Fluoride Toothpaste and Fluoride Tablets
Should children be taking fluoride supplements if they use fluoride toothpaste?
The fluoride in toothpaste acts directly on the tooth enamel from the outside, hardening it and helping it resist decay, but it can only act upon the very outermost layer of the tooth enamel.
Fluoride in tablet form does the same thing, but enters the tooth from the inside via the bloodstream, and permeates the entire tooth. Fluoride tablets can therefore protect the entire tooth far more effectively than fluoride toothpaste alone.
Many areas of Australia have adequate supplies of fluoride added to the drinking water, giving everyone protection. If you live in an area that has fluoride added to the water supply, or if the natural level of fluoride in the water is high, you do not need to give your children fluoride tablets. This information will be available by phoning your local council. If there is no fluoride in the water, it is advisable to give fluoride supplements to protect your children’s teeth.
My son obtains his water for drinking from an underground well. Do his children need to take fluoride tablets?
Some water supplies, be they from the local dam or an underground well, contain adequate amounts of fluoride to protect children’s teeth. The fact that children in some communities were noticed to have far healthier teeth than others, led to the discovery of fluoride in the water supply of the healthier children, and the subsequent development of fluoridation of many water supplies around the world to protect the teeth of children.
Your local council can tell you if your water supply contains adequate amounts of fluoride. If it does not, your children should take fluoride tablets or drops to protect their teeth from premature decay.
When using water from a well, it will be necessary to have a sample of the water analysed to determine its fluoride content. Industrial chemists undertake this work, and it is important to obtain these results, as giving fluoride supplements to children who already have adequate fluoride in their diets can lead to teeth discolouration (but not damage). The minerals in the ground around the well will determine the amount of fluoride in the water.
Water obtained from rooftops and tanks will never contain any fluoride, as this is very close to distilled water, which contains no minerals of any sort.