and the test is positive.
If there is no change in the mixture in the next 3-5 minutes, you are probably not pregnant.
Is the toothpaste pregnancy test reliable?
It is reliable only as a preliminary test but taking it as the final verdict is a dangerous idea, you must consult a doctor even after a positive result.
It has a success rate of around 85% but the chances of false are around 15% which cannot be ignored. Some women are not able to hold their excitement even a day after having sex, therefore, they may take this homemade pregnancy test to curb the anxiety.
Testing with toothpaste is the best homemade method to check for pregnancy. The ease of doing this pregnancy test is what interests women.
Advantages and disadvantages of the test
Everything has some advantages and disadvantages, so does this test. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the test which you should be aware of.
Advantages
- One of the cheapest methods to check pregnancy at home
- Easy to perform
- Allows repetition
- Saves time
- Easy to distinguish the changes in the urine sample
Disadvantages
- Results can be confusing
- May give false results