Fluoride-free toothpaste: pros and cons

We've heard all sorts of rumors about fluoride toothpaste. Either that it is good and protects against cavities, or that fluoride is harmful, affecting IQ and brain development. In fact, there have been many studies carried out over the years, either to promote fluoride or not. On the one hand, there are studies which say that a small amount of fluoride (between 1350 and 1500 ppm) in toothpastes will protect teeth from decay. This amount is for adults. For children, it is advisable to use fluoride-free toothpaste, as natural as possible, without foaming agents or artificial flavors.

This is particularly indicated due to the fact that a child does not know how to effectively remove toothpaste from the mouth and quite a large amount is swallowed daily over a long period of time. Their body doesn't know how to manage these amounts of unhealthy products and it seems that they can damage the child's digestive system. 

Another category of studies says that fluoride, given daily in high or medium amounts, affects brain development and IQ in the long term.

It would be good to say that my advice for adults and children is... brush your teeth. Preventing cavities and periodontal disease is proper and complete oral hygiene. This means that from the very first teeth, brushing the teeth in the morning and evening with toothpaste and toothbrush appropriate to the age of the child. This hygiene will be a routine for the child and will become normal after a few years.

Initially, there is a possibility that he may not like this sanitation. But done constantly, in the form of play, giving the child to brush the teeth and then the parent brushing the teeth, will lead to the child coming to the parent and asking to brush the teeth.

As the child grows and approaches the age for the appearance of the 6-year molars, the spaces between the teeth become smaller and an additional measure is needed to clean the interdental spaces, especially in the posterior area, between the last two molars. It is an easy and quick maneuver that can be explained to the child so that he or she can understand it. Once the 6-year molar appears behind the baby teeth, it is advisable to seal the surface. Sealing is done to cover the grooves on the chewing surface to make them easier to sanitize and to prevent cavities. 

Checkups in children are done every 3 months to observe any changes and treat them as soon as possible. At these check-ups a professional brushing to remove plaque and to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship. As the child grows, check-ups can be done every 6 months. A teenager will still brush with toothpaste twice a day, in the morning and evening, and will use the mouthwash that cleans the interdental spaces, a common place for cavities. Once every 6 months, the teenager will go to the dentist for a check-up and cleaning. This includes scaling, brushing and air-flow.

Prevention of dental diseases is achieved with proper oral hygiene, which is not time-consuming, a hygienization session lasts 3-5 minutes and hygienizations are performed every 6 months. The poorer or less frequent the hygiene at home and at the dentist, the higher the cost of the treatments will be, a cost that is also related to money, but especially to dental tissues.

It is always preferable to have healthy teeth than with all sorts of treated problems that only bring the end of the tooth closer. So in a population in which prevention and especially dental prevention is the last priority, I still explain to adult patients that it is necessary to brush their teeth with any kind of brush and ideally with the most natural toothpaste.