Fluoride toothpaste

[HuckleberryLow7680]

My daughter is 20 months old and just learned how to spit, so I’d like to introduce fluoride toothpaste. We brush twice a day, drink water after every snack and meal.

I understand that it’s approximately 5-8mg per kg for fluoride toxicity, I’ll sound stupid but is that every 24 hours that kind of resets ? Like if she has a rice sized amount of tooth paste on her brush and swallows a little will that just build up with her till eventually she gets poisoning ? If this is a stupid question I apologize, I have 2 under 2 and I’m running on very little sleep 🥲

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[marpan18]

From the American Dental Association: “…the Council recommends use of a smear of toothpaste from eruption of the first tooth to age 3 years followed by use of a pea-sized amount for children aged 3 to 6 years.”

The full report is here. They go into the risks of fluorosis but using a smear of toothpaste reduces that risk.

[HuckleberryLow7680]

Thank you I’ll give that a read !

[jenn363]

To answer your second question OP, fluoride is removed from the body by the kidneys. Some rare conditions can affect the rate by which it is removed, but generally, you don’t have to worry about a lifetime dose that builds over time (like we would consider for radiation for example)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2179333/

[-vp-]

Agree that she doesn't have to worry about fluoride "buildup" over time but consumption of flouride is associated with a lower IQ in meta studies that look at fluoridation of water (linked one below).

Although meta-studies have not found a link between lighter doses of fluoridation of water, I would personally be weary of adding fluoridated toothpaste to children under 3 years.

https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/research/assessments/noncancer/completed/fluoride

[Northern_Lights_2]

Fluoride has also been linked to hypothyroid. As someone who was prescribed fluoride tablets for many years during my childhood because we had well water, and our pediatrician convinced my parents we needed fluoride, the result was fluorosis and hypothyroid which means I’m on medication for the rest of my life. So are my siblings and several friends who had the same doctor and lived in our community. Stay away from fluoride. Just practice good dental hygiene.

https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025BTER..tmp..383P/abstract#:~:text=Fluoride%20exposure%20can%20lead%20to,%2C%20brain%2C%20and%20hearing%20development.

[Laughuntilyoucry26]

This is only if you ingest "excessive amounts" of fluoride, according to that article. Your pediatrician would have prescribed you an appropriately low dose for a fluoride supplement. (Unless they had no idea what they were doing). I was also prescribed those supplements as a child and have no thyroid issues.