Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to warn you to check your children's toothpaste?

197 replies

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 04/03/2016 14:37

One of my dc has developed tooth decay. I'll put this straight out there so as not to drip feed. We have been quite careful with dental health and hygeine and couldn't understand why it had happened.

So I checked the kids' toothpaste. It's Dentalux for children 0-6 years, bought in Lidl and it has only half the recommended minimum amount of fluoride for children at 500ppm. NHS say for children between 3-6 years it should "contain more than 1000ppm fluoride".

I'm really cross about this. I think if a product is on sale it should meet at least the minimum standard Angry Angry

So please go and check your children's toothpaste now so you don't end up feeling as shit as I do.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/fluoride

OP posts:
QuadrupleL · 04/03/2016 19:13

Thanks for posting this - I had no idea. I will be checking ours tonight.

Jujuheyhey · 04/03/2016 19:13

I use this toothpaste for DD6 who now has some grownup teeth, definitely going to cease forthwith!! Cheers for the heads up

QuadrupleL · 04/03/2016 19:14

You can get the disclosing tablets at tescos. My son loves them. I think they are gross but we do one every week for fun! lol

DingleberryFinn · 04/03/2016 19:14

I'm reassured that the brand we use for the kids has been mentioned as being okay, but I had no idea that we were supposed to check kids fluoride content in toothpaste.

Joeperrysguitar · 04/03/2016 19:16

Thanks for the info, OP, I hadn't heard of this either and have a perfect attendance record at the dentist.

AlanPacino · 04/03/2016 19:17

Op, one of my friends is far more scrupulous about her kids dental hygiene than I am about mine and her dc's have fillings which seems grossly unfair. I really think a lot of it is genetic. If you're fastidious I really don't see the point in berating yourself.

Original poster
MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 04/03/2016 19:18

Glad I posted if it helps some other people. That's really interesting about Birmingham MrsMorton. They've been putting fluoride in the water for decades haven't they?

OP posts:
lunar1 · 04/03/2016 19:19

One other thing to consider is that it's just standard adult toothpaste they recommend. So don't use anything that is really abrasive like the whitening ones or stain remover ones.

shinynewusername · 04/03/2016 19:20

Dental decay is the number one reason for children in the UK to be admitted to hospital.

A pedant writes: No it's the number one reason for elective (planned) admissions. Unplanned admissions with infective illnesses are far more common.

You are right about fluoride though Smile

Absofrigginlootly · 04/03/2016 19:21

Thankyou OP and chrisinthemorning for that very helpful link, especially page 20-21 everyone should read that!! It's good to have it clarified because I wasn't entirely sure!

I definitely don't think it's common knowledge

AlanPacino · 04/03/2016 19:21

I didn't know about the recommendation to use normal 'paste.

Braeburns · 04/03/2016 19:29

I'm in a country where some cities and towns have fluoride in the water and others don't. We were given very clear advice to use adult toothpaste and not to buy certain imported brands as they don't contain enough. They also do a fluoride coating on the kidscteeth once a year at the dentist to try and protect them.

However statistically children here have very poor teeth. It is for a variety of reasons including the removal of school dental nurses, refugee groups who believe goving branded soft drinks to their kids is what they should be doing and the ridiculous price of milk when it is one of our main export products.

MrsUnderwood · 04/03/2016 19:33

I didn't know this either, thanks OP!

despicableshe · 04/03/2016 19:39

I had no idea about the recommendation to use adult toothpaste either! The dentist has never mentioned it, even when DD had her first filling recently. This does make me cross, as the leading manufacturers market children's toothpaste.

DingbatsFur · 04/03/2016 19:39

I think the reason why the lower levels of toothpaste exist is because of the danger of fluoridosis. Basically too much fluoride when young makes the adult teeth discoloured permanently.

www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/basics/fluoride/article/fluorosis
Better maybe for younger children to have slightly lower fluoride in fluoridated areas rather than risk permanent discoloration of adult teeth.

dementedpixie · 04/03/2016 19:41

But the kids ones tend to have the correct levels for them (the big branded ones do anyway). It's not that you need to use adult toothpaste but that the levels of fluoride required are the same as that found in adult toothpaste (for kids over 3 anyway)

Paddingtonthebear · 04/03/2016 19:44

I've just checked my DD's kids Aquafresh Little Teeth toothpaste (age 3-5) and it has the same fluoride as our Oral B 1-2-3 toothpaste. 1450ppm Hmm

Allgunsblazing · 04/03/2016 19:47

When my DD was a toddler, she developed some white spots on her teeth. Took her to the dentist who diagnosed fluorosis. Basically, the flouride content in the 6+ toothpaste I'd been buying was too high.

So I would be very wary of people's recommendations to use adult toothpasteHmm

NeedsAsockamnesty · 04/03/2016 19:50

op

Try oranurse.

It's something like 1450 fluoride but totally unflavoured.

It's designed for people with sensory issues that mean they cannot tollerate flavours but is handy for kids who don't like mint paste but need the fluoride

BlimeyCrikey · 04/03/2016 19:51

Not common knowledge here. I've never heard it mentioned whatsoever. We avoid fluoride and have great teeth but I'm sure others who do use fluoride toothpaste, will be grateful for the info.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 04/03/2016 19:51

Oh and don't buy it from a dentist it will cost you a fortune buy 3 plus tubes at ones from Amazon I believe that's the cheapest way for none bulk buyers to get it

NewLife4Me · 04/03/2016 19:52

Most things that are cheap don't do the job though and some things you just don't cut back on.
I never bought kids toothpaste past toddler age, just used a pea sized amount on their brush.

DrRanjsRightEyebrow · 04/03/2016 19:53

OP you have my sympathies. I took DS (2) for his first dentist visit yesterday and he has a small
Spot of decay in his pre molar. He's only had the tooth a few months, is great with brushing, doesn't eat or drink too much sugar... I was totally mortified and embarrassingly burst into tears at the dentist Blush He does grind his teeth which she said won't have helped - he might have made a small crack that helped it along. Still - I felt bloody awful. Still do. It's not causing pain so she's leaving it for now and will fill in 6-12 months. I've got a bit of fluoride paste she gave me to dab on at bedtime for a few nights for now. Argh.

swarskicat · 04/03/2016 19:55

I had no idea either. Mine are teens now and using adult toothpaste, but used children's until 10ish. No HV ever advised me on toothpaste. So you are absolutely NBU

MartinaJ · 04/03/2016 20:00

I put my DD on adult toothpaste because I was sick of forgetting to buy her a new one. She's still alive and at 6 her teeth are absolutely perfect (a fact I'm jealous about as mine were destroyed by antibiotics when I was a baby.) The dentist only advised not to swallow it.