Experts warn: Exposing children to toothpaste’ll lead to tooth decay

The United States Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has warned about damaging impact of exposing children to too much toothpaste, saying too much fluoride, a major component of toothpaste was damaging to developing teeth.

According to findings from a survey by the CDC, about 40 per cent of kids aged three to six used a brush that was full or half-full of toothpaste, even though experts recommended no more than a pea-sized amount.

Based on the study involving parents of more than 5,000 kids aged three to 15, medical experts have urged parents to take charge when their children are brushing their teeth with a view to ensuring that the quantity of paste was in line with recommended quantity. Fluoride is a mineral in the bones and teeth. It’s also found naturally in water, soil, plants, rocks and air.
Fluoride is commonly used in dentistry to strengthen enamel, which is the outer layer of the teeth. Fluoride helps to prevent cavities.

It’s also added in small amounts to public water supplies in the US and in many other countries. This process is called water fluoridation. In the context of human health, fluoride is mainly used to improve dental health; expert in the US have cautioned that it needed to be used carefully.

Although, previous studies which revealed the benefits of fluoride in cutting incidence of cavities led to adding fluoride to water ,toothpaste, mouth wash, among other products, in some countries, it has also been shown that too much fluoride when teeth are developing in children could lead to tooth streaking or spottiness — known as dental fluorosis, a chronic condition caused by excessive intake of fluorine compounds, marked by mottling of the teeth and, if severe, calcification of the ligaments.

Teeth are spotty when they lack consistency, as in quality, uneven and marked with spots. Teeth are also streaky when they have streaks of different colours or textures. Fluorosis a chronic condition caused by excessive intake of fluorine compounds, marked by mottling of the teeth and, if severe, calcification of the ligaments.