Unless you don't use toothpaste when brushing your teeth, then you have probably heard about Fluoride. Many people are grateful for its cavity preventing benefits and there are some who oppose the use of Fluoride in everyday dental care products.
Today we'll share with you what Fluoride is, why it is used in many dental care products and our thoughts on this mineral.
What is Fluoride?
In essence, Fluoride is just another naturally occurring element, that can be found on the periodic table as Fluorine. Contrary to popular belief, Fluoride is not a synthetically made chemical. In fact, Fluoride is found throughout nature in many leafy green vegetables.
Why do we use Fluoride?
The use of Fluoride in the dental field is widely used for one main purpose, to improve dental health by strengthening teeth and helping prevent tooth decay. That's the reason why you'll find it in several dental products such as toothpaste, mouth rise and even floss!
I think it's important to know that according to the CDC, tooth decay is one of the most common chronic disease in children in the United States, and because of that Fluoride has been widely and acceptably used in many dental products and can even be found in tap water.
How does Fluoride work?
Fluoride works by creating a harder/stronger protective layer around the tooth. Fluoride will bind to areas in our tooth's enamel where it has previously lost calcium and phosphate minerals due to acids attacks by bacteria in our mouth. Once it binds to enamel, it creates an even stronger protective layer around the tooth, making it more difficult for future acids attacks to remove this newly made protective layer (1).
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