Toothpaste for Babies

[Inkannie]

My 8 month old has got his first two teeth through together, so of course we are now brushing his teeth.

My health visitor told me that our water board do not add fluoride to our tap water, so she gave me a tube of high fluoride toothpaste.

Now, I could absolutely be falling victim to conspiracy theories here, but I keep seeing all sorts of stuff saying fluoride is bad. I also know there are fluoride-free toothpastes for children on the market, and wonder why they're even available if fluoride is a good thing. Does anyone know whether I should be using a high flouride toothpaste, or even fluoride at all for my baby? If you could share sources that would be fab, because all I can find is opinion and scaremongering and I'm looking for a clearer answer.

I have also read that swallowing toothpaste is bad, so it shouldn't be used by babies under 1 because they can't spit. So should I even use toothpaste?! I am so confused and just want to give him the best start to his dental health!

The dose of fluoride in babies and children’s toothpaste is proportionately lower because it is inevitable they will swallow some. If your area does not add fluoride then I would definitely go for one with fluoride.

Adult toothpastes have too much for children, hence the marketing (as well as taste) of baby children ones.

Emma’s Diary (NHS) link toothpaste

You should an age appropriate fluoride toothpaste with at least 1000ppm fluoride. Tiny little smear on the brush twice a day. Assuming you are in uk it’s very unlikely she has given you ‘high fluoride’ toothpaste for a baby and has given you what is recommended. My 3 kids all used aquafresh milk teeth till they turned 3. More importantly you need to make sure you follow the diet advice and only give breast milk, infant formula or water to drink and then age 1 can switch to regular milk. No need for juice or squash ever and when they do get it only at meal times.

Im not sure what sources you want but the NHS guidance is clear that all babies and children should be using a fluoride toothpaste. By around age 3 they can spit and will be using a pea sized amount to toothpaste instead.

Make sure it take baby for regular dental visits to get up to date advice and to monitor the dental development.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-teeth-and-gums/taking-care-of-childrens-teeth/

https://www.nhs.uk/baby/babys-development/teething/looking-after-your-babys-teeth/

You can buy alcohol, cigarettes and cot bumpers but I wouldn’t give any of them to a baby. People sell things so they can make money not because they’re healthy choice for people.

Most of the stuff online which is anti-flouride is conspiracy theory nonsense.

Do you have a dentist? I would take your baby to your next check up (in a buggy) and ask if they can have a quick look at baby's teeth with them on your lap just as a sort of practice to get them used to it. They should also be able to advise about the toothpaste. It should say on the tube what ppm it is.

If it's too long to wait, I'd trust the HV because they are most likely giving the correct advice but you only really need a smear of toothpaste on the brush at this age in order to minimise swallowing. Once they are about 2 then it's an amount the size of a grain of rice. From 6ish a pea-sized amount. Sorry I can't remember where I learnt this so no source - but it made sense to me. The amounts used on toothpaste adverts are apparently just made up to get you to buy more toothpaste!

Fluoride is terrible news for cavities and plaque. For humans, it's only bad news if you want a lifetime of issues with your teeth. I know quite a few parents who eschewed fluoride when their child was a baby and all of them ended up with rotten teeth and then said it was genetics.

My brother is a dentist and works in a deprived area with a lot of children with very poor dental hygiene eating a bad diet, but he says the middle class hippy parents using fluoride free toothpaste have even worse outcomes.

Okay, this all makes me feel so much better, thank you, everyone! I do have an appointment for my baby at the dentist but it isn't until spring, so I felt a little lost in the meantime. Thank you very much for your help, feedback and reassurance - I will carry on as I am with the fluoride toothpaste.

Yes I'd use a fluoride toothpaste for your baby. Use a smear of paste with 1000ppm fluoride on a small brush