What is Fluoride?
This is a natural mineral found on the earth’s crust whose main aim is to prevent tooth decay.
It’s usually found in water sources like the lakes, wells, rivers depending on the concentration at any given time.
However, too much of the fluorine causes dental fluorosis which at the end of the day may end up damaging bones and joints.
Since dental costs are very high, fluoride is used instead of visiting the dentist now and then which helps in minimizing the cost of dental visits. However, it should be used with extreme care.
How is Fluoride Used in Children?
Fluoride helps to fight cavity in teeth, and as such, it is important to start early enough at the age of 6 months to use it immediately the teeth begin to erupt.
A tiny portion of toothpaste with fluoride should be used twice daily until the child reaches 24months.
At that point, then you can confidently use a pea size portion of toothpaste. Care should be taken while using the toothpaste for Baby and Kid to ensure that you do not use more than expected, this is because much fluoride can lead to change of color in your baby’s teeth at the tender age.
When Using Fluoride toothpaste, one should ensure that they use it as per the doctor’s recommendations. Some of the tips that are essential in ensuring that maximum care has been taken are elaborated here below.
- Feeding the baby with nutritious foods- The type of food you give to your child has effects on the teeth, for instance, taking food with sugar many times will cause tooth decay. Therefore, minimize sugar intake in your babies food and provide a balanced diet at all times.
- Brush the babies’ teeth twice a day- They should use Fluoride toothpaste twice a day to ensure that there are no bacteria that are concentrating in between the teeth and as such, they will have healthy teeth. One of the things to do to ensure that they love brushing is to allow them to use a toothbrush of their color choice. They will always be longing for cleaning moments.
- Regular dental checkups- The dentists recommend that babies need to visit the dentist once they attain 12 months of age. The dentists will be able to check if there is any sign of tooth decay and be able to control it early enough.
- Flossing- This ensures that any food particles that are left in the teeth are removed. One may blame the fluoride toothpaste, but if the particles are not well removed, the toothpaste may not effectively work. However, the recommendation of using the fluoride toothpaste is highly recommended. Therefore as you build a practice of brushing teeth twice a day, ensure that flossing is done daily.
Advantages of using Fluoride Toothpaste.
- It helps in strengthening tooth enamel which in turn reduces tooth decay.
- It is affordable in most stores and at an affordable price.
Disadvantages
- Use of too much fluoride leads to tooth decay, skin rashes, hip fractures due to bones becoming weak, and also neurological deficits.
- It also leads to permanent tooth discoloration and especially in babies. This cannot be rectified since the fluoride has already concentrated in the body. This problem is called the dental fluorosis, and it’s widespread in children if care is not taken appropriately.
Conclusion
From the given information, it’s important to use fluoride toothpaste on your baby every day immediately they turn six months. This will ensure that their teeth are protected from the onset of the teeth formation and will not have trouble in future.
This guest post is written by Sophia Nguyen, from Healthy Baby Happy Earth
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