LET’S BREAK THE CONTROVERSY ON FLUORIDE

What is fluoride? Fluoride is a naturally occurring element – it is found in soil and rocks, as well as in fresh and sea water.

What does fluoride do for your teeth? De-mineralization of your tooth enamel is inevitable every day due to the acids that erode your teeth, even with proper brushing and flossing. What fluoride helps to do is to reverse the effects of the de-mineralization process, reducing the risk for cavities and sensitivity.

A little bit of history about how ‘fluoride’ in dentistry came about… In the early 20th century a dentist came across something that was quite odd – some of his patients with heavily stained brown teeth were particularly resistant to tooth decay. He came to the realization after careful research that these teeth were stained as a result of fluorosis (excessive exposure to fluoride). The obvious solution to diminishing the amount of tooth decay in patients was to fluoridate local drinking water. [Read more…]