Insurance Employment Contact Us Staff Log-In

The Importance of Fluoride for Children's Teeth

Inara E. Zalitis, is a Pediatric Dentist at the Kenmore office.

By Inara E. Zalitis, DDS

Tooth decay had been decreasing for 40 years, but now studies show that this trend is reversing. Tooth decay in young children’s teeth is on the rise, which probably means that preschool children are either eating too much sugar or snacking constantly or not getting enough fluoride. This may be due to the fact that today’s children drink less tap water than previously. More parents are giving their children bottled water and fruit juices and in this way the children are missing out on a source of fluoride in tap water that has traditionally prevented tooth decay at a young age.

What is Fluoride?

Fluoride is a natural mineral that protects and strengthens the teeth against cavities. Fluoride occurs naturally in water and in many different foods, as well as in dental products such as toothpaste, mouth rinses, gels and vitamins. If fluoride is used early in your child’s life, it will provide extra protection for their developing teeth. All children need supplemental fluoride after they are six months old. Usually they get this from the water they drink if they are in an area where the community water supply has an adequate amount of fluoride in it (greater than 0.6 part per million) and they are drinking tap water. If your community has levels of fluoride in the drinking water below what is optimal for prevention of decay your pediatrician or pediatric dentist can prescribe fluoride supplements for children between the ages of six months and 16 years. However, before supplements are prescribed, it is very important to know the fluoride concentration of the drinking water not only at home but also at day care and school and other sources of dietary fluoride in different foods. The fluoride level of your drinking water can be ascertained by contacting your public health officials or getting an independent water analysis (especially important for families who have well water or homes with in-house filtration systems). Usually water filter pitchers or counter top filters do not remove fluoride from the water, although other water filters may. Always check with the filter’s manufacturer.

Remember, it is better to have your child drink water that is supplemented with fluoride instead of giving extra fluoride drops or supplements. Too much fluoride can cause fluorosis, which is a permanent white to brown discoloration of the surface enamel of the permanent teeth. Too much fluoride can be the result of improper use of dietary fluoride supplements and ingestion of fluoride toothpaste by young children, particularly in fluoridated communities.

How Does Fluoride Work?

Fluoridated drinking water acts systemically-in other words it is swallowed and distributed through the bloodstream to the teeth. This means that when your child is between the ages of 6 months to 16 years the fluoride in the drinking water is acting to strengthen the developing permanent teeth. Other forms of systemic fluorides include fluoride tablets and vitamins.

The other way that fluoride works is topically. This means that the fluoride is working to strengthen the teeth already in the mouth and making them stronger so that decay does not develop. Topical fluorides include toothpaste containing fluoride, professionally applied fluoride treatments and fluoride mouth rinses.

Dietary Advice

If your child is always snacking and taking in sugars during the day, acid is constantly being produced in the plaque and tooth enamel is being dissolved e.g. demineralization is taking place and decay will develop. Therefore it is important to reduce snacking between meals.

The best way to ensure that your child has strong and healthy teeth is:

  1. Bring your child to the pediatric dentist after their first tooth erupts and before their 1st birthday to establish a “Dental Home” and talk about risk factors for developing dental decay.
  2. Visit your pediatric dentist every 6 months.
  3. Brush your child's teeth at least 2-3 times daily (as soon as the first baby tooth erupts). Young children need to have their teeth brushed by an adult, because they do not have the manual dexterity to do the brushing on their own.
  4. Use a “pea-sized” amount of fluoridated toothpaste (with American Dental Association Seal of Acceptance) for young children.
  5. Pre-school aged children should not swallow any toothpaste.
  6. Keep toothpaste out of reach of young children-they like the flavor of the toothpaste (children may easily swallow over four times the recommended daily amount of fluoride in toothpaste).
  7. Floss daily
  8. Limit snacking between meals
  9. Limit intake of sugars
  10. Limit juices
  11. Get rid of the sippy cup by 15 months of age.
  12. Drink tap water or bottled water that has added fluoride. (Check labels of bottled water-some products on the market now have added fluoride).
  13. Do not give your child a bottle at night with milk or juices in it.

Visit the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry web site for more information about your child's teeth and oral hygiene: www.aapd.org