When it comes to keeping teeth healthy and preventing tooth decay, one element stands out as a game-changer: fluoride. There are many ways people get fluoride. For instance, some municipal water systems add a small amount of fluoride into their water supply for a low-dose fluoride treatment for everyone. However, more and more people do not drink from their city’s water supply. Instead, they opt for bottled water, filtered water, or sugary drinks, such as soda or juice. This makes the protection of fluoride treatment all the more vital. Lovett Dental West U is here to help provide the dental services you and your family needs, including fluoride treatment.
How Fluoride Treatment Can Help Your Teeth
There are several ways that fluoride is used to treat teeth and strengthen tooth enamel. For the past several decades, dentists have offered these treatments to help keep teeth strong. Sometimes it is a rinse, but it may sit on the teeth a bit longer in the form of a gel, foam, or even varnish. Fluoride treatments for teeth take only a few minutes and are applied to your tooth enamel with a brush or swab during a dental cleaning at the dentist’s office. How often treatments are administered on how your dentist assesses your overall oral health.
Fluoride Treatments for Kids and Adults
Anyone with natural teeth can benefit from fluoride treatments; however, treatments are often stressed a bit more during childhood when teeth are still forming. More frequent treatments become a larger issue for adults if they have a range of problems, including:
- A history of excessive tooth decay
- Battling an eating disorder
- Maintaining a poor diet
- Using drugs or alcohol often
- Wearing braces
While you can keep up with your own fluoride treatments at home with over-the-counter fluoride rinses, these do not have the strength that the treatments and dental services have when you are in our Lovett Dental West U office. Such procedures are more effective when administered in-office because they utilize a higher dosage of fluoride than at-home treatment. It is also important that they be supervised by a dental hygienist or a dentist to ensure that the treatment is safe.
Other Benefits of Fluoride Treatments
While strengthening tooth enamel is perhaps the biggest benefit of fluoride, the benefits do not stop there. Fluoride treatment for teeth actually helps other minerals, such as calcium and phosphate, work better to keep your teeth strong. When they work with the fluoride, these minerals are absorbed more deeply into the tooth enamel. In children, it builds on the teeth’s actual structure, helping the child be less vulnerable to cavities when they become an adult. The result of fluoride treatment is that cavities and tooth decay have a more difficult time penetrating the tooth. The growth of bacterial plaque is slowed, and as a result, cavities and other dental health issues are fewer, leading to lower long-term dental bills.
Fluoride is also good for the rest of your mouth and contributes to overall oral health and your overall health. Poor oral health has been linked to other health issues, including heart problems. Gum disease is also prevented with fluoride, and it is less likely that you will experience tooth pain or lose teeth. Even baby teeth stay in the mouth longer, allowing for adult teeth to fully form and be more healthy when they come in.
Learn More at Lovett Dental West U
One of the most important things you can do to protect your teeth and overall health is to listen and follow the recommendation of your dentist at Lovett Dental West U. Most of the time, we recommend making dentist appointments every six months, but this can vary depending on the patient’s needs. Keeping up with your own oral hygiene, including limiting sugary foods and beverages, and regular brushing, flossing, and using over the counter mouthwashes or fluoride rinses, will help to keep you and your child’s teeth strong. It will make dental visits easier and result in fewer dental problems over a lifetime. To learn more about fluoride treatments and overall oral health, contact Lovett Dental West U online or call us at 832-617-5530 to schedule an appointment.