Fluoride Toothpaste for Young Children

We get many parents in our office with young children asking when they can start using fluoridated toothpaste/rinses on their kids. Just recently the ADA (American Dental Association) changed their guidelines from using a pea size amount on children 2 years and older, to now suggesting using a small smear of fluoridated toothpaste on your child’s tooth as soon as it erupts.

It’s important for parents to know that their children’s teeth are susceptible to decay as soon as they erupt in the mouth. To fight the rising number of cavities in young children, the American Dental Association now advises getting a head-start on prevention. However, the ADA stresses to only use the tiniest amount of fluoride toothpaste to minimize the risk of discoloration, white spots, or streaking of the teeth, this condition is called fluorosis and is caused by ingesting fluoride toothpaste at a young age.

Dr. Jonathan Shenkin, a spokesman for the ADA and a pediatric dentist said this, “We want to minimize the amount of fluoride consumption to reduce the risk of fluorosis while simultaneously adding a preventive tool for kids 2 and under that we haven’t recommended previously. By starting earlier, we can effectively reduce a lifetime of disease for a lot of kids.”

This change is coming after a systemic review of 17 studies were published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, concluding that fluoride toothpaste in young children is extremely effective in preventing tooth decay. You can feel confident that this new change is certainly for the better, and well researched. You can also visit the ADA website to do further research if you have any questions, or you can simply contact your child’s dentist and set up an appointment to demonstrate how to properly brush your child’s teeth with fluoride toothpaste.

Resources: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/dental-group-advises-fluoride-toothpaste-before-age-2/?_r=1