Dentist Edmond: Why Fluoride is great for the teeth

Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in many foods and some sources of water, and Dentist Edmond recommends it’s daily usage. In the use of your teeth, you lose minerals every day from your tooth’s enamel layer through demineralization. Over the course of eating and drinking, throughout your day you gain minerals back, a process called remineralization. Demineralization happens when your teeth are exposed to acids, these acids are formed when the plaque bacteria and sugars in the food you eat end up in your mouth. Remineralization occurs when fluoride, calcium, and phosphates are redeposited into the enamel layer from the foods that we eat and water we drink. When you have too many minerals leaving your teeth and not enough of those minerals being deposited back into the enamel layer you end up with tooth decay.

Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay by strengthening the tooth enamel against the acids produced by the plaque bacteria and the sugars they consume. Fluoride usage can also help repair early decay in the enamel layer. Dentist Edmond recommends that in children under the age of six fluoride be incorporated into the child’s dental routine as fluoride is used in the development of permanent teeth. The stronger these young teeth are they better suited they are to ward off the acids that accompany a lot of sugary food that are targeted at children.

Dentist Edmond: Where can you get Fluoride and in what forms are they available?

As mentioned above Fluoride is present in many foods and most public water in the United States. If you need something more direct fluoride toothpaste can be used each time your brush. There are also fluoride mouth rinses, though these options are a lower strength when you get them over the counter at a drug store.