Fluoride, a mineral found naturally in many foods and water, helps prevent tooth decay. Fluoride reverses early cavities and remineralizes tooth enamel. While fluoride can be harmful in large quantities, toxic levels are difficult to reach due to the low amount of fluoride in over-the-counter products, such as toothpastes and mouthwashes. As mentioned before, fluoride treatments help to remineralize teeth after the demineralization process that occurs due to oral bacteria present in dental plaque.
When you consume sugary foods and drinks, bacteria feed on sugars and, in turn, produce acids that damage your teeth by stripping them of healthy minerals. Fluoride helps replace minerals that help strengthen tooth enamel, including calcium and phosphate ions. In addition, it also helps block the growth of these harmful oral bacteria. Early signs of tooth decay, such as white spots, can be reversed with the help of fluoride.
Fluoride treatments are particularly useful for people who are at higher risk of developing tooth decay. This includes people with dry mouth, diets high in carbohydrates, weak enamel, poor oral health, multiple dental restorations, and eating disorders. Another key to good oral health is fluoride, a mineral that helps prevent tooth decay and can repair teeth in the earliest microscopic stages of the disease. Fluoride repairs and prevents damage to teeth caused by bacteria in the mouth. Bacteria in the mouth produce acid when a person eats or drinks. The acid dissolves the minerals on the tooth surface, weakening the tooth and exposing it to cavities.
1.The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends fluoride treatment for all children as soon as their teeth begin to grow to prevent tooth decay, pain and future dental infections. If you have dry mouth, weak enamel, poor oral health, or if you have crowns, ask your dentist if applying a fluoride varnish would help protect your teeth. The benefits of using dental fluoride include stronger enamel and better protection against tooth decay. Fluoride varnish is a dental treatment that can help prevent tooth decay, delay it, or prevent it from worsening. Topical fluoride is applied directly to the teeth using toothpaste, mouthwashes, and treatments at the dentist's office.
Fluoride can be found in tap water in fluoride communities, in certain foods, dietary supplements, toothpastes, and other over-the-counter dental products. Fluoride treatments given by a dentist are especially good for people with a higher risk of tooth decay or erosion. For children younger than 6 years old, ask your dentist or doctor if your child should use a fluoride mouthwash. It is very difficult to reach dangerous levels of fluoride due to low levels of fluoride in over-the-counter products. According to Stanford Children's Health, children can start receiving fluoride treatments at the dentist once their first tooth comes out.
Fluoride can also reduce the amount of acid produced by bacteria that cause cavities, as well as making it harder for these bacteria to adhere to teeth. For more than 70 years, most tap water in the United States has contained small amounts of fluoride to reduce tooth decay. A little bit of fluoride can replace the minerals on the tooth surface, making the outer layer of enamel harder to dissolve.
