When we took our baby to a public health center, a well-intentioned nurse emphatically stated that we should be brushing his teeth with toothpaste that has fluoride. When I said I had concerns about him swallowing it, she said it wouldn't matter if he swallowed it.

We didn't follow the nurse's advice for one simple reason. "Do Not Swallow" was written on the toothpaste box. We opted for toothpaste without fluoride, aspartame, or any stuff that seemed like it could be toxic to a small child.

Fast forward to several months later: I discover from a medical health authority source that it is *inadvisable* to give children under the age of 2 toothpaste with fluoride in it due to the likelihood of the child swallowing it and ingesting toxic amounts of fluoride. The condition of fluoride intoxication is called "fluorosis."

Dental fluorosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yikes. I'm glad we followed our intuition instead of poisoning our child by obeying the nurse's directives.