Why is Fluoride necessary in your toothpaste?
Dental caries or decay of your teeth is one of the most common diseases of teeth affecting a large population of the world, especially children. So, prevention of dental caries has always been a serious topic of discussion all over the world. Hence, dental researchers have proven that Fluoride is one of the components that can prevent tooth decay from 40-70%.
This fluoride can be provided through different sources including toothpaste to specific fluoride application and perhaps through water fluoridation of drinking water in your community. Among all above mentioned methods, an exposure to fluoride through your toothpaste has been considered as the most effective, easiest and efficient methods for caries prevention available today.
How Fluoride helps to prevent tooth decay?
- i) Fluoride can make tooth more decay resistant:
Dental caries involves the dissolution of enamel (outermost layer of tooth) caused by acids from bacterial plaque. Chemically these enamel are composed of carbonated hydroxyapatite. But in presence of fluoride, it forms flouroxyapetite in enamel that is harder than other tooth minerals in a sense that they are more resistant to damage caused by acids.
- ii) Action against bacteria:
Fluoride in higher concentration can be bactericidal (i.e. kills the microorganism present in the bacterial plaque). However in lower concentrations bacteriostatic i.e. helps to control the further growth of bacteria without destroying them. This is because fluoride disrupts the bacteria’s ability to metabolize sugars. less the amount of sugar that bacterias consume, less the acidic waste products they will produce.
iii) Fluoride promotes tooth remineralisation:
Fluoride can also reduce early dental caries by enhancing remineralization. Fluoride found in the saliva will adsorb onto the tooth surface where demineralization has already occured. The presence of fluoride then actually attracts other minerals like calcium helping to speed up the degree to which remineralization will occur.
So, to receive these benefits, fluoride must be present in a person’s saliva. This is why, brushing your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste, twice a day would be better than brushing once a day.
