My son is now 3 1/2 and it continues to be a bit of a challenge to get him to brush his teeth. The problem is the toothpaste. He likes the Orajel training toothpaste that tastes like "Tooty Fruity", but the problem is that it has no flouride in it. At his age, shouldn't he be using toothpaste with flouride? All the flouride toothpastes for kids seem to have mint flavor that he insists is too strong. Does anyone know of of a good toothpaste that is not mint (or is VERY mild mint) that is not flouride-free? Thank you for your ideas!!!
Thank you so much for all the advice on my toothpaste problem! So many people advised me not to worry about pushing my son to brush with a flourinated paste, since we our water is flourinated. We decided to stay with our current training toothpaste for now, which he likes, and we have introduced him to a flourinated rinse (Listerine SmartRinse) which we can dilute so the flavor is not too strong. The novel concept of swishing it in his mouth is fun, and we can have contests to see who can "swish" the longest before spitting. If we do make a switch, we'll probably try Tom's of Maine, which a lot of you suggested. Thanks again!
My daughter hates mint as well. We use Aquafresh for kids. It has a bubblegum flavor. She loves it.
Ally
We use the children's Aquafresh that has a bubble gum flavor. My kids don't like the mint flavor either for the same reason.
This is one of those heated debates for parents. There are so many studies out there that show children need the fluoride but there are just as many, and some much newer that prove our children are getting to much! There are a few people out there that will also state that why on earth would you put rat poison in your children. I chose to take the middle of the road approach. My son is 4 and his dentist has left it up to us as to if he gets a treatment at his appointments I have chosen to just do it once a year instead of the every 6 months that they usually get. He also uses a toothpaste that does not have fluoride in it but he drinks a lot of water and little sugar drinks including juice.
If your child is drinking TAP water and not bottled water then he should be fine with a toothpaste that does not have fluoride in it.. You can always ask your dentist and there are fluoride supplements if you feel he needs more in his diet.
I'll probably be the lone dissenter but I say no, flouride toothpaste isn't needed. For one, there is flouride in the water, and you pretty much need reverse osmosis systems to remove it--so even with filters you get flouride. If you use a flouride rinse as well, plus flouride toothpaste that adds up to A LOT of flouride, and in large doses it's toxic. My son is about the same age and has wonderful teeth and we've never used flouride toothpaste, but instead prefer toothpaste with xylitol in it, plus good toothbrushing habits.
Tom's of Maine does make a kids toothpaste called Silly Strawberry and I believe it does have flouride in it...probably can find it at the drug store.
We do not use fluoride in our toothpastes and have found my daughter has been using the same 2 since she was younger- she is almost 8. Her teeth are great and we have no worries about fluoride. She gets fluoride in other forms.
Many dentists do push the fluoride issue but you can do some research on it and find that there are other safer ways to get the kids fluoride.
Hope that helps:)
D.
My 3 year old son's dentist recommended he use a pea-size amount of flouride toothpaste 2x a day starting at 12 months! He hated every toothpaste we tried. The only one he'll use is the Tom's of Maine (I think thats what its called!) all natural kids toothpaste. I've only seen it in Strawberry. Its not as sweet as some of the kids "bubble gum" varieties. Its a bit more expensive and the tube is horrible as far as getting all the toothpast out, but its better than struggling to get him to brush his teeth everyday.
My son 3 1/2 LOVES using the Spiderman toothpaste. We found it at Target and it is still fruity and has flouride.
at a natural health store- you can get Tom's silly strawberry or orange flouride toothpaste! :)
We use aquafresh bubble mint. My kids love brushing their teeth. You may want to teach him how to rinse and spit. My 5 and 3 1/2 year olds both know how to do it. I had noticed my son was swishing his drinks in his mouth. so I had him practice with water to not swallow it and spit it out. My daughter wanted to give it a try she is younger than what I started with my son he was 4. She caught on quick. I demonstrated and she practiced with the water and now they both use the walmart bubble gum flavor of ACT.
Colgate makes Strawberry and Watermelon
Tom's of Maine has a kids Strawberry toothpaste with flouride. You should be able to get it at Sprouts - it's not that hard to come by or expensive. We use just a tiny bit for my almost 3-year-old's little mouth, and it lasts a long time.
Children shouldn't use fluoride. Try Neways Ultrashine Toothpaste - www.ineways.com/lwo under the product tab.
L. Ott ____@____.com ###-###-####
We use Tom's of Maine kids with flouride and they have 2 kinds for kids, strawberry and orange. It also just so happens to be all natural, too. My son was the same way with the mint or cinnamon, and he LOVES the Tom's which makes us happy. We get it at Sprouts but they have it sometimes in other stores, too. Worth every penny! Good luck!
J.
My son is 4 and hates the strong tasting tooth pastes also. So the dentist recomended dipping his toothbrush in to flouride mouth wash for kids (ACT). He loves it.
I don't know if they still have them but when I was little I took chewable fluoride pills because the water in the town we lived in was very low in fluoride. I would check with your dentist to see what they suggest.
Have you tried the kids toothpaste, found at Wallmart, Target, etc.. They are Disney picture tubes and have flavors like berry, and bubblegum, etc... Also, there have been quite a few studies lately on Flouride, and it is no longer considered to be a fantastic thing, because it may help the bone part, but it is poison for the body. Therefore, not having flouride in a toothpaste, for someone that practically eats toothpaste, (at least my 2 kids do/did, when brushing their teeth, because it takes them a while to get the not swallowing part) is not such a bad thing. Also, Tom's has a great all natural toothpaste, but my kids didn't like it. Tastes too baking soda'ish. Expect a lot of trial and error, and a lot of leftover kids toothpate, which you then have to toss or use up yourself. :-) Good luck.
We use Colgate for kids...watermelon flavor!!
My son also hates anything mint! We tried the bubble gum, stawberry, orange, etc. (lots of tubes of very little ues in our house!) and finally found a watermelon flavored one by Colgate. There are many companies with many flavors out there. Even the same flavor between companies is different. Keep trying till you find one he likes and then pray they don't discontinue it! Good luck!
PS don't let him share cups with other people. Our dentist said this was the cause of my son getting a more potent bacteria in his mouth cause our many cavities (happened over 6 months!)
Try Tom's of Maine. My son uses the srawberry flavored flouride toothpaste and loves it. You can also get it in grape. I get ours at Whole Foods but I think Target may carry it now too.
Try Tom's of Maine strawberry.
There are lots of kid toothpastes that don't taste like mint. I don't know where you are shopping, but I shop at Walmart and the selections are endless. Maybe you're looking in the wrong place. All the kid toothpaste is where the kid toothbrushes are. My son who is 7 just barely started liking the mint, so I've been using the others for years. Make sure that he knows how to spit, though, because swallowing flouride could stain his teeth later. Good luck.
Hi, my 3 yo son has an aversion to all mint things. he won't even be around us after we brush our teeth. I use a small amount of dora/diego toothpaste its pink and fruit flavored and the only one w/ fluoride he will use. Reminds me I have to get some more! A.
My daughter does not like mint either. We use the Crest bubble gum flavored toothpaste. It comes in a plastic bottle rather than a tube. Ours is Barbie but I think they make a boys version as well. It does have flouride. My daughter will use the bubblemint toothpaste if we can't find the other but it's not her favorite.
My son is the same way and trust me I have tried every toothpaste under the sun. The one that we are using now that he doesn't seem to be complaining about is Oral B Stages in fruit burst flavor. Ours has Wall-E on it, but it might be something else on the tube now.
