FDA: Choose toothpaste with fluoride vs decay

MANILA, Philippines - Parents should choose only toothpaste with fluoride to ensure their children’s oral health, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.

Toothpastes that contain fluoride could reduce the development of decayed, missing and filled teeth by 23 percent, FDA director general Kenneth Hartigan-Go said.

“With regular brushing of teeth, fluoride toothpaste helps reduce the risk of dental caries which have negative efforts on their growth and educational outcomes in children,” he said in FDA Advisory 2014-013.

Fluoride is a mineral that is lost from the tooth’s enamel through demineralization or when it is attacked by acids produced by bacteria. The enamel could be remineralized with fluoride through the food and water consumed by a person.

Citing the 2006 National Oral Health Survey, Go noted that 97.1 percent of six-year-old children then suffered from tooth decay. 

Go said the World Health Organization and the Fédération Dentaire International (FDI) have already declared that the “prevention of tooth decay by using fluoride is the most realistic way of reducing the burden of tooth decay in population.”

The advisory showed there are 26 brands of toothpaste containing fluoride that are registered with the agency:  Afkyung, Ap-24, B&B Kids, Botanica, Chc, Chicco, Cliven, Close Up, Cni Winz, Colgate, Fast, Fluocaril, Formula,  Glee, Happee, Hello Kitty, Herbal Fresh, Master Kids, Naturacentials, Oral-B, Pepsodent, Sensodyne, Stanhome, Victoria Court, Xyloclens and Zacts.