Flouride for the kiddo.

I have wondered since she was around 6 months when I was supposed to brush her teeth with toothpaste that had flouride in it. I have asked my mommy friends and most of them said closer to the age 2 is when they began their babes with flouride. I also asked my pediatrician of course, but sometimes he recommends things that I completely disagree with. (He said as soon as they get teeth.) Also, there is the recommendation on the actual tubes of toothpaste, and it says the age 2. This has been bothering me for awhile now, so I finally decided to scour the internet last night and came up with a couple good articles/ websites that  has helped guide me into a plan of action. The first website is from USA today that discusses how the American Dental Association now recommends we use a rice grain size of fluoride on our children's teeth before the age of two. In fact, they say to start this as soon as your child gets teeth. The change in this decision is based on the huge increase in children's cavities. They also say to start teaching your child to spit out the excess toothpaste so as to prevent fluorosis. Hmm... we'll see about that with a one year old! The other website I found that I really enjoyed was this from dentistry.net that talks about the best 5 toothpastes for children. I noticed Tom's was on the top, and from my own searching at the store I found this was my favorite as well! It has so many natural components and just seems healthier, the best part about the Tom's mentioned on that website was that they sell an Orange-Mango flavor. I'm sure kiddos would love that. With Gracie being allergic to oranges I'm not going to chance that, but I am trying out another flavor here at home this week. I probably won't be brushing her teeth every day with fluoride, but I will start once a week to see how it goes. By the way, I have been brushing her teeth with the children's fluoride free toothpaste since she got teeth (which was around 6 months.) She LOVES to brush her own teeth. In fact, she throws a huge tantrum if I take her toothbrush from her too early, so I let her pack it around and brush for awhile after her bath. Truthfully, I don't mind since it's a good habit plus it makes her teeth feel better since her one year molars are busting through her sensitive gums.