Is flouride safe, and what can we use to substitute to prevent cavities? Check out this video I found about fluoride and its dangers.
When our children are little the, Dr.s tell us not to use any toothpaste with fluoride in it because they dont know how to spit yet and it's not good for them to swallow it!!! If you think about it why isn't it safe and what makes it safe when they are older and for us as adults to then, swallow it??
So we go and buy a training toothpaste, such as this one in the picture because it has no fluoride in it but if you take a look at the ingredients there are also a bunch of "stuff" that is not good for them either. Here's some of whats in this Orajel tooth cleaner for kids:
water, sorbitol(chemical sugar substitute), propylene glycol, and a bunch of parabens(cancer causing). In other words....junk!!
So what can we use in place of fluoride for ourselves and our children that will be effective in preventing cavities? I use this brand for my kids, its called SPRY and they love it! Heres the ingredients in this one:
Purified water, Xylitol, Calcium
glycerophosphate, Cellulose gum (thickening agent), and Grapefruit seed
extract (as a preservative).
Spry has an entire line of products for adult and children available at health food stores! Heres some info on xylitol (main ingredient in spry products):
- Xylitol is a sweetener
that
occurs naturally. It can be found, for instance, in berries,
fruit,
vegetables and mushrooms.
Chemically speaking,
xylitol is
not actually a sugar, but a sugar alcohol. It differs from other
sweeteners such as sorbitol, fructose and glucose because the
xylitol
molecule has five, instead of six, carbon atoms. Most bacterias
in mouth
are unable to make use of such sugars. This is one reason why
xylitol
helps prevent caries.
Xylitol is much sweeter
than
sorbitol, for instance. Assessed in terms of calories, its
sweetening
power is the same as that of sucrose. It is also similar to
sucrose in
its technical and nutritive properties. Xylitol is an important
supplement in the preventation of dental caries, and everyone
interested
in healthy teeth should be familiar with its properties and
effects.
In
terms of dental health, it
is good to increase the salivary flow rate as often as possible,
i.e. to
secrete what is called stimulated saliva. The faster the saliva
flow,
the greater its buffer capacity, that is, its power of resisting
the
drops in saliva pH and thus in plaque pH.
In
stimulating saliva secretion
xylitol increases the amount of saliva in the mouth. At the same
time it
increases saliva's initiate chemical capacity for reducing the
harmful
effects of bacteria.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I just wanted to share some alternatives for you and your family's toothbrushing needs!!
BE WELL
very true and better late than never!!
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