PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� Bryce Harper bristled at the blowback from his that he displayed over a sink inside a San Diego hotel bathroom.
Harper shared his morning routine 鈥� appropriately captioned, 鈥淢oring Y’all鈥� 鈥� to more than 600,000 followers on TikTok and one part or his oral care stopped even his most diehard fans right in their shower shoes.
The slugger squeezed toothpaste straight from the tube into his mouth, rather than applying it first onto his toothbrush.
Next came the brushback pitch.
鈥淎ctually diabolical toothpaste application,鈥� one TikTok follower wrote on the post.
Harper’s outrageous oral hygiene was as a 鈥渇un fact鈥� by the Padres, left fans 鈥渉orrified,鈥� per British tabloid The Daily Mail, and generally had social media followers 鈥� more than 2.7 million views on alone 鈥� befuddled at his brushing.
鈥淚t kind of happens when you post a little bit, right?鈥� Harper told on Wednesday inside the visitors鈥� clubhouse at Petco Park. 鈥淏ut yeah, I鈥檝e done it forever.鈥�
Well, the American Dental Association saw the video and its advice to potential emulators is simple: please don’t.
鈥淚t is not suggested to do it that way,鈥� said Ohio dentist Andrew Zucker, a consumer advisor for the association.
Zucker watched the video and thought Harper 鈥� more known for his brush with greatness as a two-time NL MVP 鈥� was kidding.
But no, Harper explained to the website, it’s just the way he’s always brushed his teeth.
鈥淚 don’t think there’s anything to be gained,鈥� Zucker said on Thursday. 鈥淭he only thing to be lost is just wasting a whole bunch of toothpaste.鈥�
Zucker added: 鈥淛ust put a little pea-sized bit of it on a toothbrush and that’s all you need.鈥�
The Padres had some fun with Harper’s toothbrushing tip when he came to hit on Tuesday night. His fun biographical fact was listed as: 鈥淪QUIRTS TOOTHPASTE INTO HIS MOUTH INSTEAD OF ONTO A TOOTHBRUSH WHEN BRUSHING HIS TEETH.鈥�
鈥淚 mean, it鈥檚 gone viral, so I鈥檓 happy about that,鈥� Harper told Phillies Nation. 鈥淚t always helps with my videos when it goes viral, so if that鈥檚 what makes it go viral, then I鈥檒l take it.鈥�
It’s also quite uncommon.
Zucker’s father is a dentist, his mother is a hygienist and he’s 45 years old and the only time he saw the squeeze technique was 鈥渕y 3-year-old and it was because he was trying to eat it. But no, I’ve never seen an adult brush their teeth this way.”
Harper’s method has worked for him, and he’s flashed his pearly whites over 376 career home runs and eight All-Star appearances.
鈥淚f I help half a person a day, changing an ingredient or letting them know there are better quality products out there that they can use or that鈥檒l make them feel better, then I won that day,鈥� Harper said.
So what’s the harm in the tube-to-tongue technique?
鈥淢y only concern would be, you have a lot of germs in your mouth,鈥� said dentist Maria Ryan, chief clinical officer at Colgate-Palmolive. 鈥淲hen you’re putting your mouth on the toothpaste tube, you get those germs on there. Sometimes people share toothpaste and things like that, so I worry about that a little bit.鈥�
But here’s the positive takeaway, now that Harper can’t put the toothpaste TikTok back in the tube.
Bryce Harper, star slugger, the , and baseball hero to children of all ages, brushes his teeth. Perhaps there’s a fussy Phillies fan in footy pajamas who balks at the twice-daily ritual but might be more inclined to brush because Harper does it, as well.
鈥淚 was glad he was brushing his teeth,鈥� Ryan said. “I see he’s gotten a lot of views. It’s good he’s telling people you need to brush your teeth, which is very important for preventing cavities and gum disease.
鈥淏ut it’s a unique way of doing it, for sure. So, I probably wouldn’t do it that way or instruct my patients to do it that way.鈥�
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