How to Improve Your Dental Health with Fluoride
♫ Wednesday, March 30th, 2011Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in drinking water and many foods. Dental research scientists and dentists throughout the world over have acknowledged the dental health benefits of fluoride for many years.
Most people have the misconception the quantity of fluoride they receive in tap water and toothpaste is sufficient. This is not always the case and fluoride therapy may be the solution to a wide assortment of dental health conditions.
Many people are predisposed to getting recurring or secondary decay around existing fillings. Properly applied fluoride can prevent dental decay by forming a more acid-resistant exterior layer and may even reverse early forming dental cavities.
Much research in dental science have shown that just applying fluoride into a city’s supply of drinking water can decrease its population’s incidence of dental decay by fifty percent. Starting by the age of six years old, your dentist ought be implementing a strategy to reduce dental tooth decay that includes regular dental checkups, appropriate use of fluoride, dental sealants, along with educating on good brushing and flossing practices.
Fluoride also aids with inhibiting bleeding and tender gums in early gum disease, thereby helping to manage the disorder in the early stages. Fluoride can also help stop re-infection and sustain ongoing treatments in cases of advanced gum disease.
Fluoride varnishes from a dentist is recommended in the handling of dental tooth sensitivity, usually due to gum recession, and have the extra advantage of providing extra protection from dental decay. A dentist uses the fluoride varnish on exposed surface of the tooth root. Fluoride works by blocking the nerve endings on the surfaces of exposed roots, thereby alleviating the sensitivity in these regions.
For those individuals with dentures or dental implants, fluoride can play a vital role in preventing early implant surgery failure by averting the build up of plaque, and in treating bad breath and as well as inflammation from dentures.
Fluoride is not without problems. Too much fluoride ingestion by young children in the form of toothpaste can result in a condition called, dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis is the discoloration and, in severe situations, the pitting of the permanent teeth. Dental fluorosis usually manifests as a mild or very mild mottling of teeth when excessive levels of fluoride have been ingested while adult tooth enamel is forming.
