Issues > September/October 2005 (#110) > Protecting Your Kids This Fall: Fluoride, Ozone and Mercury

Protecting Your Kids This Fall: Fluoride, Ozone and Mercury

page 2 of 4 | PREV 1 | 2 | 3 | 4  NEXT 

Meanwhile, dental-health experts say that while cancer is not a risk, fluorosis is a concern for children who ingest too much total fluoride. Parents should take simple steps to make sure their children are getting the proper amount.

What You Can Do

*Children should brush at least twice daily with a fluoridated toothpaste and floss once a day under parental supervision.

*For young kids who aren't yet capable of spitting out toothpaste, use a non-fluoridated toothpaste like Orajel Toddler Training Toothpaste.

*Have children see a dentist regularly.

*The ADA recommends avoiding the use of fluoridated mouth rinses for children under six years of age because they may swallow the rinse.

*Check fluoride levels in your water by calling your local water company or the Department of Public Health.

*If you don't have fluoridated water, Pollick recommends considering a fluoride supplement for children (available only by prescription).

*If your water's fluoride level is above 1.2 ppm, you can reduce it using a reverse-osmosis or water-distillation unit.

*Infants fed formula reconstituted with fluoridated water are not at risk of getting too much fluoride, say experts at the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.

Ozone and Exercise

Three new independent studies have strengthened the link between ozone and increased death rates. All three studies, published in the July Epidemiology, found that for every 10 parts per billion increase in average daily ozone, the total mortality rate went up by at least four-fifths of a percent. The rates are about twice as high in the northern hemisphere during the summer. "What is really striking is that all three studies were conducted differently but they all found basically the same thing," says David Bates, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.

Most of these deaths were in older people with heart and respiratory conditions. In children, ozone can cause respiratory conditions and asthma attacks. Some 49 percent of the population lives in areas of elevated ozone levels. Produced by sunlight reacting with pollution from cars and industrial sources, ozone levels are highest between noon and 3 p.m., so children heading out to play during and after school encounter the highest ozone levels of the day.

PREV 1 | 2 | 3 | 4  NEXT