Fluoride Toothpaste

Fluoride Toothpaste

Since childhood, we are advised to use fluoride products to maintain oral health. The mineral fluoride has long been hailed as a way to keep teeth healthy and strong. Be it toothpaste, mouth rinse, or gels fluoride in these products is crucial for proper growth and maintenance of teeth. Use of fluoride is especially recommended to treat and prevent tooth decay. It may help arrest and even reverse dental decay. So, how does fluoride help to protect your pearly whites from decay?

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral. Its use has been instrumental in the dramatic drop in tooth decay and cavity occurrence that has taken place over the past 50 years. Bacteria in your mouth feed on sugars and starches that remain on your teeth after eating. Fluoride helps protect your teeth from the acid that is released when this happens. It does this in two ways. First, fluoride makes your tooth enamel stronger and less likely to suffer acid damage. Second, it can reverse the early stages of acid damage by remineralizing areas that have started to decay.

Using fluoride toothpaste is an important way to ensure that your teeth are reaping the benefits of this dental-friendly mineral. Don't think you can skip fluoride if you live in an area where the water is fluoridated. Studies have shown that using fluoride toothpaste helps increase the concentration of fluoride in the teeth, even in areas with water supplies containing high levels of the mineral.

Fluoride toothpaste is more effective against tooth decay, tooth cavities and fights plague. We will show you how this fluoride helps to wipe out tooth problems. Actually these fluorides are formed from rock, soil, air and vegetation; it's an abundant in earth's crust. It is a natural product. Generally, fluoride toothpaste contains 95% of fluoride in the form of Sodium Fluoride, Stannous Fluoride, Sodium Monofluorophosphate or Amine Fluoride. Nowadays, dentist's refer fluoride toothpaste for some particular reason to a cavity in tooth, to remove plaque surface, and if tooth is very acidic, etc. It should be used when it is needed because it has many harmful effects to our body if taken excessively. So, we must use it when it is required under the guidance of a dentist.

Fluoride toothpaste is simply any toothpaste that contains fluoride as an active ingredient. Toothpaste, also referred to as a dentifrice, is used to clean teeth and remove plaque to prevent buildup, which can lead to cavities. When fluoride is included in toothpaste, it has been shown to strengthen teeth and better protect against plaque buildup and cavities. Fluoride became a common addition to toothpaste in the 1950s.

Fortunately, fluoride toothpaste is the most common toothpaste available. Almost all toothpaste sold in stores includes fluoride as one of its active ingredients. Other ingredients such as baking soda or peroxide may be included for whitening purposes, and toothpaste also generally includes gentle abrasive ingredients to polish the teeth and help to remove plaque.

Some people became concerned about the potential dangers of fluoride toothpaste after warnings were printed on the tubes. These generally specify that if more than the amount used for brushing is swallowed, that one should contact a poison control center. In addition, the warnings state that children should only use a very small amount, and should be supervised while brushing until they are capable of spitting out the toothpaste instead of swallowing it.

Fluoride can be harmful if swallowed, so it is important to supervise children to make sure they are using an appropriate pea-sized amount of toothpaste; children tend to use way too much, particularly when using a toothpaste with a kid-friendly flavor, such as bubblegum. It is typically difficult for a child to ingest a large amount of toothpaste, however, because it would cause vomiting. When used as intended, fluoride toothpaste is generally considered to be safe and effective at cleaning teeth and preventing tooth decay. Fluoride toothpaste alone is not enough to care for the teeth, however.

The teeth should be brushed at least two times a day with a soft-bristled brush, three times if possible. The teeth should be brushed in a circular motion, both front and back and up along the gumline. The mouth should be rinsed with water after every meal. It is also important to floss daily, to remove plaque that builds up between teeth and along the gumline. Some people choose to use mouthwash and tongue scrapers as well to get a particularly clean-feeling mouth. In addition, it is important to visit a dentist every six months for a full cleaning and a check for cavities. When used as part of a complete program of oral hygiene care, fluoride toothpaste is an excellent way to keep the teeth healthy and clean.

How does fluoride protect teeth?
Fluoride disrupts the process of tooth decay by:
• Changing the structure of developing enamel, making it more resistant to acid attack – these structural changes occur if a child consumes fluoride during the period when enamel develops (mainly up to seven years of age)
• Encouraging better quality enamel to form that's more resistant to acid attack
• Reducing plaque bacteria’s ability to produce acid, which is the cause of tooth decay

How Fluoride is Helpful in Keeping Tooth Decay
1. Promotes Tooth Remineralization
Dental remineralization is one of the most important benefits of fluoride therapy. Remineralization involves restoring normal mineral balance in a tooth. As we all know, tooth decay is often the result of the gradual mineral loss in a tooth. Also known as demineralization, it strips the tooth of its mineral content, which often occurs due to poor oral hygiene. However, fluoride therapy helps to restore the normal mineral levels of the affected tooth, which may lead to reverse tooth decay.

Fluoride does an excellent job of drawing minerals to facilitate the remineralization process. So, when fluoride from saliva gets deposited on the affected enamel (the visible hard, white substance that makes up the outer covering of a tooth), it draws more minerals, especially calcium, to the demineralized site. It boosts the concentration of calcium at plaque-affected sites. To put it simply, fluoride sets the stage for the return of the lost mineral content of the enamel. It helps to correct the damaged part of the enamel. Thus, minerals 'making a comeback' contribute in reversing the demineralized state of a tooth. So, one can say that fluoride, with its capability to attract minerals, induces remineralization, which helps to treat and prevent tooth decay.

2. Promotes Decay-resistant Teeth
The remineralization process tends to make teeth decayproof. A tooth is primarily made up of hydroxyapatite, a crystalline calcium phosphate. However, after remineralization, a tooth becomes tougher due to the presence of acid-resistant fluorapatite. Fluorapatite, in comparison to hydroxyapatite, is much better in combating tooth decay. Thus, the rebuilt tooth post-mineralization is stronger and more resistant to tooth decay.

3. Restricts Formation of Acid Waste
The bacteria in our oral cavity thrive on food that are high in sugar content. These bacteria produce acid waste, which is known to damage the enamel and cause tooth decay. Fluoride not only restricts bacterial growth but also hinders these microorganisms from using sugar properly, thus resulting in the decreased production of acid waste. All this contributes in reducing the risk of tooth decay.

4. Makes Bacteria Less Sticky
In the presence of fluoride, the bacteria find it difficult to stick to tooth surfaces as found out by German scientists. The research published in Langmuir, a scientific journal, involved usage of artificial teeth to study the impact of fluoride. The study found that fluoride compounds interfere with the ability of bacteria to cling to tooth enamel. Thus, fluoride combats bacteria by restricting their ability to adhere to the surface of teeth. This also helps in decreasing the rate of tooth decay.

Fluoride toothpaste for children
Because young infants and children under age 2 years can swallow most, if not all, of the toothpaste when brushing, there has been concern that the use of fluoride toothpaste containing 1,000-1,500 ppm F could give rise to enamel fluorosis of the front permanent incisors. Enamel fluorosis is a condition which can vary from minor white spots to unsightly yellow/ brown discolouration of the enamel due to excessive intake of fluoride. In response to the concern over enamel fluorosis, some manufacturers now market low fluoride "children's" or "paediatric" toothpastes containing less than 600 ppm fluoride. The effectiveness of these low fluoride 'children's' or 'padeiatric' toothpstes in preventing caries has not been established. What has been shown by a number of systematic reviews is that toothpastes with a low fluoride concentration of 250ppm F are less effective than toothpastes with the standard 1,000-1,500 ppm F at preventing caries in permanent teeth.

How fluoride toothpaste helps in tooth care:

Fluoride gives multi-care to the teeth, so dentist's refer fluoride toothpaste for many reasons. But it is used in a specific tooth problem.
1. Fluoride helps in keeping teeth more resistant against tooth decay. Hence, keep teeth fine.

2. It helps in avoiding teeth weakening. It makes gums strong and prevents the tooth loosening.

3. It helps in fighting against the acid attack too, as acid can cause teeth cavity.

4. Fluoride helps in reduction of the bacteria that causes tooth decay, because these bacteria help in producing plagues.

5. It is used in cleaning the acid or plaque layer on the teeth surfaces

6. It also helps in producing the mineral that helps the tooth surface stronger to minimize tooth decay and cavities.

7. It also helps in decreasing tooth sensitivity.

Hence, these are some of the good effects of fluoride, fluoride fights against many tooth problems like tooth decay, tooth ache, loosening of, etc. But it is strictly cautioned that it should be taken under the physicians direction otherwise it will result in health hazards.

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