Dental fluoride for children in London

Fluoride is a soft colourful mineral and a natural constituent of many food sources, drinking water and even seawater. Your local water supplier will be able to tell you how much fluoride is in your drinking water. The most effective concentration is thought to be one part of fluoride for every million parts of water (1ppm).

Scientists have studied the effects of fluoride exposure in great detail and the universally accepted overall conclusion is that a correctly dosed level of fluoride is not harmful but significantly benefits dental health and helps reduce dental decay.

Although safe and even healthy at low concentrations, the sustained consumption of large amounts of soluble fluoride salts is dangerous. Children may experience gastrointestinal distress upon ingesting excessive amounts of flavoured toothpaste. Therefore we recommend that you always supervise your child’s tooth brushing habits up to the age of seven and only use a small amount of the relevant age‐specified children’s toothpaste.

Evidence suggests that the caries reducing effect of fluoride is mostly exerted by its topical effect. The amount of fluoride in toothpaste (1000-1450ppm depending on the age of the child) is sufficient to significantly reduce the risk of decay.

Nevertheless if your child is already suffering from tooth decay or shows increased risk for it, then your dentist or hygienist can apply fluoride gel to your child’s teeth. These gels are concentrated and therefore additional self‐applied fluoride sources (like fluoride tablets, drops or salt) are usually not required. At Toothbeary we perform an individual risk assessment and will inform you how much and what type of fluoride is best for your child.