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What IS Fluoride Treatment for Toddlers?

post #1 of 5
Thread Starter 

Just made my 3-year-old's first dental appointment. It includes a cleaning, exam, oral hygiene tips, and fluoride treatment. 


I asked the receptionist what "fluoride treatment" entailed because I was thinking a semi-permanent sealant, but she said "it's just a little fluoride the dentist brushes on the back teeth, kind of like a vitamin, and usually lasts about six months."


FTR, he is still breastfeeding, is vax-free, and a super-healthy kid -- we eat mostly organic, etc. I worry because we generally use fluoride-free toothpaste with him, so is the fluoride-treatment a really dumb idea?

post #2 of 5

If you google fluoride varnish, you can find more info.

post #3 of 5



I have the same life style... my child is 2 years we have had severe dental problems all blamed on nursing at night. We have been encouraged to use fluoride in toothpaste form or a treatment.  After researching for me I want to do some vitamin and mineral supplements therefore it is not toxic etc.  My daughter eats well so this is not necessarily needed but there are some things that are naturally in food that she will not eat.



Anyway I know this is old but for anyone else. 

post #4 of 5

After researching fluoride, I now decline all fluoride products for my kids and myself. Treatments, drops, toothpaste, etc. It is an extremely toxic substance. The studies show that applied topically, it can thicken the topmost protective layer of the tooth by a very very small amount (much less than the width of a human hair). I just personally don't feel it is worth it. It is not a vitamin or a substance that the body needs or requires in any way, but is just another consumer product that everyone should research. Also, from what I have read, consuming it through water or drops, etc. will not have the same effect--it needs to be applied topically to have any effect on tooth enamel. This really goes against what we as consumers have all been lead to believe...I still remember my doctor pushing the fluoride drops when my first baby was a few months old...

post #5 of 5

My dentist puts this stuff on DD's teeth.  It's like a paste, it's "golden" in the leaflet (yellowy brown on her teeth!).  He paints it on, it sets hard and you don't brush their teeth afterwards for that evening - by then it had mostly fallen off anyway).  They do it twice a year (at every appointment).  She is 5 and has no decay, but has not been having topical flouride for very long.  We do however use flouride toothpaste.  No dentist here (UK) would ever give flouride drops without a medical reason because of the risk of flourosis.  Topical treatment is all that is offered.  There is no compulsion for us to have it done, we decided we wanted her to have it.

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