What Is Fluoride and Why Is It Considered Crucial for Oral Hygiene?

What Is Fluoride and Why Is It Considered Crucial for Oral HygieneThese days, any conversation revolving around dental hygiene and oral health invariably finds its way to a discussion on fluoride. However, most people’s knowledge about fluoride is limited to this piece of information: fluoride plays a critical role in ensuring oral health. While this is certainly true, it is important to get into details and understand why dentists consider fluoride so important. In this article, we delve deeper into the various functions of this compound and attempt to explain why it is given such high weightage by dentists.

What Is Fluoride?

Fluoride is a mineral compound commonly found in water and soil. Research done over the years has revealed that fluoride safeguards the teeth against the acid attacks launched by the bacteria present in the plaque. More importantly, fluoride contains various minerals that play a crucial role in maintaining oral health. One such mineral is calcium, which plays an important role in protecting teeth against cavities and decay. It is for this reason that dental products containing fluoride have become increasingly popular in the market.

How Is Fluoride Administered?

Fluoride can be delivered to teeth in two ways: topical and systemic.

The topical fluoride application involves delivering fluoride directly to the teeth through mouthwashes, toothpaste, gels, foams and several other oral hygiene products that are so commonly available in the market. Topical fluoride allows people to keep gum infections and the problem of tooth decay away.

Systemic fluoride application involves transferring fluoride to teeth through fluoridated water and foods rich in fluoride. Systemic fluoride application also involves the use of fluoride supplements, which have become quite popular these days.

Here’s Some More Information About Fluoride

If you are planning to provide your body fluoride through supplements and other products available in the market, it is important to understand what is the right level of fluoride that you must be consuming for optimal impact. Having this understanding will allow you to choose the right supplement and also moderate its intake to ensure your teeth are getting the amount of fluoride they need.

If you are unsure about how to get fluoride, we discuss two common sources, where they lack and how you can make up for them.

Tap Water: Tap water contains fluoride in abundance. However, not many people consume tap water these days. Instead, we have moved to bottled water, which fails to provide the required amount of fluoride to our body. If you consume bottled water, it is essential that you supplement your bottled water intake with fluoride products, such as fluoride mouthwash and gels. If you are unsure about which fluoride product to use, consult your dentist.

Fluoridated Water: Though tap water is a good source of fluoride, the level of fluoride in tap water varies from place to place. If you take oral hygiene seriously, you must take the necessary steps to ensure that your water supply provides you with an adequate amount of fluoride.

In Conclusion

When it comes to oral hygiene, fluoride is of crucial importance. People must, therefore, ensure their teeth are getting the fluoride they need. However, before becoming dependent on any particular fluoride product, do some research and make sure it is the right product to use.

For more information regarding flouride,  please give Dr. Apsey of Smile Brightly Dental a call today!  We are located in Warren, MI and we can be reached at 586-573-7700!