How old before you can use 'grown up' toothpaste?

[Albert]

DS (5) has decided that he can no longer stand the taste of kid's toothpaste - bubblegum or tooti fruiti - who can blame him really. So he has started using our 'adult' toothpaste. Is there any reason why he shouldn't continue, what is the difference between the two. TBH I would rather he brushed his teeth with our paste than didn't brush at all!

OMG, even the kid's toothpaste here has 1100 ppm of fluoride (compared to 1450 in adults), now what?

Albert, I wouldn't consider using it until DD is 7, as recommended by all the Dentists/hygienists I have worked with. All I know is that this is the advice I have had/given for 15 years & I trust this advice. (I have worked in 4 dental practices who all give the same advice)

According to the tubes younger children can have adult toothpaste, but knowing the dangers of too much Fluoride, I avoid giving it to my DD.

The toothpaste that Jahn recommended is great. My neice hates all things minty & this was great for her. She is 8 now & has been using it since just before her 6th birthday.

If you can't get anything lower in Fluoride than what you have there, use sparing amounts.

Your DS shouldn't be more prone, just because you have it. Fluorosis is caused by too much Fluoride when the teeth are developing, so a long as you keep it to a minimum then he should be fine.

Incidentally, we don't actually need toothpaste to clean our teeth, we just need to be efficent in our brushing.

I'm very interested that there seems to be such a difference between the advice I've come across from dental health professionals (and the Dept of Health) and the recommendations you know about MM, given that you work in the field! Wonder if it changed recently? Or whether some dentists dispute the 1000ppm advice? Think I might investigate this just because it's so odd.

Edam, I would be very interested to see/hear evidence in support of your advice. Don't get me wrong, I am not having a "go" or saying you are wrong, it's just based on what I have had confirmed by 2 dentists & Chicagomum & from my experience it seems a very high amount. Please let me know what you find out.

This seems to be what the hvs and certainly my dentist are saying. The list of "standard" products (approx 1000ppm)includes an Oral B childrens gel.

I have found this, where you see mg/litre, read PPM. AI, is adequate intake.

This supports my previous threads.

Here

Use single arrows at top/bottom to scrool thru book

this is American guidelines in the form of a lit review. It says pea sized amount of 1000ppm twice a day is safe but then does quote a British study which found less signs of fluorosis in kids using 500ppm (didn't give sample size etc). This still doesn't explain the recent change in advice given by health and some dental professionals. The toothpaste companies certainly have a vested interest in keeping a need for the more expensive "childrens" products.

Sorry, never posted before but when I recently took DS for his six month review I was also advised to use toothpaste which contained 1000ppm of fluoride.

On a previous fluoride thread, Jasper (our other resident dentist, although I haven't seen her for aaaages) also said that 1000ppm was the ideal.

It's one of those moveable feast things, isn't it? (Prob wrong term but ykwim!)

So if using 1000 ppm is the "norm" then an adult toothpaste containing 1450 ppm, is too much. Which is what the OP was about. I offered my advice based on my experience, as we all do.

I am not trying to get into a heated debate about this & I know that post after post will just get boring, I know what I know & I will stick to it.

This I think is the thread janh is talking about. Obviously this is one of those unresolvable discussions.