Study Finds Parents May Be Giving Young Kids Too Much Fluoride Toothpaste

A recent study published in BDJ Open assessed the amount of fluoride toothpaste parents used to brush the teeth of children up to age 2. Parents were asked to dose two commercially available toothpastes with 1,000 ppm fluoride each, mimicking their usual practice at home. The amounts of toothpaste were weighed. Results indicated that the 61 parents dosed 0.263  ±  0.172  g of toothpaste A and 0.281  ±  0.145  g of toothpaste B. These amounts were significantly higher than the recommended optimal grain-of-rice-size serving, with parents overdosing by 5.9 times for toothpaste A and 7.2 times for toothpaste B. Additionally, a significant proportion of parents (39.3%) were unaware of the conditions of use and warnings printed on fluoride toothpaste packages. The study concludes that parents tend to overdose fluoride toothpaste for their children, increasing the risk of fluorosis. Study authors suggest that parents may want to consider fluoride-free dentifrice to prevent excessive fluoride intake in infants and toddlers. Click here to read more.