Hi all. I have just been prescribed Duraphat toothpaste by the dentist, which contains 5000ppm of fluoride (as sodium fluoride). She wants me to use it once per day at bedtime and not rinse afterwards. I think I can remember something on here about too much fluoride having a negative effect with Hypothyroidism.
I’m also a bit concerned that I’m hoping to be able to start T3 soon 🤞as I’m a very poor converter. I don’t really want to start a new regime which may interfere with my thyroid at the same time as the T3.
What do people think? Thanks
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Thanks for response greygoose. My gums have become very sensitive and my teeth being scaled is very painful. She says that my gums are starting to recede so that is why it’s painful, something about the protective coating is gone. I don’t get fluoride through the water supply, but I do use normal fluoride toothpaste.
Fluoride is not going to help your receding gums - you probably have low Growth Hormone - nor the protective coating as far as I know. But it is going to mess with a lot of other things. I always use non-fluoride toothpaste, I'm not willing to take the risk.
Me too, I used to make my own toothpaste once over. Now it's strictly organic non fluoride using a waterpick first then an electric brush and cleaning all surfaces and gums. My gums have actually grown back a little. Fluoride is a poison, why would you use it?
Absolutely. All this adding of fluoride to water supplies and putting it into tooth paste is just a clever way of getting rid of a toxic waste product cheaply - no, not even that! They actually make money out of it! Which is totally immoral.
I discussed this with the hygienist some time over a year ago. This was after recommendations here to go fluoride free. There is no fluoride in tap water where I live.
She suggested trying the Aloe Dent sensitive fluoride free with my regular sonic toothbrush as I have no cavities and gums in pretty good nick. Should be OK she thought. Roll forward and 6 months later I had gum recession, increased sensitivity and my regular scale and polish was excruciating. Literally like pulling toenails, almost unbearable she had to keep stopping and give me numbing gel.
After this I felt I couldn’t afford to continue this decline in oral health. Decided to go with any regular brand toothpaste that was also scoring green in the Yuka App as a compromise. I found a Corsodyl variant then switched to a Sensodyne variant and recently had a Colgate total that was green on Yuka. All these contained some fluoride.
Had a recent hygienist appointment a few weeks back and sailed through, gums in great condition, no sensitivity to the scale and polish. Absolutely no change in routine or brush or diet just the paste.
I think it depends what your dental situation is, if you risk awful gum problems and tooth decay if you don’t use fluoride that’s a very different proposition.
My current experiment is to use fluoride free at night and the green on Yuka app regular toothpaste with some fluoride in the mornings.
Could you ask the dentist to justify that strength of fluoride? What’s the minimum they would suggest if you told them you need to avoid it? Ask what alternatives they could recommend.
Thanks for response Regenallotment. I’m not familiar with the Yuka app, what does it do? Like you, it’s the response to scale and polish that was the problem, it’s very painful. The toothpaste she prescribed says in several places do not swallow, and yet she said that I should not rinse my mouth after. Surely this would cause some to go down? Do you rinse after brushing?
The idea of not rinsing is that you leave some on the teeth/ in the saliva and yes I agree, more to go down the throat or be absorbed in the mouth. I do a bit in between but with only 6 months using normal toothpaste and interdentals I’m back to normal.
Yeah Yuka it’s an app with a barcode scanner, gives a red amber green score for ingredients and you can stand and scan in the shop before buying. I discovered my usual face cream had endocrine disrupting ingredients that cause issues with thyroid (been using it about 15 years) 🤦🏽♀️ it also shares the academic papers on which the score is given, they aren’t sponsored by products and they also show alternatives you might want to try which is helpful. 🌱
No, just the same. To be honest I’ve always found scale and polish very unpleasant, but when I had my previous appointment it seemed worse. This time after I mentioned it she said she would be gentle, and it was a bit better.
Me too, all those little ouch points 😱 My dentist seems to be a bit gentler these days although I feel sometimes as though she's chiseling the plaque off, makes me feel I must do a rubbish job of keeping them clean.
I use fluoride free toothpaste too. Aloe Dent. I have worried about dental issues and a ‘pocket’, basically an area of loss of gum developed. However my dentist suggested some of those tiny brushes which get between the teeth. I have been faithful in my habits of using them and the pocket has reduced by half in three months.
He always tells me ‘good brushing’ and teeth good (although they are not due to being brought up in the era where sugary stuff was put on dummies to shut babies up). It’s all a matter of perspective I guess.
Anyway the upshot is my teeth have got no worse on not using fluoride toothpaste for three years. Not that he knows I don’t use it.
Thanks for response. I’ve been using the interdental brushes every night for about a year now, and to be fair the recent scale didn’t seem as bad as last time. She said she was going to be gentle.
Definitely the one without fluoride. Very pleasant. I did try one with fluoride from a well known make but it took the skin off the inside of my mouth. On balance I did not think that was a good idea long term.
Hi there... I've been using fluoride free since 2015, with no trouble. Although I live in the UK, I still see my dentist in Canada when I'm home to see my parents. He's always impressed with the state of my teeth, I never feel any pain. He does stress that flossing is important for my gums and although I did have a small problem with gums, that's no longer an issue now that I floss regularly. Also, I actually had sensitive teeth back when I used fluoride toothpaste... that's a thing of the past, too.
I also don't use fluoride toothpaste - haven't for about 18 years. The most recent one I started using is by Gutology that contains hydroxyapatite which seems to have good research behind it as an alternative to fluoride and fills in the little holes. It is very expensive! I have receding gums - my dentist said this is more likely due to 'too vigorous' brushing over many years. I always believed a hard tooth brush got under the gum line to clear out the plaque more effectively but it looks like I've actually worn it away. I now try to go more carefully and gently with a soft toothbrush whilst still being thorough. I also use interdental brushes to get in between.
My teeth and gums are less sensitive than the were prior to the Gutology toothpaste (I've been using it for a year) so I feel there is benefit but you cannot put back lost gum with any toothpaste including fluoride ones so it's important to not exacerbate the gum receding problem whilst addressing the resulting sensitivity. I also don't rinse it out. I realise it's difficult to know what to do for the best. Personally I feel fluoride has too many negatives in other areas of the body so I'm prepared to spend the money on the hydroxyapatite toothpaste (£16ish on Amazon every 3 months) as I feel it works - maybe worth giving it a go for 6 months to see how you react and if the sensitivity gets any better? If it doesn't then you can revert to your dentists suggestion?
It’s hard to know what to do sometimes. I’ve been using it for 3 yrs now with no ill effects. I have a mouth of crowns heavy fillings and extracted teeth partly as a result of those naughty dentists in the 60s and my poor dental hygiene for many years after that. I use duraphat as an insurance policy as I take an injectable cancer medicine called denosumab with a high risk of bone necrosis if I have a tooth out. And due to having no fluoridated water the combination of Duraphat toothpaste, interdental brushes and electric /soft toothbrush has so far meant no further fillings or extractions in 3 yrs and all my metal/crowns are 30 yrs old.
On a more humorous note it seems that using an electric toothbrush can precipitate an urgent need to wee (in women but not sure about men). I checked this out with friends. Maybe the long reach of a nerve serving both
Fluoride will block iodine cell receptors as it "mimics" iodine in the body. You need good cortisol and iron levels for conversion of T4 to T3 have you checked those? Also, the liver needs to be able to help in the conversion process. If your liver needs detoxing then will slow the process also.
I was recently prescribed it too. The dentist told me it would help with my constant mouth ulcers and slow down the growth of plaque which is causing my teeth pain. I had refused to see a hygienist for a couple of years as my two previous visits had been really painful and the last visit left me with very severe ulcers down both sides of my tongue. The result was a considerable amount of plaque.I think the mouth ulcers on my gums are a hypo symptom as they come up and go down every few days but aren't painful as I would expect.
I had no idea fluoride toothpaste affects thyroid meds.
I had a scale and polish and was then prescribed the tooth paste. This was done by the private dentist rather than a hygienist. I found it quite painful but did not end up either lots of very painful mouth ulcers on my tongue.
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