Fluoride info

[MercyInDisguise]

I'm looking for information on fluoride for tooth care, both for me and for C. (DH will never abandon his Crest.)

I have awful teeth. I had 17 cavities filled after my pregnancy with C: a combination of avoiding the dentist for 4 years, hyperemesis (stomach acid washing over your teeth a million times an hour doesn't help anything). Also brushing my teeth caused me to gag and throw up for all 9 months, even when my HG was under control. After I had all the fillings, I was advised to start rinsing with a fluoride mouthwash (Act) 2x/day and also get fluoride treatments at the dentist twice a year.

C hasn't had any dental issues yet, but of course I want to prevent them while being as natural as possible. Right now we are using Tom's of Maine kids toothpaste on him, but it does have fluoride. I've heard some bad stuff about fluoride but I don't really remember what it was because that was back before I was concerned about anything like that.

[WildFlower]

if you google "dangers of fluoride" you'll come up on a lot of info.

It is controversial but I think with problem teeth the benefit out weighs the risk. I was told that with a child that still swallows the toothpaste you only want a teeny tiny smeer of fluoride toothpaste once a day. The rest of the time you can use something natural without fluoride. You should also get your water tested for fluoride. Because if your water already contains fluoride your child can be getting too much if you brush with it as well. If you get TOO much fluoride , you can get fluorosis and permanent brown spots can be on the teeth when their teeth come in. So it's a good idea to know if your water has fluoride in it or not.
There is controversy over whether fluoride in the water or in toothpaste is better. My ped told me that some people believe the fluoride in the water keeps a constant level of fluoride in mouths vs toothpaste provides a "spike" in the levels in our mouth then it drops thereafter. He feels that in the water is better. Our ped dentist thinks the toothpaste is better. I don't know which is better really:shrug3 But I was more comfortable using the paste since we are on well water and don't have fluoride in our water at all. BTW fluoride can occur naturally in well water so it's still a good idea to test it!

Another thing I would recommend is cell salts. You can get Calci Fluor and calci phos which help a child develop good healthy strong teeth. The cacli fluor is a naturally occuring fluoride in cell salts I think. I have no idea on whether it's good to use this conjunction with regular fluoride. I am using both though on DD as she has several problem teeth.

[Katigre]

I believe in the benefits of topical fluoride. I know there are lots of threads that WF has posted in and I have posted in about tooth issues and how to set teeth up for success. I don't do fluoride alone - I also do xylitol for myself and the kids to help with mouth Ph, and I am conscious of how often we eat as too frequent eating promotes tooth decay too.

But do a search for my username and xylitol and stuff will come up :yes.

[WildFlower]

yes I was thinking later about mentioning the xylitol. I use that for DD when we brush her teeth every time and try to get her to eat some too. Her chewable vitamins have xylitol in them and I just ordered the mints for her too since she is too young for gum.

[cobluegirl]

I think the link is www.fluoridealert.com