Why Fluoride is Important to Dental Health
Our bodies contain minerals essential for good health. One such mineral is fluoride, found in soil, rocks, and groundwater. You also have fluoride in your teeth, which helps keep them strong.
Maintaining healthy fluoride levels in your teeth supports better dental health. Without adequate fluoride, you’re more susceptible to cavities and serious dental complications, such as structural damage to the enamel, heightened tooth sensitivity, cavities, and tooth loss. A dental hygiene routine that promotes fluoride can prevent many emergency trips to the dentist and reduce the need for restorative treatments like root canals or implants later on.
What Is Fluoride?
Fluoride is a chemical ion of fluorine, one of the most common elements within the Earth’s surface. Many communities add fluoride to their water (a process called fluoridation) to help individuals and families prevent cavities and promote good oral health among young children.
Fluoride is present in many of the foods we eat:
- Tea
- Water and food cooked in water
- Oatmeal
- Raisins
- Potatoes
- Canned seafood and fish eaten with the bones
- Infant formula
When you consume fluoride through food or fluoridated water, or use fluoride toothpaste, this mineral enters the bloodstream, promoting healthy tooth growth and protecting your enamel.
Your neighborhood dentist can help you identify additional sources of fluoride or provide professional-grade fluoride treatments and supplements. There’s a consensus among dental and other health care providers that, at recommended levels, fluoride is both effective at strengthening teeth and safe to use.
How Does Fluoride Promote Dental Health?
Fluoride strengthens your tooth enamel, providing a natural defense against erosion and tooth decay. It also replaces minerals in the outer enamel that are lost to acid erosion, reduces cavity-causing bacteria, and makes it harder for bacteria to adhere to teeth. However, acids in the sugars you consume often attack tooth enamel, slowly wearing it away. Weakened enamel leaves the tooth’s surface vulnerable to cavities and decay.
Fortunately, through eating and drinking, we can redeposit minerals such as fluoride via remineralization. Fluoride can also become part of your saliva and help remineralize your teeth. In contrast, consuming too much sugar and other substances weakens enamel, contributing to demineralization.
Applications of Fluoride at Home
Many toothpastes and mouthwashes contain fluoride. Children and adults should always brush with fluoride toothpaste and consider using a fluoride mouth rinse as well. Your dentist can recommend a brand or prescribe a special fluoride formula.
If you have children, ask your doctor or dentist about fluoride supplement tablets. They can give young teeth a healthy start. Also, when you next see your Sharonville or Cincinnati dentist for a checkup or cleaning, ask about a fluoride treatment. If you’re at higher risk for cavities, your dental provider may recommend this option.
How Often Do You Need Fluoride Treatments?
At Beckham Square Family Dental, we can provide a fluoride treatment at your next office visit. Fluoride treatments can speed up remineralization and improve the health and strength of your teeth. They remineralize your teeth at much higher fluoride concentrations than those found in foods, tap water, toothpaste, and mouthwash.
Your dentist may offer a gel or foam that takes only a few minutes to apply. Some dentists prescribe a fluoride gel for at-home use; be sure to follow the instructions carefully for optimal results. Based on your oral health, your dentist can recommend how often you may need them, which may be every 3, 6, or 9 months.
To help build strong teeth in children, your dentist may prescribe fluoride tablets your child can chew or lozenges to suck on. Be sure your child can chew or suck on the supplement for at least a minute before swallowing.
Finding a Cincinnati Dentist for Fluoride Treatments
At Beckham Square Family Dental, we can answer your questions about fluoride and its role in your dental care. You’re welcome to visit our office to schedule an appointment today. You can also call us at 513.489.8700. We’d be happy to discuss how a fluoride treatment can improve your dental health and enhance your smile.