Fluoride Treatment: Keeping Smiles Bright and Beautiful for Generations!
Fluoride is one of the best and safest ways of preventing dental decay. For years, communities in the United States have been adding fluoride to public water supply in efforts to fight tooth decay and cavities.
Understanding Fluoride
When food particles are left in your oral cavity for a long due to poor oral hygiene, the bacteria responsible for decay break down the sugar in the food-producing acids. The acids produced erode the minerals found at the outer teeth surface, the enamel. As more acid is produced, more damage occurs to the dental enamel, weakening the teeth structure that eventually develops a hole or cavity.
Fluoride treatment at our pediatric dental office in Roanoke helps fight off tooth decay and cavities in three main ways:
- Fluoride disrupts the ability of the bacteria to make the corrosive acid
- It strengthens teeth enamel making it resistant to cavities
- Fluoride mineral stops early dental decay by facilitating remineralization of the enamel
The Benefits of Fluoride Treatment
Although fluoride treatments at Kids First Dental – Roanoke is mostly recommended for children, adults can also benefit from fluoride usage. Here are four key benefits you are likely to get from fluoride treatments.
- Protection against tooth decay and cavities
There are oral bacteria in everyone’s oral cavity. When you consume starches and sugars, these bacteria feed on the remains stuck behind teeth crevices, producing acids that erode down teeth enamel. This is harmful to your dental health, and when the problem is not addressed on time with fluoride, decay kicks in.
Using fluorinated toothpaste and getting regular fluoride treatments will decrease the risk of experiencing tooth decay.
- Tooth enamel remineralization
The acid that causes dental decay and cavities does so by weakening and breaking your teeth’ enamel. It also disrupts your teeth’ structure by destroying phosphorus and calcium minerals that are important for you to have healthy teeth.
Fluoride treatment will help reverse the damage sustained on your teeth by adding the vital minerals back, a process called remineralization.
- Prevention against sensitive teeth
When the dental enamel wears down due to the natural aging process or tooth decay, the dentin, which is the beneath the enamel, gets exposed. Additionally, receding gums can also expose dentin. When the dentin is not protected adequately by the enamel, it leaves the nerves of your teeth exposed. This results in extreme teeth sensitivity, where teeth become sensitive to sugar, hot/cold drinks, pressure changes, and temperature changes.
Luckily, fluoride treatments from a pediatric dentist near you can repair, strengthen, and remineralize your child’s dental enamel. Fluoride has proved to be highly effective in treating tooth sensitivity.
- Reduces the overall teeth care costs in the future
Incorporating fluoride use in your dental hygiene routine safeguards your teeth against cavities. Treating a tooth with a cavity may require procedures such as getting a dental filling or a root canal, which are more costly.
Fluoride Treatment Options
A professional fluoride treatment in Roanoke, VA, is available in solution, varnish, foam, or gel form. You can also get fluoride from toothpaste, mouthwashes, and fluoride supplements.
Incorporating Fluoride into Daily Oral Care
For stronger teeth and healthier gums, dentists recommend incorporating fluoride into your dental care routine. Here are ways to include fluoride in your day-to-day oral care practices:
- Brushing teeth with approved fluoride toothpaste
Although there are toothpaste brands without fluoride available in the market, dental experts always recommend picking one that contains it. Fluoride-free toothpaste is best for the oral routines of children below two years. In kids under six years of age, our pediatric dentist in Roanoke recommends using a pea-sized toothpaste amount should be used, and they need supervision when brushing to make sure they don’t swallow any.
- Going for fluoride treatment at the dentist’s office
When going for your oral checkup appointment, you can have a talk with our dentist in 24018 regarding your risk for cavities to determine how beneficial fluoride treatment would be to you. There are various forms of fluoride treatments available at the dentist that can offer extra protection for your teeth if you have a high risk of developing cavities.
- Swishing with mouthwash containing fluoride
Rinsing with a mouthwash product that contains fluoride can help to rinse away food particles left behind and re-harden the soft spots on the dental enamel.