Full strength toothpaste for kids? Yes or no?

[FossilSister]

I just checked the Mumsnet guide to dental health because there is no fluoride in the water in my area. Post-natal group at the doctor's advised using 1000 fluoride strength toothpaste, but when I asked my dentist, he said no - use the kid's stuff (usually about 500). However on the Mumsnet advice, it says all children over 3 should use full strength toothpaste (1500) regardless of fluoride in water or not. Can anyone clarify?

My dentist told me to use the normal stuff we use but just a small blob. I have used it since ds had teeth!

the toothpaste dd brings home from nursery is 1000ppm so that is what we use for her and her brother (4 and 1 1/2)

When we had a chat from the dental health nurse at our post natal group she said use full strength from the start - we don't have flouride in our water mind.

We have no fluoride in our water. I spoke to the dentist about this and he said not to worry as we get it in so many things these days. HV said for ds2 to use small amounts of 'adult' toothpaste - its just a stronger taste.

( disclaimer - thats adult not adult )

You can get toothpaste for every age group up until 7 when they can have adult toothpaste.

Babies aren't adults so why use adults toothpaste?

Your dentist is behind the times.
Full strength (at least 1000 ppm)is part of NICE guidelines and I am frankly shocked your dentist does notknow this

(I am a dentist with a particular interest in Kids' teeth)

and that's from as soon as teeth come through

Always used adult toothpaste here (no fluoride in our water) and just adjusted the amount of paste on the brush i.e. a teeny weeny scrape for toddlers to my nearly 5yr old having a v small pea sized amount.

Gawd I really need to get out more

I thought that it should only be full strength after the ault teeth start coming through?

My DTD1 has flurosis of her top teeth as we listened to th e HV when she told us to use full strnegth from 2-3yrs.

We use full strength from the beginning.

full strength.

It is min 1000pp - smear for babaies - pea for bigger ones - just been on a dental health course with work

I went to dentist today with ds's aged 2 and 3. I checked with him what the hv had told me at ds2's 2 yr check last week - that we should use full strength toothpaste because there is no fluoride in the water here.
He said only for children over 5, as if they SWALLOW the toothpaste (lets face it a year old doens't understand to spit it out, or mine don't anyway), it will be too strong a dose of fluoride, and too much flouride in a little body can cause white spots on the teeth.
So that's straight from the horses mouth today, and I will be continuing with childrens toothpaste for a couple of years or until they learn how to spit. WIthout rinsing, according to another very sensible thread on this afternoon.

Slightly changing the subject, but how do you know if your water has added fluoride? I have no idea about our water supply.

Interesting thread, though. I have always used the child toothpastes, but following this I think I will change them to normal toothpaste.

I don't think it matters which you use - a pea sized blob of baby toothpaste and a smear of adult probably contain the same amount of flouride IYSWIM. You just have to get the correct amount.

We use baby ones because my DS doesn't like strong mint but is OK about fruity kids ones.

But some of these seem to have glitter in them! WHY!? I can't get him to spit so I won't let him have them - unless someone can convince me its safe glitter!

Not sure if this helps but when HV brought a toothbrush round at DS's 8 month check, she enclosed a tube of Ultrabrite toothpaste.

Thanks everybody.

flibberty your dentist is talking out of date bollocks.

The whole point is you use a TINY amount of full strength so even if all swallowd will absolutely NOT cause flurosis.but it will have max benefit to the teeth.That is why kids must always be supervised when puting paste on brush

Everything is a poison at a certain dose.

I am a dentist in an NHS family practice and this is my high horse subject.

I despair at the wrong advice given by colleagues.

nappyzone spot on but recent debate has centred on the size of the pea!!

SHould be a small pea!

They shouldn't sell that kids' stuff then, should they? It's confusing and expensive. Strange for big companies to be making money off parents.

a petite pois then not a monster size chick pea or broad bean

Well, I think that if you brush your child's teeth at least twice a day, you really aren't doing any harm using a lower flouride toothpaste. If you're a bit lazy about tooth brushing, then probably a tiny smear of adult toothpaste is better.

If you're an over-zealous mother using adult toothpaste two or three times a day on your child's teeth and he or she's swallowing the lot, then I don't care what NICE says, I know some children who have flourosis and they must have got it from somewhere. If not the toothpaste they've been swallowing for years, then where? So far as I can see, this whole debate about putting flouride in drinking water and using adult toothpaste is about protecting children who eat lots of sweets and don't often brush their teeth, not about children who don't often eat sweets and always have their teeth carefully brushed after meals.

So, ner. From a neurotic mother who's still worried her child will have flourosis when his adult teeth come through and who consequently swapped to children's toothpaste for her younger child.

we use 500ppm, as our water is fluoridated and the DSs can't/won't spit. Fluorodosis is ghastly.

So now I have to worry about fluorodosis. What's that?