fluoride drops - anyone use them?

[katierocket]

Hi, thought that Jasper might be able to help with this one.

DS is 20 months old - took him to the dentist for the first time last week, check up for me really but just to get him used to it. We live in Manchester which is apparently one of the only places in UK that doesn't have fluoride in the water. Anyway, he was saying I should get fluoride drops from the chemist to put in his food but when I asked chemist she said they were only available for children 3+ years.

has he advise me wrongly? anyone else know anything about this? I did have a look at a couple of other threads but none mentioned this specifically.

And for the seriously anoraky among you...
this study involved giving free samples of toothpaste and dental health literature to kids at regular intervals from ages 12m - 5/6 years of age.
There were two groups - one was given toothpaste with 1450ppm Fluoride, the other 440ppm.

The children given the higher 1450ppm Fluoride toothpaste showed significantly reduced numbers of decayed, missing and filled teeth (compared to a control group)at the end of the trial .
The children given free samples of 440ppm Fluoride paste showed no such reduction.

Hi Jasper

Well done once again. In a previous life I was an epidemiologist and agree with your comments below.

DH regularly buys hippy, expensive, natural toothpastes for us all (unfluoridated, full of flowers or something) and we still always end up on colgate.

Never gave DS fluoride drops. He has decalcifications on anteriors because of me sneaking in lactulose whilst he was asleep. How totally negligent of me but anal fissure a bigger problem than dental decay for us... and nobody else knows they exist. The decalcifications that is, everyone knows about the fissure, poor child.

had letter this week from ds's new nursey requesting my permission for them to give him floride drops/tablets daily with his snack. I phoned our dentist who advised that if I was brushing his teeth twice daily with an adult toothpaste, there was no requirement to give additional floride. Never one to trust the advice of just one source, I also asked the Health Visitor, who said 'for a year I shouldn't think it will do much harm, won't he feel left out if all his friends are having something he's not?'. Needless to say I walked out of the clinic shaking my head in dispair at the womans incompetence.

After hitting the internet, mainly looking at a report on the BDA's website, I can see how contraversial the subject is and have decided that under no circumstances do I want to risk doing more harm than good.

I just wish there was reliable advice out there for parents, after all, it's us that have to live with the consequences of any decisions we make for our children.

Yeah, I agree Joley - with so many controversial subjects (MMR, Fluoride etc) all of the experts seem to be in one camp or another, so a calm balanced overview is hard to find.

Looking back over this thread there are quite a few bits of advice from both camps - so I guess mumsnet is a good starting point! As busy parents we have to make some decisions quickly, but there are people out there who have looked into different issues in depth, so thanks for pooling that knowledge.

I attended a few meetings about fluoridation in the distant past when I worked for a water companby. We decided as a company that we would not add fluoride to the water unless the government insisted we did. The main reason we didn't was because the insurance costs against injury claims resulting from fluoridation would have been astronomical. The bill that has been under debate recently will take that decision making power away from the water company and into the governments hands, but they will also see the government footing the bill for the insurance against injury. I understand the industry has been fighting this.

On the other hand - DP occasionaly works with the county dentist - not sure of his title, but responsible somehow for dentistry in our region. He is apparently very excited about the proposals, and will be implementing compulsary fluoridation ASAP.

Thats made me realise we need to look into this further ... currently using fluoride free t/p as a result of early experiences ...

Did you know that the government is thinking of removing our choice about whether we have fluoride or not by adding it to ALL tap water? There's a news story here - makes me hopping mad actually.

I was a dental nurse many years ago, and we used to soak a type blotting paper in a tray and let the child sit there for 5 minutes while the teeth absorbed the fluoride.
When I had my own children I got En de Kay drops over the counter in Boots, and put it in babies bottled water from birth.
My sons are now 38 & 39. The 38 yr old has one occlusal filling and the eldest son doesn't have any fillings. I had watched it work, and wanted if for my own children. So glad I did it!!!