Flouride Drops?

Hi. I felt the same as you. My daughter was prescribed fluoride drops due to we have a well and I felt it was unnecessary. I had fluoridated water as a child and I never had cavities. Well lo and behold my 2 year old ended up having cavities. If I have more children I will use fluoride. I take the blame for her teeth but the dentist says she has lots of ridges which is most likely the cause of her cavities, but I feel that the fluoride could have helped. I give her the pills now.

We have well water so it is not fluoridated. My Dr's weren't much into that kind of supplementation though. The oral hygienist at my dentist suggests using fluoridated bottled water for mixing formula or watering down juice every once in a while. We also used tiny bits of real toothpaste to brush their teeth so we didn't need the drops! Hope that helps!

My daughter is 10 and she has these spots on her teeth that are very white. Honestly, I thought at her cleaning they would go away, they did not. I asked the Dentist after the appt what they were and he said it is caused by flouride and that they don't go away. We have flouride in our town water so I never gave her drops. I did what they (pedi dentist) said and that was to rinsh with ACT etc. which I did. but the spots I'm sure are going to bother her as she gets a little older. They said she can bleach her teeth when she's old enough to help with the coloring.

Not sure if this happens a lot.

I'd suggest you do a search on the risk of flouride. After researching it myself a couples years back, I switched our toothpaste to Tom's of Maine w/o floride & installed filters to take out the floride in our tap water. Too much floride can be very dangerous, if for example a small child ate a tube of toothpaste it could be lethal. Also it's never been shown that digesting floride prevents cavities at all. Small amounts applied topically (& spit out) does help combat tooth decay, but swallowing it probably doesn't provide any benefits. Ingesting marginal amounts has even been shown to weaken tooth enamel.

Hi, L.

You are absolutely right-on to be concerned. As fluoride is a poison, I'm not sure why it is introduced to water supplies, as it is only effective when used topically in the form of toothpastes, rinses and such (and even then, there is a lot of debate out there as to whether or not we really need topical fluoride) Poisons are especially detrimental to little bodies and minds that are just beginning to grow and develop. I think your maternal instincts are clear and strong, and you are doing right by your babe to listen to them.

Take Care,
E.

Hi L.,
I live in Mexico and always thought that the kids that lived in the poorer areas in the countryside had decayed teeth because of poor oral hygiene, but come to find out the well water that they drink actually contains too much natural-occurring fluoride so I did some research. This is what Mothering Magazine has to say in their feature "Ask the Experts"...

Is fluoride bad for my children? If so, where can I get toothpaste and?mouthwash without fluoride?

Like many micronutrients, fluoride exists in natural drinking water, and trace amounts are important to human health. Yes, supplemental fluoride is bad for children. Local fluoride treatment of the teeth, as with use of fluoridated toothpaste, is not harmful, as long as none is swallowed. It may even be a little helpful to the teeth. If the kids are swallowing any toothpaste, you likely want to buy a fluoride-free product. You can purchase toothpaste and mouthwash without fluoride at most healthfood stores.

Excess fluoride replaces some of the magnesium in bones, making them harder. The evidence is weak, but this might provide some advantage to teeth in small doses. This "hardness is detrimental however to the rest of the bones in the body. The important structural and limb bones become hard, as in brittle, losing their tensile or flexing strength. Bones containing extra fluoride look very dense on X-ray, but they fracture easily --- that's osteoporosis. With higher doses of fluoride, as in the child who swallows some toothpaste or receives fluoride supplements, and who drinks sodas and juices constituted from fluoridated water sources, dark staining and cavities appear in the teeth, and bones can become misshapen.

There is also evidence as to other toxic effects from fluoride, when it comes to the levels and the synthetic forms used today. No other health benefits of supplemental fluoride have been purported. Do make sure your drinking water isn't fluoridated.

I hope this was helpful. You are a great Mom to be researching something that even your Dr. recommends.

Happy New Year!

Hi L.,

I am a pediatric hygienist in a pedo practice in Westford. I have been in pedo for 25 years. It is very important to give your daughter her fluoride supplement. Many towns in this area are not fluoridated (double check that yours is not). I have witnessed, hundreds of times, the increase in caries(cavities) for patients that do not supplement and live in a non-fluoridated town. Your daughters permanent teeth are developing right now and the fluoride is critical at this time. Thanks, J.

Hi, I would do some more research before giving it to her. If you read about brushing your childs teeth you will see that flouride for children under 2 is acutually damaging to there second teeth, to much flouride is not good. Most towns have flouride in the water, they even sell water with flouride in it. I would contact a pediatric dentist and get the advice from them, they have more knowledge than your childs Dr when it comes to teeth.

Hi. I just came across this article about flouride and thought it might be worth a read?
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/1...

My dentist gave my a Rx for flouride for my daughter (she's 1 1/2) but I decided to do the 'nursery water' instead. Our town water doesn't have flouride, but the dentist said the nursery water would be ok, but only 1 cup a day. I bought it at the grocery store next to the baby food. It has a pink cap.

but I haven't been giving her much water, and no tap water, anyway. Any thoughts would be great!

This is WHY he gave you the flouride drops. The baby is drinking bottled water/breastmilk and there is no flouride in them.

Hi L.,
My Pediatrician prescribed flouride drops for my son at that age as well. He is now one and I have yet to start him on it. We do not have flouride in our water either. There is controversy out there regarding how flouride can affect an infant so do a bit of research on this. Do you have a dentist you trust? If so, give them a call and pose the question. Call the company that makes the flouride and see what information they may offer. 6 months seemed too young to start and most of my friends did not start that young or at all with their kids and they are just fine. Maybe just offer it once a week at an age you feel comfortable giving it to him. Also, you can start to brush his teeth with a toothpaste that has flouride once in a while (per my Pediatrician). If your baby is not yet on solid foods (similiar to what we eat) I would not worry too much about the flouride just yet. If you do not feel good about giving flouride now, don't.
Take care.

Drops were also recommended to my niece at that age for the same reasons, but they were never given. At the current age of 16, she has beautiful teeth & few cavities. I attribute it to a great diet & good oral hygiene. You should just go with what your gut tells you - what feels right.

Dear Child, raising a child,

IF you TRUST your pediatrician, you will follow the advice. Fluoride has been prooven to build stronger teeth.

Keep away from the fluoride and monitor the baby's teeth?

My children are 16 and 14, we use floride as a rinse to help prevent decay.

Good luck!

I have a 1 year old daughter and her pediatrician gave me a prescription for flouride drops at the 6 month checkup. We started them and ususally give it to her after bathtime. She loves the taste. The tap water in Worcester doesn't have flouride so the extra supplemenation is needed for healthy gums and teeth and to prevent flouride deficiency. Hope this helps.

Hi L....I have 3 children- a daughter who just turned 13, a son who is almost 10, and a daughter who recentlt turned 1. I never gave any of them the flouride drops. My 2 oldest have had minimal cavities (my oldest maybe 2 and a few surface ones, my son just a few surface ones)...they brush and floss...hope this helps, ~M.~

I am all for them. I had flouride growing up, and I've had only one tiny cavity, when I was 30. My husband never had flouride as a child, and he has a mouth full of cavities. I gave the drops to all three of my children since our town's water didn't have it. Good luck! Have fun with your baby.

our doctor did the same when our daughter was about 6 months, because we were using filtered water for formula and she wasn't getting any flouride. most towns should have flouride in the water. it's not going to hurt your child at all--we actually don't remember to always give it to ours--but if your baby isn't getting any flouride through the water, then you should probably give it to her.

Hi~ Call your dentist. We have well water that has a miniscule amount of floride. Our pedi had given us a prescription for our two boys and never gave it to them. They have healthy teeth, no cavities, but it is important to start dentist visits as early as 2. Good luck!

Don't give you baby or child fluoride! Fluoride is toxic and consuming internally is not necessary for preventing tooth decay. Children should never have fluoride as they can develop tooth damage. New studies are coming out showing fluoride is not a necessary part of preventing tooth decay when ingested. Fluoride should only be used externally, like in toothpaste. My daughter has adverse effects from fluoride and they include, damage to her teeth from the fluoride given to her as a young child by her pediatrician, she had developed a reaction to all fluoridated water that causes a rash over her body when she swims in a fluoridated pool or takes a shower in fluoridated water. She has a allergy to fresh produce that is watered with fluoridated water. Fluoride is poison and is the main ingredient in many pesticides.

Flouride is soo not a good idea, it really shouldnt be ingested, and I think its insane that some communities add it to their water! Its poison to our oragans and is being blamed for certain cancers. Brushing it on our teeth and spitting it out is one thing, but swalling it and even worse, having our babies swallow it? Its not good.

My pediatrician gave my son a prescription for flouride drops at about the same age. The Dr. did recommend that I half the dosage though.

Hello I am a 25 yr. old mother of one also. I have been giving my son flouride drops since he was about that age and its been great. I was good to start that young so he is used to it in the toddler years and isn't like yuk about it, and it will be routine. My son has been to the dentist a bunch of times for visits and they tell me his teeth are great, he is four by the way. I to have city water and don't give him it either I buy spring water so thats why I do the drops. Its totally up to you whether you wanna start her but I have had a good experience.