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Should my child use toothpaste with or without fluoride?  Why is fluoride important?  Make sure your child gets fluoride in the right amount—not too much, not too little—to prevent tooth decay.

What is fluoride?
Fluoride is a compound that contains the naturally occurring element fluorine. It has been proven to help prevent tooth decay. Since the 1950s, fluoride has been added to community drinking water supplies in an effort to reduce tooth decay by increasing people's exposure to fluoride. The American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention praise water fluoridation as one of the great public health efforts of the twentieth century.

What is fluoride in?
Because fluoride has been found to reduce tooth decay so effectively, it has been added to other things that come in contact with people's teeth. Most toothpastes have fluoride, and fluoride treatments and fluoride supplements are available from your dentist. Fluoride has even been added to some foods like cereals.
Sources of fluoride include:

• drinking water
• toothpaste
• fluoride supplements
• foods with fluoride (like some cereals)

Can you get too much fluoride?
With all these sources, some dentists and scientists have raised questions about whether or not the amount and kind of fluoride people are exposed to is safe. They have also questioned whether or not water fluoridation is a good idea now that we have other sources for fluoride and are more knowledgeable about better nutrition for healthy teeth. One of the conditions that develops when your child gets too much fluoride is enamel fluorosis. This causes defects in tooth enamel, which appear as tooth discoloration. Enamel fluorosis is entirely preventable. Be aware of the sources of fluoride your child is exposed to and talk to your dentist about a healthy level of fluoride exposure.

Watch your child's use of fluoridated toothpaste. Have your child brush with water or NON-fluoridated toothpaste until he can spit it all out (usually between 2 and 3 years of age). After that, have your child use only a pea-sized amount of fluoridated toothpaste. Make sure your child does not swallow the toothpaste just because it tastes good.

For more information, please visit:
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD)
The AAPD's web site provides dental health information in question-and-answer form. This link takes you to the section that addresses enamel fluorosis.
http://www.aapd.org/publications/brochures/fluorosis.asp

The American Dental Association (ADA)
This link takes you to the ADA's section about fluoride and water fluoridation.
http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/topics/fluoride.asp

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Oral Health Resources
If you are interested in learning whether your water supply contains fluoride, how much, and what kind, this CDC site has a state-by-state listing.
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/MWF/Index.asp

Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility published its concern about the effects of prenatal exposure to fluoride on the developing brain in the book In Harms Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development.  The section that discusses fluoride can be found at this link on page 90 in chapter six.
http://www.igc.org/psr/ihw-report_dwnld.htm#ihwRptDwnld