Is fluoride safe for kids?

Although fluoride received via toothpaste, for example does help to prevent tooth decay, fluoride that is ingested through drinking water hinders tooth decay little, and is highly likely to cause harmful side effects. Fluoride, although not as poisonous as arsenic, is corrosive, more toxic than lead, and anything but benign. No fluoride in the toothpaste of kids for the first six months and no childhood sodium fluoride supplements neither. If you are on tank water, you can supplement your children’s topical fluoride intake simply by using fluoridated toothpaste, while teaching the child to spit out (not swallow) the toothpaste. (But no fluoride in the first six months and no childhood sodium fluoride supplements — perhaps calcium fluoride tablets, if you must.) If you are on a town water supply where fluoride is already added to your drinking water, you may want to consider drinking distilled spring water, using a reverse-osmosis water-filter or water distillation unit, or buying bottled water, and taking antioxidant supplements.