Okay, I feel like an idiot..

I feel so dumb...I was just reading the post about toothpaste and everyone was replying saying that they used the fluoride-free toothpaste....why?? I am a nurse and I have never heard of this....will someone please enlighten me!! (BTW, we use toothpaste with fluoride, not a whole lot; our municipal water system does NOT have fluoride in it; my girls are 16 months old and already have molars)..

Thanks!

 

Our dentist suggested using the floride free Toddler Training toothpaste while they are young. We switched to the flouride kind once they could rinse and spit.

 

Ingesting too much fluoride can cause problems with young children's teeth.

ADA (good article)
QUOTE
Fluoride Toothpaste
Parents and caregivers should ensure that young children use an appropriate size toothbrush with a small brushing surface and only a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste at each brushing. Young children should always be supervised while brushing and taught to spit out rather than swallow toothpaste. Many children under age six have not fully developed their swallowing reflex and may be more likely to inadvertently swallow fluoride toothpaste. Unless advised to do so by a dentist or other health professional, parents should not use fluoride toothpaste for children less than two years of age.

 

The reason that non-fluoride toothpaste is recommended in toddlers under 2yrs is that they are much more likely to swallow the toothpaste than rinse and spit it out. Our dentist said that too much fluoride can lead to some condition (forget name?) where white spots develop on the permanent teeth.

We also do not have fluoride in our community water so our ped office recommends Rx multivitamins with fluoride for all kidos. Between that and other food and beverages that contain fluoride...we just chose to avoid fluoride toothpaste early on so as to not chance the discoloration on their adult teeth. They now effectively spit out their toothpaste....so not an issue.

 

My guys still suck the toothpaste off of the toothbrush. Until they stop doing that, we're staying flouride-free to prevent them from ingesting too much.

 

Because mine eat it. They don't brush with it and certainly don't spit it out!! :hug99: Don't worry about it!! Too much can give a tummy ache though. Now you know


(time to update your ticker in your siggy!! 8) )

 

It's called flourodosis or something like that, and can cause white spots on their teeth.

 

Our pediatric dentist advises his patients to use a tiny little drop of flouride toothpaste, so we do. The kids don't like our toothpaste, so I buy kids stuff, but it has flouride in it. I have also taught our kids to spit. The spitting is so much fun to them, that they really looking forward to brushing their teeth!!!

 

Our dentist also told us its okay to use a barely visible dab of toothpaste with fluoride in it for our little ones. That way they get a bit of fluoride but not enough to hurt them.

 

QUOTE(Debb-i @ Oct 24 2007, 01:27 AM) [snapback]464396[/snapback]
The reason that non-fluoride toothpaste is recommended in toddlers under 2yrs is that they are much more likely to swallow the toothpaste than rinse and spit it out. Our dentist said that too much fluoride can lead to some condition (forget name?) where white spots develop on the permanent teeth.

We also do not have fluoride in our community water so our ped office recommends Rx multivitamins with fluoride for all kidos. Between that and other food and beverages that contain fluoride...we just chose to avoid fluoride toothpaste early on so as to not chance the discoloration on their adult teeth. They now effectively spit out their toothpaste....so not an issue.


Ditto what Deby said. We have well water with no fluoride, so we do the multivitamins with fluoride as well.

 

My boys went to the dentist yesterday and I asked when to use Flouride toothpaste since my SD is 10 and DH and I do not remember she said about 3 years old when they can spit it out on their own and even then use a pea size amount. Also they have 16 teeth and she said I should brush after breakfast and before bed.

 

At just under 16 months, we took our boys to the pediatric dentist last week for the first visit. He advised us to switch to regular toothpaste with flouride, use a tiny amount, and wipe down their teeth and gums after brushing.

 

My 3 1/2 year old is still not able to spit well (getting better but still swallows most of the paste), so still on "baby" tooth paste. Her dentist says that's fine. We're going next month, so I'll ask her what she says then.