The dentist joined hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard in the studio this week
Parents have shared their surprise after a dentist known for his ITV appearances issued a warning this week. Dr Milad Shadrooh joined This Morning hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard in the studio to discuss “a new wave of unique toothpaste flavours” that are becoming more and more popular.
Dr Milad shared a worrying downside to giving children toothpaste that tastes “like sweets” during his chat with Ben and Cat. He said: “[Sweet flavoured toothpaste] is just going to incentivise children to swallow it because it’s like a sweet and we don’t want children swallowing toothpaste because of the ingredient fluoride.”
Too much fluoride, he continued, particularly when “adult teeth are forming”, can interfere with tooth development and cause issues later in life. Dr Milad said: “It’s called fluorosis… teeth can be mottled, they can be discoloured, and then they’re going to need a lot of treatment later on.”
The dentist added: “Spitting isn’t a normal reflex, you have to learn to spit, you have to teach your children how to spit … but a minty taste, they’re unlikely to want to swallow that.”
However, Ben said that surely a toothpaste kids were more willing to use has its benefits. Dr Milad agreed to an extent, saying that using a sweet-flavoured toothpaste is certainly better than not brushing at all.
But he recommended having a strategy to “wean them off” the toothpaste. He advised: “Get the habits established with brushing your teeth twice a day and teach them the spitting habit. It’s best done, I think, at night-time”.
Dr Milad shared that he used to teach his children to properly brush their teeth in the bath, as they were cleaning the rest of their body at the same time, and could “spit as much as they want with no mess”. He added: “Also, they can’t run away!”.
A clip of the conversation was posted on the This Morning Instagram page, with many parents quick to voice their thoughts. One said: “I had no idea they’re not supposed to swallow it”.
A second added: “Didn’t even know you shouldn’t swallow it! My son is 4 [facepalm emoji]”, and a third said: “Have you tried telling a baby not to swallow and spit it out it’s hard enough getting the toothbrush in their mouth”.