Fluoride

Most dental patients experience some form of tooth decay at least once during their lifetime. With proper oral hygiene and preventive dental care, however, you can prevent tooth decay from occurring and preserve the health of your teeth and gums for life.

At Steve A. Sato, DDS, we offer our patients professional fluoride treatments as a part of their comprehensive preventive dental care. Fluoride helps strengthen and rebuild tooth enamel to keep teeth strong and healthy.

What Is Fluoride?

Fluoride is a natural mineral, and it’s one of the minerals that comprise the structure of your teeth and tooth enamel.

Fluoride can be found in certain foods, drinks, treated tap water, toothpaste, mouthwashes, professional fluoride treatments, and other dental care products.

How Does Fluoride Protect Teeth?

To understand how fluoride protects teeth, you first need to understand what happens when teeth decay. Bacteria living inside the mouth feed on the sugars in the foods and drinks you consume. They then produce acids as a form of waste. These acids cling to the teeth, break down the minerals (like fluoride and calcium) in the enamel, and the tooth decays.

Fluoride helps strengthen your teeth through the process of remineralization. Remineralization is the replacement and replenishing of the minerals that make up the structure of your teeth, either through topical application or ingestion.

So, when you drink fluoride in treated tap water or eat it in a mineral-rich food, it enters your system and eventually winds up strengthening your teeth via the saliva produced by the salivary glands in your mouth. When you receive a fluoride treatment, your teeth are remineralized while they’re coated with highly concentrated fluoride in either the form of a gel, foam, swish, or sticky varnish.

Additional Benefits of Fluoride Treatments

In addition to protecting your teeth from tooth decay, fluoride treatments can also help reduce tooth sensitivity resulting from worn enamel, receding gums, or exposed dentin.

What To Expect During Your in-Office Fluoride Treatment

Professional fluoride treatments can be applied in a variety of forms. We can administer fluoride in a gel or foam via fluoride trays. Fluoride also comes in swishes and sticky, clear-colored varnishes that we paint on your teeth and let set throughout the rest of the day. We can discuss all the fluoride treatment options and flavors available to you to help you determine the treatment that best meets your needs and lifestyle.

Find Out If a Professional Fluoride Treatment Is Right for You

We welcome you to contact our Dayton office today to learn more about fluoride treatments and whether an in-office fluoride treatment could help you strengthen your teeth or find relief from tooth sensitivity.