Everyone wants a great smile, and whether you’ve been to the dentist a hundred times, or you’ve read the ingredients on your toothpaste every time you brush, you’ll find one thing in common – fluoride. Fluoride is considered to be so important for the health of our mouth, it’s even included in tap water throughout Australia. So why is fluoride so important? Let’s start with the basics.
What is Fluoride?
In simple terms, fluoride is a mineral that already exists in your body. It’s found in your bones and teeth. It helps to provide strength and protection to the enamel of your teeth. Over time, the enamel of your teeth will wear off, this process is expedited by drinking sugary drinks and generally having a poor diet – this will cause the enamel of your teeth to be compromised much faster than usual.
Fluoride can also be prescribed by an emergency dentist, should you visit one for things like a cavity repair. During the course of this visit, you may get your teeth inspected first by a dental hygienist, who will see you before the dentist themselves – this is where you’ll find the cavities.
Fluoride appears in many traditional over-the-counter dental health products, such as mouthwash and toothpaste. However, if you’re experiencing a lot of cavities, fluoride may be prescribed in higher-quantity mouthwashes. This is to expedite the healing process of the cavities and offer protection to your enamel.
Why Is Fluoride Important For Healthy Teeth?
Because fluoride provides a coating on the enamel of your teeth, losing this coating compromises your enamel – which therefore compromises the strength of your teeth. This can be devastating to your dental health. The use of fluoride regularly, by brushing and rinsing your mouth with mouthwash cannot be understated.
What Can Happen If You Don’t Use Fluoride Toothpaste?
Some toothpastes market themselves as being fluoride free. This is due to an incorrect belief that fluoride is a harmful substance to the human body. While the overuse of fluoride by over brushing your teeth can be harmful to your teeth, in general, fluoride is not harmful to your body, as it naturally produces and uses it.
However, if you don’t use a toothpaste that contains fluoride, you may start to develop poor dental health symptoms, like more frequent cavities – these can get worse over time and cause tooth decay. Tooth decay, if left unattended, can lead to losing your teeth. This will require frequent trips to the emergency dentist, and possibly the installing of dental veneers. Not only will this cost you an exorbitant amount of money, but you will also be left with very poor dental health and having to pay for the cost of dental implants.
How Your Dentist Can Help
If you find yourself experiencing a lot of tooth pain, then your dentist may find that your tooth enamel is worn, causing you to experience sensations that you wouldn’t otherwise, were your teeth properly protected.
Your Camden dentist may prescribe fluoride-rich toothpastes or mouthwashes that are specifically designed to reinvigorate your teeth with more fluoride than traditional, over-the-counter toothpastes and mouthwashes. This is to help you avoid having to get dental veneers, or pay for other procedures that are highly invasive, painful and expensive, like tooth extractions and other repairs.
If your dental health is suffering because you’re struggling to pay for procedures that you need, Afterpay dental is an option that you can use to help. Afterpay offers you the capability to pay for dental procedures on an instalment basis, rather than upfront.
Make sure that you pay attention to your diet, brush your teeth regularly and rinse with high-fluoride mouthwash and you should be able to avoid dental surgery by maintaining good dental health, thanks to fluoride.
