Fluoride - Holmen,WI

WOW! There are some strong feelings out there regarding this stuff. All I know is that my parents (who are in their 70s) both had bad teeth. When I ask them if they brushed thier teeth, they say that they did brush as much as they do today but that there was no fluoride in their water or toothpaste so it didn't help their teeth. If you're concearned, ask another Pediatrician for a 2nd opinion and remember that just because you see something on the internet, doesn't mean it's true.

Your doctor's an idiot. If you are lucky enough to have fluoride-free water, do NOT give your son fluoride drops. Fluoride is one of the worst things you can ingest.

http://www.holisticmed.com/fluoride/

http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/fluoride...

http://www.wholywater.com/fluoride.html

http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/epa/nrc/press01.html

I have read similar information as Anne Marie F. Flouride is a toxin. It can cause cancer. I wouldn't give it to my son. I, myself don't use tooth paste with flouride in it either.

That is an awesome question and I'm just as puzzled as you are, unfortunately. I've always leaned toward the natural, non-medical, non-pharmaceutical side of things, so if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't give the flouride drops.
Here is an article about the negatives of water fluoridation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_to_water_fluorida...

I've had numerous chats with different people over the years about this subject. One woman who was very against it was mentioning how too much flouride contributed to this certain disease and how this kid from Lakeville, MN had this disease and, go figure, Lakeville has some of the highest levels of water fluoridization in the state of MN, etc.

I've also heard or read somewhere that you can find fluoride occurring naturally in some foods such as cucumbers. Now, I'm not sure if this is because the cucumbers were watered with city water or if it was because they actually contained some natural chemical that's good for our teeth. I would tend to believe the latter, since I believe that pretty much anything we ever need can be found in the plants, minerals and animals of the earth.

I would agree with the person who posted that you should be thankful that you don't have fluoride in your water. If you have well water, you're probably better off anyway because you don't have chlorine and antibiotics in your water. (A natural health practitioner mentioned that we should all take probiotics just because of all the antibiotics in our water supply. Just a side note.)

Questioning your doctor is never a bad thing. Sure, he/she may be an expert, but you can only be an expert in so many things. Doctors are trained to know only certain things which means there are lots of things they don't know. If you're looking for some alternate views, you can check out another doctor with a bit of a different viewpoint: www.mercola.com. Also, there's some interesting news on www.naturalnews.com. Even a simple internet search could at least raise some more questions you could ask your doctor or, if he/she doesn't know, ask someone who would know (e.g. a naturopath).

Awesome question. I hope you find your answer. :)

Go to Mercola.com and type in Fluoride in the search engine. READ, READ, READ.....then YOU make a decision that is right for your family, not a doctor's recommendation. We need to remember that Doctor's do not know all there is about everything. Fluoride is a toxic waste and actually will rot your kids teeth, not the other way around. It is a 10 billion dolllar a year industry. There is a great study on Mercola about putting fluoride on children's baby teeth.
Good luck and way to listen to your instincts and ask questions.

I absolutely 100% agree with the post before this one!!!!!! Do NOT give flouride pills to your son, do not use toothpaste with flouride, and if you are actually LUCKY enough to not have flouride in your water be SOOOOOOOO....thankful!!!!!!!!!!!!! Flouride is so so so dangerous to ingest!!!!!

Flouride is a toxic chemical that they claim to be good for you in small amounts because then they don't have to pay to get rid of it!!!

My husband, 2 children and myself all use flouride FREE TOOTHPASTE AND DRINK WELL WATER. We do not get the flouride treatments at the dentist either.

Good luck. You need to make the decision based on what you and your husband feel is best for your family.

I agree with the two PP's. Do not give it to your son.

Edited to add this link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=43362624460470636...

It's 1/2 hour long, but absolutely worth it.

This is one of those issues where there are very strong opinions. The best thing you can do is become well educated, and make the decision for yourself. It is important to question everything when it comes to you and your families' health. America's doctors are good in so many respects, but certainly their education does not include any naturalistic or holistic health education, which is so unfortunate. There are many good links provided in the PP's. We got a Reverse Osmosis water filter installed when we moved into our house because I did not want to keep having to buy bottled water and didn't want my children injesting flouride (or chlorine, or etc.). I would not give flouride drops to my children. I think keeping a clean mouth and feeding a diet that is balanced, good exercise, and limit junk food - especially stuff like soda and juice - is the best thing you can do for your kids and their teeth. That is what is right for us. Good luck with your decision :)

WOW strong opinions are an understatement. Fluoride is very necessary in moderation. Just because you read something on the internet, doesn't mean it has been validated. You can find a study to back up whatever point of view you have, it might just not be a good one. I do wonder where people get their information sometimes. Fluoride toothpaste is too concentrated for children under the age of 3. Mostly because they will swallow it. Fluoride most certainly does not rot your teeth, but to the people that are so anti fluoride I can only hope that your children's teeth don't rot. I used to work as a Dental Assistant in a pediatric office where we took children between 1 1/2 and 2 to the OPERATING ROOM to have their dental work done because they had cavities in every single tooth. Most of this was from too much juice and pop, but lack of fluoride was also a contributor. We are currently in a home that has well water and are having it tested to find out how much fluoride supplement we need to give our son. My husband is a physician and I will be the first one to tell you that they don't know everything. That being said, I would caution you against taking the advice of someone who flat out tells you that your doctor is an idiot. People have taken the natural/holistic ways to an extreme.

You do not want too much fluoride it can stain the teeth if you get too much . But a little helps the teeth stay strong . It is confussing .

Hi M.,

I don't know about you, but I'm still a little confused after reading all of your responses. I've always heard good things about fluoride, and am still leaning towards the good side. I'm sure if we looked into everything we ingest we would be very surprised at all the negative information we would find...it would be overwhelming, but we can't not eat or drink. I don't know???...I've e-mailed my dentist with some information, and will be interested to see what he thinks...will let you know, if he gets back to me soon.

C.

Hi M., doin some research when I had my kids at home..I came to the decision that flouride was cancer causing when ingested..I did use the flouride rinse...just do some research and pray.. it's hard to know what is right Good luck

M.,

Flouride is proven to help strengthen teeth and help them to last longer. Go visit any nursing home to see the effects of poor dental care and no flouride. Small quantities are not harmful. The danger with flouride in tooth paste, is that your child may ingest too much - especially if they are brushing their teeth on their own - which is not recommended for a 15 month old. The drops are meant to replace the very small quantity found in drinking water and is a low dosage. If you have concerns, discuss them with your doctor and HE can help you make an informed decision about using them or not.

Lisa, Mom to 4 boys - three of which took flouride drops or pills

Cities fluoridate their water because low, low doses have proven to help strengthen your teeth. Some smaller towns or those on a well obviously do not have fluoride in their water, so doctors will prescribe for those who do not have fluoridated water (that was us when our first was a baby). The amount of fluoride in toothpaste is very high, since it's not meant to be ingested. Since small children cannot spit, toddlers and babies are encouraged to use fluoride free toothpaste until the time that they can brush and spit out the toothpaste. Docs prescribe fluoride because there they can control the dosage and keep it small. Small children will eat toothpaste like there's no tomorrow if they're given fluoridated toothpaste, and that is too much.

Hi M.! I see some posters using the phrase "Fluoride is proven...." but there is no proof that fluoride strenghthens teeth at all. There is, however, proof that fluoride is a neurotoxin and should not be ingested at all.
There is absolutely no need for fluoridated water, drops, toothpaste, etc. Xylitol is a wood sugar that prevents tooth decay and is safe for everyone. You can buy Xylitol toothpaste for when your son is older. I am 30 years old and have one cavity. We did not drink city water, did not have drops, or fluoride treatments at the dentist, nor did we use fluoridated toothpaste.

The xylitol toothpaste is available at www.vitacost.com and I believe the brand name is Xclear and the toothpaste is called Spry.

Many people believe in fluoride preventing tooth decay etc.. but where are people getting their info? Just asking the dentist or doctor is not really research. Some other posters gave you GREAT places to do some reading!

Good for you for asking this question!