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Parents and carers have been quick to share their reactions after a dentist known for his ITV appearances shared a warning live on television. Dr Milad Shadrooh joined This Morning hosts Cat
Deeley and Ben Shephard in the studio on Wednesday. The three discussed "a new wave of unique toothpaste flavours rising in popularity" among parents who buy them for their
children. But Dr Milad shared a negative consequence of giving kids toothpaste that tastes "like sweets" with Ben and Cat. Dr Milad 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." The expert went on
to say that consuming a lot of fluoride, especially when the "adult teeth are forming", can disrupt the formation of teeth and lead to problems further down the line. He
continued: "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." > Dr Milad continued:
"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."
Ben suggested, however, that a toothpaste children would be more inclined to use must be of some benefit. The dentist replied that using a sweet-flavoured toothpaste is definitely better
than nothing at all, but suggested having a plan to "wean them off" the toothpaste. He said: "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 explained that he used to teach his children to brush their teeth in the bath, as they were cleaning the
rest of their body at the time, and could "spit as much as they want with no mess". He added: "Also, they can't run away!" After a clip of the discussion was shared
on the This Morning Instagram page, many parents have shared their comments. One wrote: "I had no idea they're not supposed to swallow it" and a second said: "Didn’t
even know you shouldn’t swallow it! My son is 4 [facepalm emoji]". 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".