When children use toothpaste, it is highly recommended by the companies that make the fluoride tooth pastes to NOT have them ingest it. In fact, the warning label on fluoride toothpaste states, that if you swallow more than a pea size amount of paste or .25 milligrams of fluoride, which is the equivalent dose of 8 ounces of fluoridated water, you should contact the poison control center immediately.
It may be difficult to control a child ingesting tooth paste by a parent since it has been found that young children don't have well developed swallowing-reflexes and often swallow toothpaste when brushing which can contribute to their total systemic intake. Fluoride, even when not swallowed, can cross the gum membrane and enter the bloodstream. And, most taste good, too, and kids will eat anything sweet, including tooth paste.
If you still want to use fluoridated products for children, here's a suggestion: Use them under adult supervision. On those occasions when children are brushing teeth on their own, consider one of the Fluoride Free products available at many health food stores an other stores that have a health food section.
Some other info for you...
Infant formula produced with fluoridated water contains 100 to 200 times more fluoride (1,000 ppb) than is found naturally in breast milk (5-10 ppb).
Processed beverages (e.g. soda and reconstituted juice) and canned goods are frequently made with fluoridated city tap water and could have high concentrations of fluoride adding to your daily consumption levels.
Black and green tea almost always have elevated levels of fluoride and can contribute to one's total daily fluoride intake. If you drink a lot of iced tea in the summer, this would increase your daily fluoride levels considerably.
If you drink wine, consider buying organic varieties since many commercial vineyards in the US are sprayed with a fluoride pesticide called Cryolite, which I have discussed on this blog, that can result in high levels of fluoride in wine or even grape juice. You may wish to purchase a European brand instead of a Californian brand if you don't want to spend the money for organic wines. European countries use significantly less cryolite on their vineyards.
We have sources for Organic Wine grown without harmful chemical sprays that contain fluoride. Those sprays are commonly used. Choose organic when possible. Contact us for the sources for organic wine.
Teflon-coated pans can increase the fluoride content of food so you may wish to limit their use in your home and return to using stainless steel or cast iron cookware.
BTW: Some prescriptions medicines contain fluorine. One such fluorine-containing pharmaceutical is Cipro(Ciprofloxacin (INN), a synthetic chemotherapeutic antibiotic of the fluoroquinolone drug class. (Do your own research on this subject.) Suggestion: Always read your package inserts to find out what you are ingesting and contraindications so you can be aware, and know when you need to consult your physician.
