Fluoride

Over the years since its use, fluoride has proven to be one the greatest advances in preventing the formation of cavities.  This is why the American Dental Association recommends that families use a fluoride toothpaste as part of their home hygiene care.

Fluoride benefits your oral health in three important ways:

1.  Fluoride promotes tooth “remineralization”.  The enamel or hard outer surface of our teeth is made up of 95% minerals.  Dental enamel is the hardest material in the human body.  The only thing that can really harm this hard mineral enamel is acid, the kind of acid made by bacteria when they eat the sugars in our diet.  This acid can begin to dissolve the mineral enamel of our teeth.  After awhile, enough of the enamel is demineralized or dissolved that a cavity or hole is formed allowing the acids and bacteria to start rotting the softer inner dentin of the tooth.

Fluoride in the saliva, from fluoride toothpaste, absorbs into the surface of the enamel where the enamel minerals have started to dissolve.  This fluoride then attracts other minerals, such as calcium, and remineralizes the enamel, repairing the damage done by bacteria acids. 

2.  Fluoride can make teeth more resistant to tooth decay.  The new mineral that is created by the remineralization process with fluoride is actually harder than the original mineral when the enamel was formed.  This harder mineral enamel surface is more resistant to the acids created by bacteria.

3.  Fluoride can slow the bacteria’s ability to create acids.  Fluoride also helps fight tooth decay by interrupting and slowing down the bacteria’s ability to metabolize or use the sugars it eats.  The less sugar the bacteria eats, the less acid waste it makes.

This is why to help fight tooth decay we recommend that our patients brush their teeth at least twice a day – after each meal if possible – with a fluoride toothpaste to make their teeth stronger and more resistant to tooth decay.  This is also why we recommend that they limit the sugary foods and drinks which also feed the bacteria living in and around the teeth.