{"id":91,"date":"2023-08-17T15:17:31","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T15:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=91"},"modified":"2025-04-18T19:51:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T19:51:41","slug":"is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"a parent brushing their teeth with their child\" class=\"wp-image-92\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>With such polarizing information about fluoride on the internet, it can be hard to make an educated decision on whether or not to use fluoridated toothpaste to clean your little one\u2019s teeth. While the choice is up to you, it\u2019s always an excellent idea to ask their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/preventive-dentistry.html\">children\u2019s dentist<\/a> for more information so you can make an educated decision. They can provide you with ways to help keep your little one\u2019s teeth cavity-free if you decide to not use fluoride as well as offer clinical research if you\u2019re on the fence about the situation. Read on to learn more about what the latest research says about children using fluoride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Do the Studies &amp; Professionals Say?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While there are several studies available that examine the impact that early fluoride exposure can have on childhood development, a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2022\/10\/221011120109.htm\">one<\/a> published in the <em>Journal of Dental Research<\/em> in October of 2022 takes an in-depth approach to addressing this concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study looked at a wide range of children over a long period of time to measure how water fluoridation impacts kids between five and 10 years old, all the way up until 18. They measured the executive functioning, behavior, and emotional development of 2,682 children and found no association between exposure to fluoridated water and their scores on these developmental questionnaires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While every parent aims to do what\u2019s best for their little one, leading professional organizations like the American Dental Association and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommend introducing your child to fluoride as early as six months old. You can do this by introducing fluoridated toothpaste into their daily hygiene routine or have them drink fluoridated water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A negative impact studies have identified concerning early exposure to fluoride is dental fluorosis, which is a cosmetic condition that impacts the appearance of teeth. It\u2019s typically a result of overexposure to fluoride within the first eight years of a child\u2019s life and causes mild discolored splotches on the teeth. However, this doesn\u2019t impact children\u2019s oral health, solely the appearance of their teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is Fluoride Important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cavities are one of the most common oral health problems among both children and adults across the globe, and one of the safest and best ways to prevent dental decay is with fluoride. This is because as you age or bacteria erode the protective outer enamel of your teeth, they\u2019re at a higher risk of developing cavities and infections. Fluoride helps protect your teeth by strengthening your enamel and preventing or even reversing signs of decay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do You Need to Worry if Your Child Swallows Toothpaste with Fluoride?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re using the recommended amount of toothpaste for your child\u2019s age and supervising them as they brush, your child should be safe, even if they accidentally swallow a small amount. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that for children under three years old, only use a rice grain-sized smear of toothpaste, while for children between three and six, use a pea-size amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If at any point in your child\u2019s dental development you have questions or concerns about the products they\u2019re using or whether or not your little one requires fluoride treatments, don\u2019t hesitate to give their children\u2019s dentist a call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Healthy Kids Pediatric Dentistry, our team includes two highly skilled dentists, Dr. Garcia and Dr. Kim. Each of them has several years of experience under their belt and is dedicated to staying up-to-date with the latest advancements in their field. With a commitment to providing safe, comfortable, and educational dentistry to children of all ages, we\u2019re a great place to take care of all of your little one\u2019s oral health needs. For questions or to schedule an appointment, visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/contact.html\">website<\/a> or call 301-871-8880.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With such polarizing information about fluoride on the internet, it can be hard to make an educated decision on whether or not to use fluoridated toothpaste to clean your little one\u2019s teeth. While the choice is up to you, it\u2019s always an excellent idea to ask their children\u2019s dentist for more information so you can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children? | Children&#039;s Dentist Silver Spring<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wondering whether fluoride is safe for your child to begin using at a young age? Studies show that the mineral has no adverse impact on development.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children? | Children&#039;s Dentist Silver Spring\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wondering whether fluoride is safe for your child to begin using at a young age? Studies show that the mineral has no adverse impact on development.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Healthy Kids Dentistry Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-17T15:17:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-18T19:51:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942-300x180.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"healthykidsdentistry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"healthykidsdentistry\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"healthykidsdentistry\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2bfae4fdca139fac42bb6b7aa453c8c5\"},\"headline\":\"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-17T15:17:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-18T19:51:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":643,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942-300x180.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/\",\"name\":\"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children? | Children's Dentist Silver Spring\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942-300x180.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-17T15:17:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-18T19:51:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2bfae4fdca139fac42bb6b7aa453c8c5\"},\"description\":\"Wondering whether fluoride is safe for your child to begin using at a young age? Studies show that the mineral has no adverse impact on development.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":480},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Healthy Kids Dentistry Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2bfae4fdca139fac42bb6b7aa453c8c5\",\"name\":\"healthykidsdentistry\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8503c04046249f3f6429c67cd20edaf2c2b3d96ccb8b01eaf4c29269982a2eb8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8503c04046249f3f6429c67cd20edaf2c2b3d96ccb8b01eaf4c29269982a2eb8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8503c04046249f3f6429c67cd20edaf2c2b3d96ccb8b01eaf4c29269982a2eb8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"healthykidsdentistry\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/healthykidsdentistry\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children? | Children's Dentist Silver Spring","description":"Wondering whether fluoride is safe for your child to begin using at a young age? Studies show that the mineral has no adverse impact on development.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children? | Children's Dentist Silver Spring","og_description":"Wondering whether fluoride is safe for your child to begin using at a young age? Studies show that the mineral has no adverse impact on development.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/","og_site_name":"Healthy Kids Dentistry Blog","article_published_time":"2023-08-17T15:17:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-18T19:51:41+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942-300x180.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"healthykidsdentistry","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"healthykidsdentistry","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/"},"author":{"name":"healthykidsdentistry","@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2bfae4fdca139fac42bb6b7aa453c8c5"},"headline":"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children?","datePublished":"2023-08-17T15:17:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-18T19:51:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/"},"wordCount":643,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942-300x180.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/","url":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/","name":"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children? | Children's Dentist Silver Spring","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942-300x180.jpg","datePublished":"2023-08-17T15:17:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-18T19:51:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2bfae4fdca139fac42bb6b7aa453c8c5"},"description":"Wondering whether fluoride is safe for your child to begin using at a young age? Studies show that the mineral has no adverse impact on development.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/AdobeStock_531330525__1694877440_15942.jpg","width":800,"height":480},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/is-fluoride-safe-for-young-children\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is Fluoride Safe for Young Children?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/","name":"Healthy Kids Dentistry Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2bfae4fdca139fac42bb6b7aa453c8c5","name":"healthykidsdentistry","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8503c04046249f3f6429c67cd20edaf2c2b3d96ccb8b01eaf4c29269982a2eb8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8503c04046249f3f6429c67cd20edaf2c2b3d96ccb8b01eaf4c29269982a2eb8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8503c04046249f3f6429c67cd20edaf2c2b3d96ccb8b01eaf4c29269982a2eb8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"healthykidsdentistry"},"url":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/author\/healthykidsdentistry\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":289,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions\/289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}