Healthy Home Hint – Toxic Toothpaste

No one wants cavities, and people have been using fluoride for decades as a way to keep their teeth healthy. Though fluoride has made a difference in the teeth of people in developed countries, it is not a cure-all for oral health. There are many dangers involved in overexposure to fluoride, and since it is in public drinking water—and thus in almost everything we drink and eat—having fluoride in toothpaste only increases the likelihood of ingesting too much of this chemical. Children are even more likely to swallow toothpaste, and they are at the greatest risk for enamel fluorosis, which causes white streaks in the teeth and sometimes even mottling of the teeth in its most severe form. Though only a cosmetic issue in all but the extreme cases, enamel fluorosis is still an example of fluoride causing the very opposite of what we use it for: stronger teeth.