The ideal age to start the applications of topical fluoride is around two and a half years to three years, when the child is completing the deciduous dentition. Such application must be performed by pediatric dentists.
Parents of children know that a beautiful teeth is essential for living in society. Fluorine is one of the major actors in the reduction of dental caries which is an infectious disease associated with other methods of prevention, such as a balanced diet, brushing to the thong, application of sealant, and very important to water fluoride.
The preventive effect of fluoride is not only caries in children, but also in adults. The carious lesions can be halted by the local application of fluoride, and increase the tendency for remineralization of initial caries. The fluoride strengthens the enamel and dentin, reducing their solubility in acid medium, decrease the ability to adhere to teeth by microorganisms, and have antimicrobial effect, reducing the ability of plaque to produce acid.
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Fluoride: An Unnecessary Drug with Side Effects
"There is weak and inconsistent evidence that the use of fluoride supplements prevents dental caries [cavities] in primary teeth," according to a systematic review of fluoride supplement research published in the November 2008 Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).
The authors could find only one study, from China, showing any fluoride cavity-preventing benefit to primary teeth and that study was probably biased with a high withdrawal rate, the authors write.
Mild -to-moderate dental fluorosis (white spotted and/or yellow teeth) is a significant fluoride supplement side effect, they report.
Fluoride supplements, although a prescription drug, were never FDA [Food and Drug Administration] tested for safety or effectiveness because sodium fluoride was on the market pre-1938 before FDA testing laws were enacted. (1)
In 2007, the American Dental Association (ADA) reported on its web site that fluoride supplements put children six and under at significant risk of permanently discolored teeth; but never shared that information with the American public, pediatricians or MD's who still prescribe fluoride supplements to toddlers. (2)
"This review confirmed that, in non-fluoridated communities, the use of fluoride supplements during the first 6 years of life is associated with a significant increase in the risk of developing dental fluorosis, write researchers Ismail & Bandekar and first published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, February 1999, (3) but posted to the ADA's website July 2007.
Fluoride supplements sought to achieve a similar effect as fluoridation of the water supplies when it was believed that ingested fluoride reduced tooth decay. However, the Centers for Disease Control now reports that fluoride's purported beneficial effects are topical (4). Swallowing fluoride only exposes children to fluoride's adverse health effects ( http://www.FluorideAction.Net/health ), such as dental fluorosis.
"So there is no good reason to swallow fluoride via supplements or the water supply," says attorney Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. "Further, fluoride is neither a nutrient nor required for healthy teeth. Poor diets decay teeth and fluoride won't stop that," says Beeber.
Even the American Dental Association admits that no fluoride supplements should be prescribed to children who aren't at high risk of cavities.
References: http://tinyurl.com/NewsReleases
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