Why Is Fluoride Important

How Important Is Fluoride In Your Oral Health?

Any dentist will tell you that fluoride can help your teeth remain healthy, but as a patient, you may not understand how it works. In fact, you may not be doing enough to make sure you’re getting the amount of fluoride you need to help your teeth remain healthy. By understanding more about fluoride, you’ll know how cavities can develop and how fluoride can prevent them from happening.

Cavity Development

Cavities can be created by acids that are left on your teeth that attack the enamel. You may brush twice a day, but acid could still be on your teeth even after doing so. This is because acid will accumulate due to food that is stuck in places that are difficult to clean, such as between your teeth. …show more content…
The hole starts on the tooth’s enamel layer, then expands deeper into the tooth. While the enamel is hard, the layers below the enamel are much softer. It is what causes a cavity to spread quickly once it gets past the enamel layer. By not dealing with cavities quickly, it can cause decay to spread throughout the tooth. Decay can eventually get to the root, which can require a root canal or removing the tooth.

Fighting Cavities With Fluoride

Fluorides performs a remineralization process on the tooth by absorbing into the tooth’s layers. Fluoride being in the tooth with also help summon additional minerals to the tooth that are helpful to repairing parts that are damaged and assist with remineralization. It will slow down decay and prevent a cavity from forming.

Fluoride also will strengthen teeth, which prevents damage from happening to them in the future. It also assists in slowing down the acid production that happens due to bacteria by not allowing sugars to metabolize.

Fluoride