Prescribed? Regardless of anyone's opinion on whether it helps prevent cavities, there is absolutely no reason that fluoride should ever be ingested. If your doctor is suggesting your child ingest fluoride I would highly recommend finding a new doctor.

I have permanent white stains on my teeth from being given fluoride tablets as a kid, which kills my mother with guilt. Avoid.

Give your kid a vitamin k-2 supplement instead so she mineralizes calcium instead of fluoride in her teeth.

Yuck. Keep her as far away from fluoride as you can. I really like Burt's Bees fluoride-free toothpaste personally.

Flouride is great for teeth but was never meant to be taken internally. Should be in mouthwash or toothpaste only.

Fluoride is not toxic in the amounts ingested from fluoridated water. In fact, it may be the only thing that keeps your kids from having really bad dental issues later in life. When I was 2 we moved to a municipality with fluoridated water from one without. My much older sis and bro were past the formative ages for teeth at the time (9 and 12 or so). We had the same practices in teeth brushing throughout, and used the same toothpaste. They all have a ton of fillings now. I have none.

Due to the naturally occurring fluoride in soil and the consumption of brick tea, which is rich in fluoride, the residents of Sichuan province in China have far higher fluoride consumption than almost anywhere in the US. They have the lowest rate of cavities in China and no known negative health issues from it.

That said, avoiding NADs from an early age is going to help immensely as well, as is getting adequate K2. But you only get one chance with your teeth. Use every tool available.

I grew up where there was no fluoridated water and I have a mouthful of cavities and mercury fillings to show for it. My kids also grew up without fluoridated water but we supplemented with fluoride tablets--not a cavity between them.

Every time we go to the pedi dentist he is seeing at least one kid pro-bono. Usually a kid with 8, 9, as many as ELEVEN cavities in baby teeth. This is a combo of poor diet/ education (Latino immigrants think nothing of giving babies soda and putting them to bed with bottles), poor dental hygiene, and lack of fluoride. These kids have to be put under general anesthesia in the outpatient surgery center to have teeth pulled. It's a huge problem in our county, exacerbated by the lack of dental care through Medi-Cal (Medicaid in other states). But lack of fluoride is definitely a contributing factor. We were fortunate and insured well enough to have good prenatal care (I supplemented fluoride during pregnancy) and good pediatric dental care for our kids.

There's a movement to try to fluoridate county water but much pushback from people who are blind to these kids because they can afford their plastic Brita filters or bottled water if they don't want fluoride.

Fluoride is absolutely everywhere these days and unfortunately kids are getting way too much. My daughter has had the white spots on her teeth as well and yet I am still having to turn down fluoride applications at school and at the dentist because the so-called experts don't seem to realize what is happening. It's in city water, toothpaste and even bottled drinks that have been prepared using city water supplies have it. You should absolutely turn it down.

My kids and I used to have cavities every time we went to the dentist, until I took us all OFF fluoride a few years ago. We use flouride free SPRY toothpaste. And Periowash mouth rinse. Never had a cavity since~

If you are concerned about cavities, give your kids xylitol.

Recent research confirms a plaque-reducing effect and suggests the compound, having some chemical properties similar to sucrose, attracts and then "starves" harmful micro-organisms, allowing the mouth to remineralize damaged teeth with less interruption. (However, this same effect also interferes with yeast micro-organisms and others, so xylitol is inappropriate for making yeast-based bread, for instance.) This is because cariogenic bacteria prefer fermentable six-carbon sugars, or disacharrides such as sucrose, as opposed to the nonfermentable xylitol, whose antimicrobial properties then "starve" the bacteria, reducing their growth and reproduction. Most of these studies suggest that at least 6 grams of xylitol per day is needed for dental efficacy.

Xylitol is specific in its inhibition of the mutans streptococci group, bacteria that are significant contributors to tooth decay. (wikipedia)

By the way, fluoride is toxic.

For example, one funny effect is its property to lower the IQ of our children.

the solution to the pollution is dilution

Look up pictures on the internet of dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis and see how much ppm of fluoride one needs to ingest to develop these conditions. Let me tell you, it's not much.

If you haven't already, please read the book "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by Dr. Weston A. Price, or "How to Cure Tooth Decay" by Rami Nagel. Many have reversed tooth decay by following the steps outlined in these books. Vitamin K2 would be the best supplement. It will tell the body where to take the calcium which would be to the bones and teeth instead of soft tissue. One should also be eating liver regularly for vitamin A and D(fermented cod liver oil can be taken instead).

On a side note, intentionally fluoridated water is basically forced mass medication. It is unethical.

Run run run away from that doc. Unless your kid has hyperthyroidism etc.