USA - Less sugar, proper fluoride key to kids' pearly whites
Thursday, September 13, 2007 11:42 AM CDT
Less sugar, proper fluoride key to kids' pearly whites
By JENS MANUEL KROGSTAD, Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO --- While sugar deservedly shoulders much of the blame, one often overlooked key to healthy pearly whites in children is fluoride.
It is easy to receive enough fluoride, which is found in tap water, some bottled beverages and toothpaste. So the danger mostly lies in ingesting excessive amounts.
How much is too much? That can be tough to measure, though the recommendations for infants is quite clear: No fluoride is best. The American Dental Association changed its policy last November, recommending tap water not be used when preparing infant formula in babies less than 12 months old. Instead, parents should use bottled water.
Overdose on fluoride, and children develop white streaks that are a tell-tale symptom of dental fluorosis. This year, University of Iowa researchers released a study that followed 10- to 13-year-olds from birth. They found nearly 36 percent of children had signs of mild dental fluorosis. Those children who consumed more fluoride as infants and in early childhood were more likely to develop symptoms of fluorosis.
"(The teeth) have a white blotchy coloration to them --- that's been our biggest concern. So we've had to balance out the preventative nature of the effect of fluoride versus the effect on permanent teeth," said Dr. Roger Day, a Waterloo dentist.
Don't get enough fluoride, though, and the risk for cavities increase. Day notes that cavities have been increasing nationwide, though he blames parents who feed young children too much juice. He recommends children consume no more than 4 ounces of juice daily.
A May report from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 28 percent of children ages 2 to 5 developed cavities in their baby teeth.
"Even thought the label may say enriched with vitamin C, (juice) still has got an enormous amount of sugar in there. The kids are carrying these sippy cups around all day, bathing their teeth in sugar, and cavity rates among kids has gone up tremendously as a result," he said.
For Katie Wikstrom, 7, who had a couple of cavities filled by Day, old-fashioned candy and sugared soda are the culprits, said Katie's mother, Teri Wikstrom of Waverly. Jane McGinley, manager of fluoridation preventive health activities at the American Dental Association, said parents should be sure to not remove all fluoride from their children's diet out of fear of them ingesting too much.
"Even today, with fluoride being available from other sources, fluoridation still reduces caries by 20 to 40 percent. It's probably the single most effective way to prevent cavities," McGinley said.
Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.
«VIEW USER AGREEMENT»
Total Of 1 comment(s) »
nyscof wrote on Sep 13, 2007 8:12 AM:
" Actually, the same Iowa Dentist/Scientists who found high rates of fluorosis, as part of the Iowa Fluoride Study, also reported no correlation between fluoride intake and tooth decay. Regardless of fluoride intake, bad diet is linked to more tooth decay. The Centers for Disease Control report that up to 4% of school children have moderate or advanced dental fluorosis (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/s403a1t23.gif that ranges from yellow teeth to black and crumbly and pitted teeth. "
Less sugar, proper fluoride key to kids' pearly whites
By JENS MANUEL KROGSTAD, Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO --- While sugar deservedly shoulders much of the blame, one often overlooked key to healthy pearly whites in children is fluoride.
It is easy to receive enough fluoride, which is found in tap water, some bottled beverages and toothpaste. So the danger mostly lies in ingesting excessive amounts.
How much is too much? That can be tough to measure, though the recommendations for infants is quite clear: No fluoride is best. The American Dental Association changed its policy last November, recommending tap water not be used when preparing infant formula in babies less than 12 months old. Instead, parents should use bottled water.
Overdose on fluoride, and children develop white streaks that are a tell-tale symptom of dental fluorosis. This year, University of Iowa researchers released a study that followed 10- to 13-year-olds from birth. They found nearly 36 percent of children had signs of mild dental fluorosis. Those children who consumed more fluoride as infants and in early childhood were more likely to develop symptoms of fluorosis.
"(The teeth) have a white blotchy coloration to them --- that's been our biggest concern. So we've had to balance out the preventative nature of the effect of fluoride versus the effect on permanent teeth," said Dr. Roger Day, a Waterloo dentist.
Don't get enough fluoride, though, and the risk for cavities increase. Day notes that cavities have been increasing nationwide, though he blames parents who feed young children too much juice. He recommends children consume no more than 4 ounces of juice daily.
A May report from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 28 percent of children ages 2 to 5 developed cavities in their baby teeth.
"Even thought the label may say enriched with vitamin C, (juice) still has got an enormous amount of sugar in there. The kids are carrying these sippy cups around all day, bathing their teeth in sugar, and cavity rates among kids has gone up tremendously as a result," he said.
For Katie Wikstrom, 7, who had a couple of cavities filled by Day, old-fashioned candy and sugared soda are the culprits, said Katie's mother, Teri Wikstrom of Waverly. Jane McGinley, manager of fluoridation preventive health activities at the American Dental Association, said parents should be sure to not remove all fluoride from their children's diet out of fear of them ingesting too much.
"Even today, with fluoride being available from other sources, fluoridation still reduces caries by 20 to 40 percent. It's probably the single most effective way to prevent cavities," McGinley said.
Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.
«VIEW USER AGREEMENT»
Total Of 1 comment(s) »
nyscof wrote on Sep 13, 2007 8:12 AM:
" Actually, the same Iowa Dentist/Scientists who found high rates of fluorosis, as part of the Iowa Fluoride Study, also reported no correlation between fluoride intake and tooth decay. Regardless of fluoride intake, bad diet is linked to more tooth decay. The Centers for Disease Control report that up to 4% of school children have moderate or advanced dental fluorosis (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/s403a1t23.gif that ranges from yellow teeth to black and crumbly and pitted teeth. "
posted by Bill at
9:53 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home