Children's toothpaste does NO more to protect teeth but is double the price

Children's toothpaste is a big con as researchers reveal it may be double the price as normal paste, but it does no more to protect teeth.

By LAURA MOWATParents often want to buy the children’s version as they falsely believe that it has less fluoride and is safer.

Fluoride helps to protect against tooth decay, however overexposure can lead to stains on teeth.

Oral healthcare is becoming an increasing concern with regards to children

Public Heath England recommends that children should use fluoride toothpaste as the benefit to oral health outweigh any possible risk.
A lecturer in paediatric dentistry at the University of Birmingham, Kris Coomaraswamy, told The Times: “Children’s toothpaste should be the same price as adult paste. We should be encouraging parents to get kids to brush and not put a financial barrier in the way.
“It is quite safe to use adult toothpaste on even the youngest children, provided you only smear a small amount.”
The cost of removing children’s rotten teeth has increased by more than 60 per cent since 2010 to £35 million a year.
Cartoon character toothpaste is particularly expensive
Every day, more than 100 kids and teenagers go under anaesthetic to remove multiple decayed teeth.

Children’s toothpaste, such as the strawberry ice cream flavour, is supposed to allure children into brushing their teeth regularly.
However, experts are concerned that children may be tempted to eat the toothpaste.

Children who eat too much tooth paste can also suffer from stomach cramps, sickness and other complications.
The lecturer said: “We advise parents to hide flavoured toothpaste because their kids might try to eat it.”
A spokesman for Tesco said: “The higher price reflects a higher unit cost of production compared to the adult toothpaste.”
A spokesman for Aquafresh said: “Children’s milk teeth are 50 per cent thinner so our children’s toothpaste has low abrasivity compared to our standard pastes to meet this need.”