Question About Injesting Fluoride

If fluoride drops/pills have been prescribed, then I would think the major risk about swallowing toothpaste has past. However, the dose in in a pill or drops is controlled...you never know how much they could be swallowing with toothpaste. You don't want them in the habit of eating it--too much at once COULD be dangerous (as in they decide to eat the whole tube).

Are you saying that pills/drops have been prescribed for a toddler younger than two? Among the potential health problems with fluoride, excess at an early age can causing pitting and staining of the baby or adult teeth.

I think it's just that they don't want kids to get too much fluoride, which can permanently discolor teeth. I personally wouldn't worry about giving a toddler fluoride pills or drops either.

I'm a registered dental hygienist of 15 years.
You want them to spit because that way you can be sure about how much fluoride they're getting. Swallowing a little bit isn't any big deal. But if a 2 year old ate a whole tube of toothpaste it would be fatal (based on body weight). If they can't spit it out yet, just use very little. Like a tiny smear. And don't worry about it! Keep teaching that we spit it out not swallow it.
Fluoride is SO beneficial!! It makes a huge difference in caries rate! The optimal amount in water is one part per MILLION, people!!! It is such a minute amount! Yes it's toxic at large amounts. Nobody is saying we need large amounts! Plus topical fluoride treatments at the dentist are not ingested (swallowed). It gets incorporated into the outermost layer of the tooth to remineralize and strengthen the enamel. There are so many misunderstandings about fluoride and people are willing to believe things they don't read clinical research about. Ingested fluoride (pills or drops) strengthen ONLY teeth that haven't erupted yet. They are still under the gums. That's why after age 12 or so nobody should take fluoride polls or drops. Topical fluoride treatments strengthen ONLY teeth that are in the mouth. They are good for anyone age 3 and older. Fluoridated water serves as both. But the amount of fluoride in water is VERY small and VERY regulated! It is a safe amount for all ages!!! I have studied this in depth! Take any further questions to your dentist.

Have you researched what fluoride REALLY is???? It's a toxic chemical.

We don't use ANY fluoride in our house. Drink well water. And do NO fluoride treatments at the dentist. We don't have problems with cavities or anything. (Of course, we eat a well balanced diet and don't drink soda either......)

Cori,
Flouride is a toxic waste by-product. We don't use it in any form at our house. Google Flouride Dangers and see what comes up. We are so thankful to be on mountain well-water so that it isn't in our drinking water. In Europe, they do not put it in the water because they know the truth, and they believe that people should actually have a choice about what they drink. It makes me crazy how they force this stuff on unsuspecting people. Flouride consumption started when they had all of this waste from factories, and they didn't know what to do with it. Now they make money off of it, to the detriment of the public. Ugh!

For young children whose teeth are still forming, ingestion of fluoride increases the risk of Fluorosis. Flourosis is tooth mottling (teeth can develop brown discoloration and/or pitting.) Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that “unless it is advised by your child’s pediatric dentist, do not use fluoridated toothpaste until age 2-3.”

Many toddlers are already getting fluoride at home via city water or community water wells that are treated with fluoride. Fluoride drops are sometimes prescribed for children who have non-fluoridated water at their home.

As for ingestion of fluoride leading to stomach ailments and/or death, a child would have to ingest a huge amount before becoming sick. The concept of a toddler becoming sick from the tiny amount of toothpaste he may swallow on a daily basis is more of an old-wives-tale. Simply use a small dab on the child's toothbrush. The use of fluoride at the appropriate age is important for preventing long-term tooth decay.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides these additional recommendations to parents of young children:
1. Limit toothbrushing to 2 times a day.
2. Apply less than a pea-sized amount to the toothbrush.
3. Supervise tooth-brushing and encourage the child to spit out excess toothpaste.

If a child swallows toothpaste it has to be a lot. The amount in the drops in a regulated amount that is mixed with vitamins. I can tell you in our experience that we have well water and my son developed a brown spot on his front tooth. After 6 months of a tiny amount of children't toothpaste and a multi vitamin with flouride given once every 2 weeks its almost gone. My brother's front teeth rotted out of his face at age 5, so obviously I was worried about this. When used in moderation it is very important for dental health. I use flouride toothpaste as does my husband and we have not had cavities since we were children. Extremists in any direction of an issue worry me.

Really flouride is bad all around! If you can avoid it at all then do it (even in pills and drops, no matter what the doc says). It is 2nd on the list of poison under arsenic. Very scary stuff. It is even put in our drinking water hence a good reason not to drink tap water. My girlfriend is just obsessed about the affects of flouride on the human body and animals. If you want more information send her an email. She will send you site upon site to go to that will scare the pants off you. Her email is ____@____.com

Good luck, hope she can give you some concrete clarification!

Toothpaste is just not something you want your children to eat. It will upset their tummies.. I am going to guess that the fluoride is more intense in the paste than in the pills or drops.

We use non-fluoride toothpaste and don't do fluroide treatments at the dentist.

I do have their teeth cleaned more frequently than most people (non-fluoride) - every 3 months.

Good luck.

There's no need for using toothpaste on a small child- water works much better and is safer.
Too much fluoride can cause fluorosis, which not only can stain teeth but makes bones brittle- definitely not good for young kids!
Prescribing fluoride to young children is hotly debated amongst the medical society- many are now thinking that children DON'T need the fluoride pill/drops because new studies show that swishing with fluoride is much safer and doesn't contaminate your body like swallowing the pills does.
We're waiting until our son understands and can properly "swish then spit" the fluoride mouth wash before introducing him to it- its safer, he won't get too much and his bones will be safe from the fluoride!
*Fluoride IS NOT a healthy thing in most cases, but very small amounts have been found to strengthen teeth while too much can cause horrible problems.

Upset tummy is the reason(I remember one of my little brothers vomiting after he swallowed rather than swished and spit the fluoride rinse at the dentist, but he got a whole mouthful down)-though I have started putting a small dot on my almost 3-yr-old's toothbrush and he attempts to spit at the end of brushing.

We have well water, but it is from a community well, so we have a small amount of fluoride in it so my dentist said we do not need to buy nursery water or fluoride suppliments, but if you have concerns about fluoride sups, contact a pediatric dentist for advice and dosage.

Flouride is poisonous in large amounts, but supposedly not in small amounts. I don't like for my kids to swallow even a small amount.

A little bit is not harmful if you read you need to be concerned if they swallow more than they use to brush. Floride can be toxic in large quantities and since in many US communities have floried added to their water you want to limit how much they swallow. If it's just the pea sized ammount they use to brush their teeth discourage it so it does not become a habbit, but no need to panic. I don't buy children's toothpaste as it has the same ammount of flouride as adult brands the only difference is the charicter on the tube and the bubble gum flavor, both which encourage kids to eat toothpaste. If they do swallow or eat more than they brush their teeth with get them to drink lots of milk as the flouride will bond with the calcium and not be digested. If it's over a couple teaspoons call poison control you may need to seek medical assistance.

My son was 2, he opened the child proof mulit-vitamin/fluoride drops and drank the entire bottle ( yes, horrible mommy). Anyhow, poison control told me to give him milk to drink, milk binds with and neutralizes the fluoride. The PCC also said it takes a large amount to cause illness. My kids all use regular tooth paste and I apply it to the brush making sure it's a pea or corn kernel size. They all seem to be fine. Even my oldest who was the drinker of the drops... I think the biggest risk, from ingesting a " normal" amount of tooth paste from the brush is an upset stomach.

Our hygienist told me that a child would have to eat a tube of fluoride toothpaste before any ill effects would happen.
Not sure about the drops/pills.

If I was eating food with only a very small amount of poison in it the assumption would be that it's still harmful for my body. If we give our children only a small amount of fluoride why do we think it's okay? Why do we think there are no ill effects because it's a little instead of a lot? I like the way you're questioning the process and discovering the truth!

Flouride when swallowed in quantities larger than pea sized toothpaste amounts if you have fluoridated water can cause your teeth to develop white spots that do not go away. If a young child ingests a large amount of fluoride, no it will not physically harm them or make them really sick, maybe an upset tummy, but it can really hurt their teeth and developing adult teeth, permanently. Fluoride has been proven to prevent tooth decay and when used properly, and not largely ingested, it works very well. My good friend is a dentist and has explained in great detail what and how it works. Yes, it is a chemical and there are alot of chemicals that we put in our bodies to do different things, some are food preservatives and some like this one prevent our teeth from rotting. The pills and drops are only okay if you have well water and need a fluoride supplement, if you are not getting any other fluoride from your municipal water. Otherwise it is not necessary. That being said, some multi-vitamins contain fluoride and that's perfectly fine, the amount is VERY small but if you are on municipal water that contains fluoride I wouldn't seek out a vitamin with it in it. Ask your dentist about this next time you are in. Its quite interesting and something that they should be doing anyway, teaching is part of the service of a dental cleaning.

The only reason that toddlers are recommended to not use fluoridated toothpaste is because they are not very good at spitting it out yet...