Fluoride Treatment 101: Benefits, and Recommendations
For a long time now, fluoride treatments have been known as suitable for children only. Rightfully so, kids need extra fluoride to boost the strength of their teeth as they grow through different stages. However, adults too require an increase in mineral content to benefit their dental health.
What Is Fluoride Treatment?
It is a procedure performed in preventive dentistry to introduce fluoride minerals to natural teeth. Fluoride is a crucial natural mineral found in everyday foods in small amounts. However, human teeth need more fluoride to sustain strong and healthy teeth.
Over time, teeth enamels wear down due to usage. Poor oral habits can speed up the wearing down of your teeth, introducing several dental issues that call for restorative dental measures. Fluoride treatment comes in to counter the wearing down of teeth by remineralizing them.
How Is Fluoride Treatment Applied?
It is one of the simplest and quickest procedures you will encounter in a dental office near you. Usually, a dentist uses a cotton swab or small brush to apply a fluoride varnish over all your teeth.
Once the fluoride varnish gets in contact with saliva, it hardens on your teeth, and the mineral absorption process begins. The dentist Fort Atkinson will recommend not eating anything soon after the treatment, usually for about three hours.
This period will allow your teeth maximum time to absorb the fluoride and make the best of it.
Benefits of Fluoride Treatment
If you are on edge about enriching your teeth with fluoride, you should consider the following benefits as your nudge up to try it:
- Fighting bacteria that cause tooth infections – Dental cavities are among the most common types of dental infections. Fluoridation of teeth creates a layer of protection over teeth that protects them from dental cavities. Better yet, fluoride can reverse the formation of cavities, preventing the progression of the infection to severe dental decay.
- Strengthening teeth – fluoride adds minerals to your teeth, which repairs the enamel structure, strengthening teeth.
- Restores minerals to your teeth – usually through a process called remineralization. When fluoride is absorbed by your teeth enamels, it increases the absorption of other crucial minerals. For example, calcium and phosphorous help sustain healthy, strong teeth.
- Prevents future restorative treatments – you have a lesser chance of requiring dental restorations in the future when you get fluoride treatment early. For example, instead of getting dental fillings or a root canal procedure in a few years, you can get fluoride treatment today to prevent the need for such procedures.
Recommendations For Fluoride Treatment
To get the best from fluoride treatments and benefit your dental health, here are a few tips you should consider:
- Avoid brushing your teeth for the first 24 hours after your treatment – soon after the fluoride varnish is applied to your teeth, it needs ample time to be absorbed into the various layers of your teeth. Brushing your teeth too soon afterward can reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.
- Get it done in a dental office – there are ways to get fluoride products for your teeth at your local vendor. Still, for safety and effectiveness, get fluoride treatment near you done by a dental expert.
- Get a prescription for fluoride supplements – a dentist near you will prescribe fluoride supplements if you need extra minerals for your teeth. However, if you are taking supplements without a prescription, you are likely to misuse and abuse the supplements, resulting in fatal health issues.
- Get regular fluoride treatments – this is not one of those once-in-a-lifetime treatments for your health. Instead, fluoride treatment works best when done periodically. Consult your dentist to determine when your next treatment should be.
- Keep your mouth clean – just because you’ve gotten your fluoride treatment in Fort Atkinson does not mean that you are immune to plaque and tartar. Should you slack in your dental hygiene, plaque and tartar will eventually accumulate in your mouth and start causing dental infections. Instead, consider fluoride treatment as a complement to your other oral habits for sustaining good dental health.
- Consider other sources of fluoride – in between your routine fluoride treatments, get fluoride from other sources. Consider using fluoride toothpaste for daily teeth brushing. You can also increase your mineral content from the foods you eat daily, including tap water and boiled foods.