With Halloween just around the corner, now is the right time to review the benefits of fluoride in helping you and your family prevent tooth decay and cavities. Dr. Virginia L. Gregory and her team in Mt. Pleasant, SC, want everyone to enjoy the fun that goes along with Halloween, but the common increase in candy consumption makes awareness of how to fight cavities all the more important.
Fluoride is a natural mineral that is found in many foods and water. In fact, most municipalities now add fluoride to tap water to ensure that people ingest a sufficient amount of this mineral to reduce tooth decay.
Fluoride works by reducing the rate at which your tooth enamel demineralizes and increases the rate at which it can remineralize when tooth decay is in its early stage. Minerals are lost from tooth enamel when the sugars in foods—and not only Halloween candy, but carbohydrates and other starches have plenty of sugar, too—convert to acids. These acids in turn demineralize or weaken tooth enamel, and too much demineralization leads to cavities. Fluoride strengthens tooth enamel, thereby helping people fight the battle against tooth decay.
In addition to foods and water, fluoride can be found in many toothpastes. Dr. Gregory, your Mt. Pleasant dentist, recommends always using a fluoride toothpaste when you brush your teeth at home. There are also mouth rinses that contain fluoride, which is another convenient way to add fluoride to enamel. A word of caution: when you or a family member uses toothpaste or a rinse with fluoride, it’s important to spit rather than swallow. Ingesting too much fluoride may lead to dental fluorosis, a condition marked by white or brown spots on teeth. Very young children who aren’t old enough to spit should not use fluoride toothpaste.
At a dental cleaning, Mt. Pleasant dentist Dr. Gregory can include a fluoride treatment. Applied as either a foam or a gel, this fluoride supplement is a quick and easy way to strengthen tooth enamel.
Brush Well with Fluoride Toothpaste
When you brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste, use a soft toothbrush that is less likely to scratch tooth enamel. You only need to place a small amount of toothpaste on your brush. Too much toothpaste creates too much foam in your mouth and usually reduces the amount of time spent brushing. A good brushing lasts two to three minutes. Also, Dr. Gregory believes that having a correct brushing technique is important. Be sure to hold your toothbrush at a 45 degree angle to your gum tissue. Focusing on two or three teeth at a time, brush in a circular motion on the outside surface of teeth, back and forth on the biting surface and up and down on the inside surface. Finish by flossing your teeth and you’ll be doing more to prevent cavities.
Call Our Office Today
To schedule a dental checkup, contact the dental office of Dr. Virginia Gregory. We serve all patients in and around the Mt. Pleasant, SC, area, including Charleston, North Charleston, Summerville, Wando, Hanahan and beyond.