Fluoride??

Updated on February 23, 2009
B.B. asks from Ventura, CA
11 answers

During pregnancy my husband and I took a birth class where we received a gift bag full of free samples. One of which was a tooth paste that contained fluoride. It went in the trash without a second thought. Fast forward...at our son's first year doctor's appointment out of curiosity I told our VERY natural family doctor that we only drink distilled water and would fluoride or rather lack there of be a problem. She asked about our family's dental history then stated that supplementing with a drinking water that had added fluoride would be helpful until age three. She stated that supplementing with fluoride will protect the early development of new teeth. And it works better than having to coat baby teeth later with the fluoride sealant. I consider myself a balanced health conscience person, but I'm curious if anyone out there has done the research. Are there any health practitioners with input. Thanks

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So What Happened?

Great variety of responses, thanks every one! I've decide to meet half way. I'll be using Tom's of Maine Toddlers toothpaste (great score from www.cosmeticdatabase.com) and doing SOME supplementing with Arrowhead's fluorinated water.

More Answers

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S.K.

answers from Los Angeles on

I had fluoride treatments practically every week growing up. I know only have about 12 of my own teeth, and am going through 5 implants in my upper mouth. All due to the dangers effects and disintegration of fluoride on the bones of the body. I would not give this to your child. Use toothpaste without sodium lauryl sulfate, and without flouride. www.1000moms1000dollars.com/positivehealthyliving

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A.W.

answers from Los Angeles on

Dear B. B;

Thanks for your concern. I am a housewife and raised four children. Two sons and two daughters. My experienced with my four children, I raised my children drinking water with flouride and they're fine and healthy to this stages of their life. I have 25 yrs old daughter and 21 yrs son and 16 yrs old daughter and 14 yrs old son. They teeth are wonderful and they only goes to see dentist once a year. The key in raising children are feeding them a healthy and nutirious healthy food like home made food. I cooked 7 days a week and feed them most of the time with home make cooking of mine. They drank lot of water and sometimes fruit juices but not all the times because the fruit juice has lot of sugar or artificial sugar. I don't like giving my children a processed food that bought in grocery. I took some time to make them a healthy and nutritious food everyday. I agreed with what your doctor's advise. Plus sometimes we have to try different thing in life in order to find out which one work or not. That's me. I am 50 yrs old and no wrinkle yet and only drank water most of the time. I loved to cook and eat my own food. The key in having a good and healthy life comes on what you put in your mouth and heart.
Take care and please let me know what happen. Good luck.

A.

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S.B.

answers from San Diego on

Hello B.!
I am a family Dentist and prescribe Fluoride to my younger patients and gave it to my own children.Prescription Fluoride reduces the incidence of tooth decay by 40%, its benefits have been proven for decades.The health commissioner has sent out letters recommending prescribing fluoride every other year after the recent news that San Diego water became fluoridated.I recommend fluoride supplements to children prone to tooth decay (family history)until the age of 8 or so (when all teeth crowns have developed).
I guess there will always be controversy about the health benefits/consequences of fluoride on our body, but there is no real published study known to the American dental society that supports the allegations as to the harmful effects of fluoride besides of course the ones known to taking large unhealthy or accidental amount of fluoride.
As a side note, very thourough daily brushing and flossing, placing sealants and regular dental visits are by far the most effective ways to enjoy good dental health for life!
Hope this helps! this is my personal but professional opinion and please let me know if you have any further questions.
Regards,
S..

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S.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

Effective Nov. 1st, 2007, most OC cities began adding flouride to the water. The only water filtration system that completely eliminates it is reverse osmosis. So, chances are if your son bathes or you use tap water for cooking, he is getting more than enough flouride. We personally do not believe in adding flouride systemically into our children's bodies. It's propoganda IMHO and I am furious it's been added to our water supply! I have done a lot of research and we use a wonderful, amalgam free practice ped's dentist in NB. She doesn't support the use of flouride supplements, but does recommend brushings with naturally occurring flouride, found in health food store brand children's paste. She's also big on xylitol and provides research lit. on its merits. Genetics plays a big part, but there's also dietary considerations, breastfed vs. bottle, sharing saliva with your child and good oral hygiene. On an aside, distilled water may not be the best water for you to consume, as it is demineralized. If you are familiar with Dr. Mercola, he has an article on his site discussing it, http://www.mercola.com/article/water/distilled_water_2.htm.
Good luck with making the informed choices that are best for your family.

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M.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi, my little guys 5 months old & @ his last Dr.'s visit we talked w/ his Dr. about his going to solids. She talked about the rice cereal & mixxing it w/ breastmilk or water. When I asked if we should do strictly bottled water, we drink alot of bottled spring water, she said that tap water is actually best because it has floride put in it. She also said that so many people use only bottled now that alot of kids are having more problems with their teeth.

Come to think of it I've seen a bottled water for babies, in the bottled water aisle @ Target, & I think it says on the front that it has floride added.

Hope this is helpful =-).

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M.T.

answers from Honolulu on

At this point its kind of a moot point. I asked several doctors about this when I was pregnant, they all said that when you are pregnant, I think during the third or fourth month, the baby's teeth buds are forming, THAT is when getting fluoride in your system could benefit baby's teeth. At birth, the buds are built already so the natural strength of his teeth is already determined.
In great doses it can cause ultra white deposits on the teeth (sort of like calcium deposits on fingernails) and it has been linked to decrease in bone density and skin problems. There are other studies that indicate other issues, but there are just as many that don't replicate. In my opinion, Fluoride is best used as a topical when children are old enough to spit it out instead of swallowing it.

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D.B.

answers from San Diego on

Fluoride toothpaste in a newborn would definitely not be a good idea. No fluoride is recommended for infants under 6 months of age.

I always tell parents to use the non-fluoride toothpaste like Oral-B for babies or Baby Orajel tooth and gum cleanser until the kids are old enough to know how to spit out the toothpaste.

If you drink distilled water, they do filter out all the minerals, including fluoride. Some home filtration systems filter it out (reverse osmosis seems to be the only one to do so), some don't (most refrigerator filters don't), so if you used one of these systems, I wouldn't supplement either.

They just started fluoridating the water in our district, so now we really don't prescribe fluoride at all. Previously, I was very conservative with how much I prescribed and always preferred people to get fluoridated water instead. But now that the supply is fluoridated, even if people drink bottled water for their drinking water, my group and I feel that people will be getting at least *some* tap water, i.e. if they add water to recipes, boil items in water, or wash items in water, so we don't think it would be a good idea to supplement with fluoride.

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J.W.

answers from San Diego on

I grew up in Minnesota where the water has been floridated for years and years and a dentist commented on my healthy teeth at a check up once stating that he was on the panel here in San Diego to try and get the water floridated. He told me I should never have to do the x rays at my annual check up because my history of healthy teeth and being where I grew up. I was also very cautious about this and was sure not to have a toothpaste that had flouride until my daughter just turned 2 1/2 and can easily spit. I think for as much as we try to be health conscious and do right by our kids it is so hard to know what information we're getting is the most accurate. I had began reading a book by Kevin Trudeau and started to get over paranoid about all our consumption decisions.... now I try to practice the philosophy that if I'm offering good healthy stuff (as far as food choices)most of the time to my kids then when they do have the not healthy treat in moderation it will be okay and the same applies to organic and natural choice alternatives... they cost more and are out of our budget to buy those brands at specialty stores. It is about balance.

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A.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

i have a daughter who is almost six and has undergone two surgeries already due to extensive tooth decay, so i have done some research on this. i tend to lean toward the naturopathic side as well-- no immunizations, home birth, etc-- and was very against flouride. i have found other things that help-- our homeopath gave us some supplements, i don't let her eat dried fruits (the sugar sticks to the teeth and causes cavities) or apple juice (something in apple juice specifically promotes tooth decay); however, as far as flouride is concerned, most of the advice i have gotten from people i trust is that it is a toxic substance. that said, it may help prevent tooth decay when applied topically, but most of my doctors advise against taking it internally, saying it does much harm and little good. topically, you need to weigh the positives against the negatives and find out which side weighs heavier. i allow my daughter to use flouride toothpase and a prescription flouride gel on her teeth now because i think it is better than having to undergo another surgery.

hope this helps.

A.

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J.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi B.,

I am an Alternative Health Practitioner and have been in the field for 31 years now. Floride is a neurotoxin which means that it affects the brain in a negatiave way. I am a purist and don't feel that floride is necessary at all for us. If we have a balanced diet and don't eat sugars our teeth will be fine. If you feel a need to treat yourself or your child, there is a cell salt that helps with tooth decay. I am more than happy to send it to you, or if you live close by, come by and pick it up. I have my business in Simi Valley, CA.

Hope this helps you.

Blessings,

J. Sanders
Alternative Health Practitioner
kaysnutrition.com
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P.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi B.,
I have attended many lectures from experts over the last 10 years to create healthy environments. Drinking distilled water does not contain the minerals that the body needs. It is referred to as "Hungry Water" because it searches through the body for minerals to balance itself and then takes those minerals out of the body through elimination. It leaches the minerals from bones.

My grandson has been on Nikken Pi Mag water since for the last 18 months, since he was born, and has been very healthy. Also the Pi Water helped me when I returned from a two week trip. Not have my Pi Water for two weeks, I was developing what I knew to be a root canal problem. Upon returning I started drinking the Pi Water again and the root canal disappeared and I have not had the problem now for over 5 years! I know the water helps to strengthen bones.

Pi Water was discovered in Japan. It was used in argiculture creating healthier crops. Now a treatment (not just filter system, but water treatment) has been created to duplicate the healthy water from the mountain streams that provide support for argiculture. The system now takes everything out of the water first, for example: Chrominum 6, lead, and other unhealthy organisms, then the PH of the water is restored by running it through far-infrared (the sun's spectrum properties) plus the water molecules are recharged by passing over magnets (to duplicate the earth's magnetic field). All of this adds to the proper balance of the water. I reccomend that you read "Your Bodies Many Cries for Water"to learn just how important water is to every organ of the body.

These water treatment units can be purchased for under the sink; hooked to the tap water, or a no gravity system is available to sit on the counter which filters and treats the water and is filled manually so it is great in case of earthquakes! Water that would normally have to be boiled during an earthquake can be poured into the unit and is filtered and treated.

If you would like more info please call, P. at ###-###-####, or e-mail me at ____@____.com.

Wishing you wealth and wellness in the coming year!
P.

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