Daily Echo - Brush without fluoride

Brush without fluoride
A READER asked about where to get fluoride free toothpaste (Letters, September 1). An easy answer is at a Health Food shop, although mainstream outlets sometimes stock it.
Despite having been a strong and active opponent of water fluoridation, there is a good argument to say that fluoride does work on the surface of the teeth. This is because fluoride is a nasty toxic chemical and it helps to kill the bugs on the teeth that cause tooth decay However, having researched the damage fluoride can do to the rest of the body, I made the decision not to have fluoride in my toothpaste and in my mouth a couple of years ago. Fluoridated toothpaste is especially dangerous for your children who tend to eat their toothpaste. Even for adults, • putting it in your mouth inevitably means that you ingest a significant amount of fluoride.
I used to regularly suffer from mouth ulcers but I have not had one since I stopped using fluoridated toothpaste. Apparently this is a known benefit of non-fluoridated toothpaste, but not widely advertised. And my teeth are as good as they ever were, despite my misspent youth when I drank too many sugary drinks!
JHNSPOTTISWOODE,

• I have been buying fluoride free toothpaste for years from Holland & Barrett in Shirley, Southampton. Mine is called Kingfisher Fennel.
DAVID HONEYCOMBE, Southampton.
• There are various non-fluoride brands of toothpaste available from Holland and Barrett in Shirley or Sunnyfields Organic farm in Jacobs Gutter Lane. I have also been told that Boots stock a brand called "Smile".
MRS PLACE, Southampton.
• All toothpaste for babies is non fluoride as is Toms of Maine and Parodontax.
MARIE BIRKETT, Southampton.