Is Fluoride Treatment Good For Your Teeth?
Short answer:
A fluoride treatment is excellent for tooth health. It’s a natural process that strengthens the outer layer of your teeth, preventing cavities.
But, you may be wondering:
- What does fluoride do to your teeth?
- Why is it good for your teeth?
- Is it safe?
Let us ease any concerns because we’ll answer all those questions below.
What does fluoride do to your teeth?
Fluoride is a natural mineral.
It settles on the top layer of teeth (enamel) and gets added to the tooth material. This strengthens the tooth and helps to protect against tooth decay.
Fluoride is also healthy in your saliva.
Saliva naturally washes away some food particles, and it carries minerals like calcium and phosphate to your teeth to repair them. Fluoride enhances this process.
In your teeth, it combines with calcium and phosphate to create a new compound called fluorapatite, which is extra resistant to decay.
Fluoride is useful for:
- Children: It strengthens their growing teeth by adding minerals to their structure.
- Adults: Fluoride also helps to clean away sugar and plaque from adult teeth.
- Cavities: If you struggle with frequent cavities, additional fluoride may help.
- Gum Disease: This condition sometimes exposes the tooth below the gumline, and that area may need fluoride for added protection.
- Crowns, Bridges, and/or Braces: When you have these dental or orthodontic appliances, fluoride will help protect the teeth where it is hard to brush or floss.
- Dry Mouth: Lack of saliva makes it harder to clean teeth, but fluoride aids the natural cleaning process.
Why is fluoride good for your teeth?
When this mineral is added to your tooth material, how does it help?
Well, the most common causes of tooth decay are bacteria and sugars. These create acids that break down the surface of your teeth.
Fluoride adds more minerals and new compounds to your teeth to counteract this. This makes your enamel better able to resist acid attacks.
Fluoride treatment can even reverse early tooth decay in children as their teeth are growing. The mineral becomes a part of their permanent teeth, strengthening them against acid.
Fluoride also helps adult teeth to be remineralized. This is a natural process of repairing teeth to prevent cavities from forming. Plus, it fights acid production on the teeth.
Is dental fluoride safe?
At our Beaverton dental office, Dr. da Costa uses fluoride because it is safe and healthy.
Of course, it’s understandable to be afraid of an unknown substance. And some people object to fluoride being added to city water.
But in small doses—the amounts in fluoride toothpaste, mouth rinse, gel, and city water—it strengthens your teeth and is safe for your body in general.
Here are a few safety points to keep in mind:
- Safety Studies: Several major organizations have found that fluoride in water is safe for children, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)…Open a new window to the AAP case study….
- Fluorosis: Some are concerned that too much fluoride can stain teeth. But this only happens over long time periods and high amounts.
- Safe for Babies: Fluoride in water has even been found to be safe for babies (although you should consult your pediatrician or dentist about infant care).
Everyone gets exposed to bacteria, sugars, and acids, which attack our teeth. Fluoride has been found to protect against tooth decay with minimal risk.
Get fluoride treatments in Beaverton, OR
At Harmony Dental, we value integrity, family, and health above all. We care about our patients—and only recommend fluoride because we know it will help.
Ask for a fluoride treatment during your next dental cleaning because it protects adult teeth and strengthens growing young teeth.
Or:
- Call us at 503-639-6900
- Email us at info@harmonydentalbeaverton.com
Harmony Dental is conveniently located in Beaverton, OR…Click to get directions in a new window on Google Maps…. We happily welcome patients from neighboring communities, including Tigard, Aloha, Portland, Cedar Hills, Lake Oswego, Raleigh Hills, Sherwood, Garden Home-Whitford, Tualatin, and West Slope.
