Brushing, flossing, and regular dental checkups are necessary to keep your teeth and gums healthy. However, another part of a complete oral care regimen is taking advantage of fluoride’s benefits. Consuming fluoridated water, foods, and beverages, using fluoridated toothpaste and mouthwash, and professional topical fluoride application can help you keep a disease-free and bright smile throughout your life.
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What is Fluoride?
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in seawater, freshwater, rocks, soil, and plants. It can also be made in a laboratory to produce compounds added to drinking water, foods, and beverages. Some medicines contain fluoride as well as many dental products, such as toothpaste, mouthwash, and dental filling materials.
How Does Fluoride Help Teeth?
Although the benefits of fluoride to teeth seem magical, there is science behind the cavity-fighting action of fluoridated toothpaste and drinking water. However, it is important to understand that fluoride is an example of “more is not better.” Never overdo fluoride intake thinking you will reap added benefits. Too much fluoride can be toxic.
Understanding how fluoride helps teeth requires knowing something about tooth decay. When sugars and starches from food and beverages you consume remain on your teeth too long, a film forms over your teeth. Bacteria present in your saliva feeds on this sugary film and produce acids that dissolve enamel.
Fluoride can help prevent tooth decay in three ways:
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Fluoride strengthens developing teeth. Children with developing teeth benefit the most from fluoridated drinking water. The fluoride combines with a mineral found in enamel to change its structure and make it stronger and more resistant to the acids formed by bacteria.
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Fluoride inhibits bacteria from forming acids. After teeth erupt in the mouth, fluoride helps prevent tooth decay by a complex antibacterial effect.
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Fluoride helps re-mineralize minor tooth cavities. Tooth decay demineralizes the hard tooth enamel to soften the tooth. Fluoride effectively prevents cavities by promoting re-mineralization of cavities when they begin.
Is Fluoride Safe?
With its many benefits, fluoride has not been without controversy in its use. As soon as communities began adding fluoride to drinking water, opponents started raising objections. These ranged from fluoride being a Communist plot to poison America to it being a ploy by the sugar industry to sell more cookies and candy without causing harm to children’s teeth.
Fluoride opponents claim that it causes various diseases and poses a significant health risk. They lack scientific evidence to support their claims. Still, their scare tactics can create reluctance to consume fluoridated water and dental products. Science has overwhelmingly proven that fluoride effectively prevents the most common disease in the world, dental caries. Since healthy teeth are critical to maintaining optimal health, fluoride has a significant impact on public health. It has been considered safe by experts such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the American Dental Association.
Do I Need Fluoride Supplements?
Most Americans have access to fluoridated drinking water. Many foods such as spinach, tea, grapes, and potatoes also contain fluoride. Dentists do not recommend prescription fluoride supplements for those drinking fluoridated water. If you have concerns about consuming too little or too much fluoride, talk with your dentist.
Can Fluoride Discolor Teeth?
Consuming excess fluoride while teeth are developing before age eight can cause a condition known as dental fluorosis. This makes supervision of children when brushing their teeth especially important to prevent brushing too long, using too much toothpaste, or swallowing toothpaste. Dental fluorosis is rare and causes yellow, brown, or white stains on teeth.
Book Appointment
If you have questions about your fluoride consumption or want to learn more about preventing tooth decay for a bright smile, call Trident General Dentistry today and make an appointment for a consultation.