Fluoride
What is fluoride, its benefits and is it safe?
Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in many foods and water that helps prevent tooth decay. Tooth decay is one of the most common health problems affecting children and adults. Fluoride reverses early decay and remineralises your tooth enamel.
What does fluoride do?
Every day, your enamel (the protective outer layer of your tooth) gains and loses minerals. You lose minerals when acids formed from bacteria, plaque, and sugars in your mouth attack your enamel (this process is demineralisation). You gain minerals like fluoride, calcium, and phosphate when you consume food and water that contain these minerals (this is called remineralisation).
Tooth decay is a result of too much demineralisation and not enough remineralisation.
Dental fluoride helps prevent tooth decay by making your enamel more resistant to acid attacks. It also reverses early decay.
Benefits – Strong teeth
Fluoride benefits children and adults throughout their lives. For children younger than 8, fluoride helps strengthen the adult (permanent) teeth that are developing under the gums. For adults drinking water supports tooth enamel keeping teeth strong and healthy. The benefits of fluoride are: –
- Fewer cavities
- Less severe cavities
- Less need for fillings and removing teeth.
- Less pain and suffering because of tooth decay.
Fluoride cannot remove decay but while creating a stronger outer surface to your teeth. It can help stop the decay from penetrating into the deeper parts of the teeth.
The dental clinical team can provide professional fluoride treatments in the form of a highly concentrated gel/varnish. The treatment may be applied with a swab, brush, tray, or mouthwash.
These treatments have much more fluoride than what’s in your water or toothpaste. They only take a few minutes to apply. You may be asked to avoid eating or drinking for 30 minutes after the treatment so the fluoride can fully absorb.
Is Fluoride safe?
Like any medication, too much fluoride can cause negative complications. You can get too much fluoride by accidentally overdosing or being prescribed a dose that is too high. Fluoride poisoning is very rare today.
Possible side effects of excessive fluoride intake include:
- White specks on mature teeth,
- Staining and pitting on teeth,
- Problems with bone homeostasis
