Fluorosis - feeling terrible

[timefortea43]

I've noticed recently that DS (8) has streaking and white spots on his adult front teeth, we've got an appointment with a dentist next week but a friend who is a dentist has said it's likely fluorosis from photos I've sent.

I feel terrible as this is basically entirely my fault. We don't have fluoridated water so his fluoride intake has been entirely from toothpaste. I had NO idea that at 0-3 they should have a tiny smear of toothpaste and from memory (hazy) I was probably using a pea sized blob (def never bigger than that, but still). I don't think he ever really spat it out (most kids that age don't?!) but I never tried to make him spit as I honestly had no idea that fluorosis was a thing.

I know it's just cosmetic and there are bigger things to worry about in life but I do worry about about this affecting his self-esteem as he gets older.

He has 2 younger siblings (4 and 3) and now I'm tearing myself apart trying to recall how much toothpaste I gave them when they were smaller (as the most vulnerable time for fluorosis is apparently around age 2).

Does anyone have any experience of this, anyone have any toothpaste guzzling DCs or even just DCs who had the pea sized blob of toothpaste when 2 years old and didn't spit and ended up not getting fluorosis? Or one DC who got fluorosis and one who didn't?

Just feel like I've let them down and f*cked up their teeth and can't believe I didn't know about this.

Sorry for overreactive post, just feeling really upset and sensitive about it all. Thank you for reading x

The things they don’t tell you about flouride 😬

I’m not a dentist but my two thoughts having done a lot of reading on benefits of and problems with flouride are there is some research out there on reversing fluorosis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8942013/

And ask your dentist about using hydroxyapatite toothpaste instead of flouride toothpaste for your children. Some dentists now recommend it as it seems to work as well as flouride but doesn’t cause fluorosis and is much more natural.

Thank you @solsticelove for your reply. Yes indeed, the things they don't tell you!

I have just seen your message and am in exactly the same boat and just feel so guilty and terrible, also so ashamed that I didn’t know better. My son is 7 and daughter 4- am so worried I will have messed up her teeth as well. Google has not been my friend as we wait for the dentist appointment in a couple of weeks! Can I ask how you got on at the dentist- and had the guilt got any better over time?!

@Kellyanne89 just to maybe help your anxiety a little. My teeth were messed up from fluoride but my two sisters who had the same teeth brushing regimen both have perfect teeth. So please don't worry that it's a definite with both your children.

Please don't beat yourself up OP. Three DC here, I'm absolutely certain that they all had a pea sized amount of toothpaste twice a day from the day they got their first tooth and none of them have any signs whatsoever of fluorsis. I'd be really surprised if it was the toothpaste alone that has caused it, it seems much more likely that your DS was perhaps already prone to the issue.

A friend of mine was absolutely scrupulous about her DDs teeth (twice daily brushing, very limited sugar etc) was devastated when her DD needed multiple fillings when she was still in reception. Of course she blamed herself, but her dentist explained that it was just one of those things, some people unfortunately have weaker tooth enamel.

It's understandable to feel upset because nothing other than perfect feels good enough for our children. But honestly this is a relatively small issue in the grand scheme of things and you are probably hyper fixated on it, which is making it seem much worse than it is.

Hi I was just wondering how you got on at the dentist has im
in same position with my 8 year old thank you xx