Everything You Need to Know about Fluoride Treatment
The mineral fluoride occurs naturally and helps build strong teeth to prevent cavities. For over seven decades, most tap water in America has contained trace amounts of fluoride as a preventive measure against tooth decay. The CDC confirms that fluoride in water has reduced tooth decay by approximately 25 percent.
Fluoride treatments from the dentist in Raritan, NJ, provide even more significant benefits to protecting teeth. The treatments are beneficial for people at risk of tooth decay but might not be suitable for everyone.
This article looks at the benefits and side effects of fluoride treatment, providing information on why it is an essential requirement.
What Is Fluoride Treatment?
Fluoride treatments are generally in-office professional treatments containing high concentrations of fluoride applied by a dentist or dental hygienist. The fluoride application to your teeth improves dental health while reducing the risk of cavities.
You can also find some high concentration fluoride treatments for use at home. However, you must do so only under the specific guidance of a dentist.
The fluoride dentists use during in-office treatments is similar to the fluoride in toothpaste. However, the dosage of fluoride is higher in the treatments to provide immediate benefits.
Benefits of Fluoride Treatment
A fluoride treatment in Raritan, NJ, provides several benefits to your teeth.
The treatment helps your body use minerals such as calcium and phosphate better because the teeth absorb these elements to repair weak tooth enamel. The treatment joins into the tooth structure among developing teeth strengthening the enamel, and making them invulnerable to bacteria and cavities forever. Fluoride treatments slow or reverse the development of cavities by harming the microorganisms that cause them.
When the benefits of fluoride treatment are combined, they reduce the risk of cavities and slow their growth, delay the requirement for expensive dental work, prolong the life of baby teeth and reduce the time and money you have to spend at the dentist.
When you prevent cavities and slow the growth of bacteria by getting fluoride treatments, you also prevent gum disease, reduce tooth pain and prevent premature tooth loss.
Fluoride treatments improve oral health, which as per the WHO, is a significant predictor of overall health. Poor oral health causes a range of other medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, respiratory infections, and cancer.
Side Effects of Fluoride Treatment
Some concerns have been raised by natural health advocates about fluoride at high doses. Arguments have also been put forth that fluoride is unsafe for children and even fluoridated water might be dangerous. However, it is a myth that fluoride treatments and fluoridated water state that it causes widespread harm, although some people may experience minor side effects.
The most familiar side effect of fluoride in tooth discoloration.
The condition fluorosis causes white streaks or other stains on the teeth. Fluorosis occurs when a child ingests excessive fluoride while their baby and permanent teeth are developing under the gums. Children can develop fluorosis from infancy until eight years.
Tooth discoloration is familiar among young children consuming too much fluoride from fluoride supplements or swallowing toothpaste.
Guidelines have been set by the United States Public health service for the amount of fluoride community drinking water should contain to prevent tooth decay and minimize the risk of dental fluorosis. The recommended level currently stands at 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water.
Experts have recommended that even children too young to spit toothpaste themselves should use fluoride toothpaste. The American Academy of pediatric dentistry suggests parents and caregivers use a minuscule amount of fluoride toothpaste on children’s first tooth as it erupts. The use protects the child’s teeth from cavities without putting them at risk of fluorosis even when the child accidentally swallows the toothpaste.
Fluoride Treatment Recommendations
Frequent exposure to tiny amounts of fluoride every day is optimal for reducing the risk of cavities for all ages, states the CDC and the ADA. For most people, the suggestion entails drinking tap water with optimal fluoride levels and brushing their teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. In addition, children and adults at higher risk of tooth decay derive extra benefits from fluoride treatments available from dentists.
If you are at a moderate to high risk of developing tooth decay, you benefit from professional fluoride treatment. You must get fluoride treatments at least twice a year as recommended by experts if you are at a higher risk of tooth decay.
Fluoride treatments are safe for adults and children. Therefore you help yourself by overlooking the side effects of fluoride treatments and getting the therapy from Stunning Smiles of Somerset if you are susceptible to this condition.