Fluoride toxicity is something that can be a very serious problem. Many people do not even know there is such a thing. We use fluoride in toothpaste, right? How can it then be toxic?
The answer is simple. Fluoride toothpaste is not meant to be ingested. There are a number of household products that use this chemical, but the most commonly used of these is toothpaste. Fluoride toxicity is nothing to scoff at or joke about. It can be fatal. An adult who ingests as little as 2 g of fluoride can die, and a childs life can be endangered by as little as 16 mg/kg. However, it is uncommon for these smaller amounts of fluoride to kill. Fluoride has a much greater toxicity for adults if 5-10 mg/kg are ingested. With children, 5-10g and 500 mg is typically lethal.
Go to the emergency room immediately if you or one of your children has ingested any of the above amounts of fluoride. Do not take a chance on this matter.
How it occurs:
Fluoride acts locally on the intestinal mucosa. It also creates hydrofluoric acid in the stomach. This causes the entire GI tract to become irritated and to experience corrosive effects. This is why most symptoms occur in the gastrointestinal tract.
Once it is absorbed into the bloodstream, fluoride does even more damage. It binds to calcium ions, and it interferes with several very important enzymes in the body. It can indirectly cause seizures, and, if severe enough, fluoride toxicity can cause multi-organ failure.
Deaths caused by this condition result from respiratory paralysis and cardiac arrest.
The most common symptoms of fluoride toxicity are as follows:
Nausea 97 percent
Vomiting 68 percent
Diarrhea 65 percent
Abdominal cramps 53 percent
Headaches 41 percent
Burning sensation in the throat or chest 12 percent
Because of the dangers of this condition, we at the Houston Medical Center Dental Group have changed our policy of prescription for pediatric dentistry. Many general dentistry practices used to prescribe fluoride to children to strengthen the resistance of teeth against cavity formations. The chemical was prescribed in either pill form, or drops that parents could put in their childrens mouths.
We, however, believe children already get more than enough fluoride in the water they drink, and in toothpaste that the use (and sometimes inadvertently swallow).
It is the general consensus throughout the world of pediatric dentistry that these supplements are no longer necessary, and could also potentially be abused unwittingly and lead to a very severe or even possibly fatal case of fluoride toxicity. For this reason, they are almost never prescribed anymore, anywhere.
If you have small children at home, and if you are concerned about the possibility of them ingesting toothpaste without knowing the dangers, we recommend that you put the toothpaste out of their reach. Children should be taught that toothpaste is NOT candy and is NEVER to be swallowed.
Supervising your childrens dental hygiene is also a good idea, period. It helps them learn essential skills necessary for living productive, healthy lives in the future.
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