What is Fluoride & Fluoride Treatment?

Fluoride is a fundamental mental occurring naturally and helps build strong enamel to prevent cavities. Tap water in America has contained fluoride for over seven decades to reduce tooth decay. That fluoride has successfully reduced tooth decay by 25 percent is confirmed by the centers for disease control and prevention.

Fluoride treatments are offered in-office and deliver significant benefits to protect teeth. These treatments benefit people at risk of tooth decay but might not suit everyone.

This article looks at the benefits, process, and side effects of fluoride treatment. We also look at treatment recommendations made by the ADA. Kindly continue reading to learn more about fluoride treatment.

The Process of Fluoride Treatment

Fluoride treatments delivered by our dentist in Spring, TX, involve the following:

  • The dentist provides high-concentration fluoride applied to the teeth to prevent cavities.
  • In-office treatments are applied by a brush and available in the form of solutions, gel, varnish, or foam.
  • The fluoride in dentist’s treatments is similar to fluoride in toothpaste. However, the therapy contains higher doses to deliver instant benefits.
  • The treatment is painless and comfortable and merely requires you to refrain from eating or drinking anything for 30 minutes after receiving the therapy.

Benefits of Fluoride Treatments

Fluoride treatment offers many benefits to your teeth. They are:

  • Fluoride helps your body use minerals like calcium and phosphate better by allowing the teeth to reabsorb them to repair weakened tooth enamel.
  • Fluoride joins into the tooth structure in developing teeth strengthening the enamel and making them more robust to battle against mouth bacteria and cavities for life.
  • It slows or reverses the emergence of cavities by harming mouth bacteria causing them.

When combined, the benefits help in:

  • Reducing the risk of cavities and slowing their growth.
  • Delaying the need for expensive dental work.
  • Extending the life of baby teeth.
  • Reducing the time and money, you spend with dentists to receive treatments for tooth decay and cavities.

When you prevent cavities or slow their growth by receiving fluoride treatment, you help prevent gum disease, and reduce tooth pain, and premature loss of teeth.

Fluoride treatments improve your overall health which the WHO states are a significant predictor of your overall health. Poor dental health results in various health issues, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, osteoporosis, et cetera.

Fluoride Side Effects

As is there won’t concern about fluoride treatment in high doses are expressed by health advocates who dispute that fluoride is unsafe for children and that fluoridated water is also dangerous. However, these so-called experts are merely proponents of myths claiming fluoride treatments or fluoridated water is harmful.

  • The most common side effect of fluoride is tooth discoloration causing white streaks or other discoloration. Fluorosis, as it is called, is a condition that occurs when children ingest too much fluoride while their teeth are in the developmental stages. Children can develop fluorosis from birth until eight.
  • Allergies or irritation are also expressed by some people occasionally. Fluoride can assume toxic proportions if misapplied in high doses. It is why the American Dental Association recommends using professional fluoride varnish on children under six. Fluoride varnish is recommended for young children because they tend to swallow foams or gels to become vulnerable to nausea and vomiting.

Fluoride Therapy Recommendations

The ADA and the CDC suggest regular exposure to tiny amounts of fluoride every day as best to reduce the risk of cavities for all ages. Most people find drinking tap water in America containing optimal levels of fluoride, and brushing teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice daily proves beneficial. In addition, children and adults at risk of tooth decay and cavities benefit better by receiving in-office fluoride treatments from the dentist because it provides additional benefits.

The safety of fluoride treatments remains undisputed for most people. Even if side effects are mentioned, they are usually minimal compared to the benefits. Any harm is likely to come from ingesting high quantities of fluoride. However, this information in no way indicates fluoride is safe for everyone at all times. Therefore people at risk of tooth decay or cavities must discuss their concerns when requesting professional fluoride treatments from dentists.

Get Fluoride Treatment Near You

If you are at risk of cavities and concerned about in-office fluoride treatment in Spring, TX, you can benefit by scheduling an appointment to discuss this therapy with us at Spring Creek Family Dental to benefit from the treatment. Kindly schedule your meeting today with the practice to receive this comfortable and affordable treatment that helps strengthen tooth enamel and cavities.