I believe you are referring to "Prevident 5000 Plus" toothpaste.  Is it
safe?  Of course it is.  Use it as a regular toothpaste.  Just don't swallow
it.  In Canada, it is available without a prescription.  I routinely
recommend this toothpaste to adult patients who have cavities that are
occurring at a higher rate than I would expect.

John

The only difference between prescription and OTC toothpaste is an
elevated Fluoride level.  OTC toothpaste is limited in the total
amount of Fluoride...so that if your child were to ingest the entire
tube, they wouldn't achieve a toxic dose (estimated to be 36mg/kg).
The treatment for Fluoride poisoning is vomiting, which is also a side
effect of Fluoride.

Prevident 5000 has an elevated level of Fluoride to increase the
strength and caries resistance of your teeth.  It is still unlikely
that a child would be able to ingest the entire tube of Prevident and
achieve a toxic dose.

Most toothpastes have 1000 ppm of Fluoride, which is 0.1%.  Prevident
has 5000 ppm of fluoride, which is 0.5%.
Prevident 5000 comes in 51g tubes...0.5% of 51g is 255mg of Fluoride
in the entire tube.

A 15lb child (255mg / 36mg/kg = 7kg = 15lb) might achieve a toxic
dose...but would more likely vomit before achieving this level.

This is why dentists recommend preventing your child from eating your
prescription toothpaste but don't worry about adults.

New York - February 10, 2005  -- "The combination of gastric
problems, difficulty in swallowing, leg muscle pain, and pain in the
knee and hip joints is a key indicator of fluoride toxicity, and
patients using high-concentration home fluoride treatments should be
monitored for these symptoms," is reported in the January 2005
Journal of the American Dental Association. (1)

After ruling out other causes, a physician theorized his mouth-cancer
patient's unrelated ailments were caused by his dentist-prescribed
high-dose daily fluoride regimen. The dentist contacted the American
Dental Association's (ADA) research center which confirmed fluoride
toxicity, reports the study's authors, F.C. Eichmiller, DDS,
Director, American Dental Association Foundation's Paffenbarger
Research Center and colleagues

"The patient visited his physician with complaints of gastric
distress, dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing when eating or drinking,
soreness of the leg muscles and knee joints, and general malaise,"
Eichmiller and colleagues write.

Tests by the physician showed thickening of the esophagus walls and
other irregularities  of this muscular tube that carries food from the
mouth to the stomach. "Many of these symptoms might have been
considered normal sequelae of the head-and-neck cancer treatment if
not
for the latent onset of joint and muscle pains," they report.

Eichmiller's team monitored the patient's urinary fluoride levels
while fluoride treatments were lowered until his symptoms disappeared.
When fluoride treatments were stopped completely and brushing just
once
a day with fluoridated toothpaste, this patient's symptoms
disappeared without any increase in tooth decay, the researchers
report.

Eichmiller's team advises dentists that "When prescribing fluoride
for compromised patients, clinicians should keep in mind both the
dosage and method of administration. Lack of saliva could lead to less
dilution of the gel or dentifrice, less ability to expectorate
efficiently, longer retention in the mouth and a greater proportion of
ingested material. Patients also may apply too much fluoride or use it
too often in an effort to prevent the development of caries. In
addition, the symptoms of fluoride toxicity can be fairly subtle and
easily masked by other local and systemic problems in these
patients," they write.

Clinicians who prescribe these high-concentration fluoride products
even to non-cancer patients "must closely monitor the patient's
compliance with the treatment regimen, minimize the dosage by using
well-fitting custom trays and small quantities of gel or dentifrice,
instruct patients to expectorate as much fluoride as possible and
advise them to promptly report any gastric problems or joint and
muscle
pain," the researchers write.

Recently a woman's bone pain and stiffness was diagnosed as fluoride
toxicity from drinking two gallons daily of instant tea.(2)  Tea is
naturally fluoridated.

The cancer patient in this article was prescribed a 2% fluoride
treatment (possibly containing 12,300 ppm fluoride) He was instructed
to put 1 milliliter to 2mL of the gel into each of two custom-made
trays, apply for three minutes, then expectorate the excess and to
avoid rinsing or drinking for 30 minutes after removal of trays.
However, the patient did it twice a day for four months before he was
diagnosed with fluoride toxicity.

Fluoridated toothpaste contains 1,000 ppm and artificially fluoridated
water has approximately 1 ppm.

Painful and sometimes crippling skeletal fluorosis is common in
countries where water and/or food supplies contain naturally high
levels of fluoride such as in Nalgonda, India.(3a, 3b)

"Since so many dentists and physicians still need to be taught
fluoride's side effects, we wonder how many arthritic patients really
are manifesting fluoride toxicity," says Paul Beeber, President, New
York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation. "Drinking fluoridated
water will exacerbate their disease since fluoride accumulates in the
bones even at the low levels injected into our water supplies."

References:

(1)   Journal of the American Dental Association, "Controlling the
fluoride dosage in a patient with compromised salivary function,"
Frederick C. Eichmiller, D.D.S.; Naomi Eidelman, Ph.D.; Clifton M.
Carey, PhD., Vol. 136, page 67 -70, January 2005

(2)               "Potentially Harmful Fluoride Levels Found In Some
Instant Teas," 2/9/05 Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050205124905.htm

(3a) http://www.nalgonda.org/flourosis.php

(3b) "Indian villagers crippled by fluoride," April 2003, BBC
article: http://www.nalgonda.org/BBC.htm

Reported by the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

       New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc

       PO Box 263

       Old Bethpage, NY  11803

       http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

www.FluorideAction.Net

My brush tale is one of fluoride. I quit fluoride and switched to
baking soda about a year ago. Went in a couple weeks after the
switch, for my hygentist apointment. The hygenist said I had good
color, great bone density, and nearly no plaque or tartar. Gave
me excellent reviews for dental home care.

When I told her that I'd gone off fluoride and gone to baking
soda, she and the dentist both tried to convince me to go back to
the high fluoride prescription paste that he kept writing for me.

Since that time, I've delayed a dental cleaning (why bother?) and
havn't had any cavities. I used to have about one cavity per
checkup.

Anyone wish to submit a wild guess why they both wanted me to go
back to fluoride when fluoride appears to give me white teeth,
bad bone density, lots of tartar, plenty of plaque, and cavities
every visit?

Your answer, friend, is: HELL NO!!!!