Is Your Child Getting Too Much Fluoride?
Fluoride is typically seen as a good thing, as it can help to harden teeth and make them less susceptible to developing cavities. However, in excessive amounts as a child, it can have a negative impact. Here's what you need to know about your child getting too much fluoride, the kind of problems it could cause for their teeth, and what you can do to prevent it from happening.
Mild Problems
When fluoride is taken into the body while teeth are developing, it helps to strengthen them. However, in excessive amounts, it can cause a staining to your child's teeth. This condition is called fluorosis.
Fluorosis can strike any child, and it can sometimes only become obvious that it was a problem years later. This is because your child's adult teeth are the ones that will be impacted by fluorosis, and since many adult teeth don't come in until late childhood or even early adulthood, neither of you might know that there's an issue until it's too late.
Serious Problem
Unfortunately, fluorosis doesn't stop at simply staining enamel. In severe cases, it can cause a condition called fluorosis pitting.
This is a problem where the excess amount of fluoride your child is consuming can cause defects in their enamel. These defects manifest as pitting, where instead of the tooth having a smooth, slick surface, there are several dents and small pits all over the tooth.
In severe cases, this condition can actually cause the enamel to be weaker than standard dental enamel, meaning that your child's risk of developing cavities could go up over time.
Getting Help
The problem here is that fluoride is everywhere. Chances are it's in your child's toothpaste, their mouthwash, and in the dental trays that your dentist uses on their teeth. The more of it your child consumes, the higher their risk of developing fluorosis is.
The biggest problem for your child is the water supply at home. Most municipal water services add fluoride to water in order to help harden teeth and fight cavities. However, if your child is consuming unfiltered tap water in addition to using fluoridated products, it could be hurting them in the long run.
Rather than switching to bottled water, which is expensive and wastes plastic, consider getting a home water filtration system that can filter out fluoride. This will help to naturally reduce the levels of fluoride that your child consumes on a daily basis, and the filtration system will remove other dangerous and toxic things, like lead. It's a win-win for children, especially since lead is so dangerous in childhood.
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