Fluoride toothpaste, mouthwash, etc.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tfudtuckerpucker It's true that rinsing your mouth after brushing with a fluoride toothpaste will remove much of the fluoride, but then why would you use a fluoride toothpaste? There are plenty of fluoride-free toothpastes out there. Prescription strength toothpaste such as Fluoridex recommends you do not eat, drink or rinse for 30 minutes after using, in order to increase fluoride uptake. For children, it is recommended that they do rinse after brushing, in order to reduce the risk of fluorosis. This apparently is apparantly a somewhat controversial topic.

The thing is I floss after I brush my teeth, and I definitely rinse after that because particles get dislodged after flossing, and I want them out of my mouth!

I switched to non-flouride toothpaste 6 months ago anyway.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC I met a girl a few years ago that won't use shampoo with that stuff in it. Very hard to find. She mostly uses baking soda and water in a sprayer and a vinegar rinse. I tried it and it did make my hair feel quite soft.

I hope it wasn't my daughter for your sake, as this describes her. All while she consumes junk food and such, but that hair isn't going to have any dangerous chemicals on it. Its too late for me to worry about toothpaste and shampoo... I played with asbestos fibers, have God knows what leaking out of my fillings implanted from 40 years ago, and even played often with liquid mercury growing up. The horse has already left the barn with me.


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[Sarah in SC]

Your daughter sounds quite cool, mulligan! I met this girl at a hula hooping conference.

I played with mercury when I was a kid, too!

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Your daughter sounds quite cool, mulligan! I met this girl at a hula hooping conference. I played with mercury when I was a kid, too!

We are just going to have to take our chances now, Sarah. I asked her why she is so worried about chemicals go on the outside of her body, but not on what goes inside. Never really got an answer..... Probably because she never gave it any thought.


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[HFWR]

Yep, played with mercury. Shot arrows straight up. Threw shotgun shell in the campfire. Drank from a water hose. Rode in the back of pickups. Hell, sledded behind pickups! And a fair number of other crazy things...

Not that I encourage any of that. :-P

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Yep, played with mercury. Shot arrows straight up. Threw shotgun shell in the campfire. Drank from a water hose. Rode in the back of pickups. Hell, sledded behind pickups! And a fair number of other crazy things... Not that I encourage any of that. :-P

Nearly the same childhood I had! Well, minus the arrows and shotgun shells. Here's my version:

Played with mercury. Drank from a water hose. Rode in the back of pickups. Rode miles while sitting on the handlebars of my brother's bicycle as he pedaled. Climbed 25-30 feet high in trees and refused to come down for dinner. Sledded behind pickups. Went skinny dipping in the muddy Missouri River, which was probably full of chemicals for all I know. And more.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 ... I will be looking more closely/skeptically at GRAS ingredients in the future, quite frankly.

I think that skepticism is warranted. Look how many were grandfathered in, back in 1958, when we didn't know as much as we know now. From wiki:

Quote:

On January 1, 1958, the FDA established the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, with a list of 700 food substances that were exempt from the then new requirement that manufacturers test food additives before putting them on the market. ... For substances used in food prior to January 1, 1958, a grandfather clause allows experience based on common use in food to be used in asserting they are safe under the conditions of their intended use. The FDA can also explicitly withdraw the GRAS classification, as it did for trans fat in 2015.[5]

-ERD50

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulligan ... and even played often with liquid mercury growing up. ...

Not much to worry about, as it turns out.

I provided a bunch of links on this issue back on a CFL thread a while back. The CFL defenders were trying to downplay the small amount of mercury in a CFL by talking up how they played with Mercury when they were kids, so that 'proves' you don't need to be so worried about a broken CFL.

Don't have time to dig up the links now, but elemental Mercury can be handled, eaten, and even injected with little risk (the risk of clogging a blood vessel with the metal was more of a problem than getting mercury positioning from the injection). The body just doesn't absorb much that way. But the form it is in in a CFL enters the lungs and is readily absorbed.

-ERD50

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Not much to worry about, as it turns out. I provided a bunch of links on this issue back on a CFL thread a while back. The CFL defenders were trying to downplay the small amount of mercury in a CFL by talking up how they played with Mercury when they were kids, so that 'proves' you don't need to be so worried about a broken CFL. Don't have time to dig up the links now, but elemental Mercury can be handled, eaten, and even injected with little risk (the risk of clogging a blood vessel with the metal was more of a problem than getting mercury positioning from the injection). The body just doesn't absorb much that way. But the form it is in in a CFL enters the lungs and is readily absorbed. -ERD50

I dont know if it matters, but I played with the big bottle of mercury out of the science lab often, not with light bulb mercury. Dropping a huge handful of mercury and sweeping it up was much amusing to me in my childhood days.


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[Amethyst]

Meanwhile, Mr. A. and I, at dentist's orders, are using a fluoride/calcium "non-invasive cavity-reducing" product that stays on your teeth all night. It is an attempt to remineralize weak enamel, so cavities don't form.

I guess we are doomed.

GC MI Paste with Recaldent, MI-paste, How to remineralize teeth, Remin | Dentist.net

Amethyst

[Amethyst]

And ate random plants/flowers from my backyard (after reading about them first - I was 7). And rode in the back of the car, where there were no seat belts. And went for walks for miles and miles, all by myself, as a 13-/14-/15-year-old girl. Talked to strangers, who I met on these walks. That last one gives me chills just thinking about it, now.

Actually, the worst thing I did as a youngster was probably to inhale second-hand smoke in the home (growing up) and in the workplace. The potential long-term consequences still scare me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Nearly the same childhood I had! Well, minus the arrows and shotgun shells. Here's my version: Played with mercury. Drank from a water hose. .

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Actually, the worst thing I did as a youngster was probably to inhale second-hand smoke in the home (growing up) and in the workplace. The potential long-term consequences still scare me.

Inhaled a fair amount of "first-hand" smoke as well... B-)

This thread brings to mind an old bumper sticker: "In the seventies you did acid, now you won't eat white bread"...

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Meanwhile, Mr. A. and I, at dentist's orders, are using a fluoride/calcium "non-invasive cavity-reducing" product that stays on your teeth all night. It is an attempt to remineralize weak enamel, so cavities don't form. I guess we are doomed. GC MI Paste with Recaldent, MI-paste, How to remineralize teeth, Remin | Dentist.net Amethyst

I've read about MI paste, but haven't tried it yet. Because I am blessed with soft(er) teeth and lotso cavities over time, I have been looking for the better preventative solutions. I'm currently using (gasp!) prescription strength fluoride gel (5000 ppm), and Novamin. We'll see how the next dentist appointment goes. If I continue to get cavities, the next step will be fluoride varnish, I guess. If fluoride varnish doesn't work, I'll look into sealants.

From what I can tell, only recognized weapon is fluoride, as long as everything else is done right (brushing, flossing, no sugar drinks, limit carb exposure.) It's difficult to get a straight story about preventative treatments for cavities. Both MI paste and Novamin are approved for sensitivity reduction, but not cavity prevention, according to ADA. With the amount of $$ going into dental restoration (fillings, then crowns) worldwide, you'd think we could justify some quality research into prevention. As NIH puts it, "Among the 22 studies addressing the prevention of carious lesions in caries-active or high risk individuals, the strength of the evidence was judged to be fair for fluoride varnishes and insufficient for all other methods. Among the seven studies addressing the management of non-cavitated carious lesions, the strength of the evidence for efficacy was judged to be insufficient for all methods. The results do not indicate that the preventive and management methods reviewed are not efficacious; rather, they demonstrate that not enough is known to determine the efficacy of the methods."

[H2ODude]

As a kid probably left deposits of about a full pound of elemental mercury in childhood home; probably would be declared a hazardous waste site if anyone tested. Dad, the chem-e, had us use carbon tetrachloride to clean the brass HO model railroad tracks. His stories of inhaling asbestos dust and getting doused with malathion would not support a life til 77. It was COPD that got him, but suspect it was the 60 years of smoking, not the asbestos that did it.

We have a contingent who want our local water utility to stop the fluoride; they pop up now and again. Utility is like, whatever. Hydrofluorosilicic acid, the additive is one of the nastier chemicals to handle and meter in a water plant. I liked the first utility I worked for, the groundwater there had 0.7 mg/l of fluoride, the sweet spot naturally. Never had anyone clamor for us to remove it.

[FUEGO]

Brewer, I'd ask your dentist what would happen if you stopped using toothpaste with fluoride in it. Maybe you get more cavities over your lifetime but that risk is offset by the slightly lower chance of getting cancer. I'd be more worried about additional fillings in my mouth that might have some carcinogens in them than the toothpaste I use every day personally.

Funny side note. While we were in Mexico we bought some Colgate toothpaste. It was labeled for a large number of different central and south American countries. For some, it was okay to use toothpaste for all ages, with supervision for kids. Other countries, it's not recommended for use by anyone under age 6 (risk of eating/swallowing the fluoride being the concern I assume). Not sure why Venezuelan teeth would be any different than Guatemalan teeth or Bolivian teeth.

[HFWR]

Don't need no fluoride, my toof is perfect!

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Don't need no fluoride, my toof is perfect!

Toof, singular? Or you mean both of them are perfect?

[LOL!]

I guess bacon and sausage help prevent cavities, too. The way they work is that you die of cancer before your teeth get holes in them.

[AllDone]

Or take up smoking. That will get rid of those troublesome teeth much faster.

[Redbugdave]

I am one that has had multiple cavities in the past years. I now floss regularly and use a fluoride mouthwash after brushing every night. It seems to work. I have not had any cavities in about 3 years. For me, that is remarkable.