What’s missing in bottled water for kids? Plenty.

Give parents a choice between soda, a juice box or a bottle of water for their children and most would probably go for the bottle water. What many people don’t realize is that opting for bottled water, though better for their children than soda or sugar-loaded fruit juice, is missing a key ingredient their children need: fluoride.

Fluoride is critical for growing strong, healthy teeth. For younger patients, fluoride actually hardens teeth, making them more cavity-resistant. Unfortunately, more and more people are opting for bottled, filtered water, which has no fluoride.

Some communities, like Weymouth, have fluoride in the water—a great way to help their children grow strong healthy teeth. Because of the taste, many people prefer bottle water or filtered water over tap water and pass that habit on to their children. But kids still need fluoride to help their teeth develop.

How much? According to the American Dental Association, children should consume fluoride through drinking water or supplements in the following amounts:

·         Birth to six months – none

·         Six months to three years - .25 mg/day

·         Three to six years - .5 mg/day

·         Six years to 16 years – 1 mg/day

Many dentists have younger patients take fluoride supplements, whether they live in a community where the tap water has fluoride or not. If your child is under 10 and not taking supplements, please contact our office at 781-335-0604.


To find out whether or not your town is a fluoridated community, please click on this link to go to a map from the Massachusetts Dental Society website, www.massdental.org. You can also call your town’s Water Department.

A reason to brush with your kids

One reason parents brush their teeth with their children is to make sure they are brushing the way the dentist instructed. Perhaps a better reason is so parents can remind themselves to do the same. Particularly as it pertains to time.

Most dentists recommend you brush your teeth a minimum of two minutes at a clip, twice a day. In fact, there are many children’s toothbrushes that light up for that amount of time so children know how long to brush. The Toothboss actually gives some of our younger patients hour glasses so children can know how long to brush.

While we don’t really have something like that for grownups, there really is no age limit on the hour glasses. And if your last checkup didn’t go so well, brushing longer, in addition to flossing, is one way to get better results.

As far as frequency of brushing is concerned, ideally you want to brush your teeth after each meal. But if you can’t, brush at least twice a day- after breakfast and before going to bed.

If you have any questions about brushing technique in or around South Weymouth, give us a call today!