The degree of tooth decay has reduced significantly in recent decades, both in the United States and abroad. As per the American Dental Association (ADA) this is due to fluoridated water and other fluoride sources being made widely available to the public.
Benefits of Fluoride
Fluoride is a substance that occurs naturally in water sources. It is widely used for maintaining dental health. Fluoride prevents tooth decay by:
- Strengthening the teeth – prevents dental caries and decay through acids arising in the breakdown of sugar and carbohydrates consumed
- Providing a therapeutic effect – prevents the loss of and repairs the areas where the tooth minerals that are damaged by acid
Sources of Flouride
Fluorides that are present in common sources are of two types:
Topical Fluorides
These strengthen the already present teeth to provide an increased resistance to tooth decay. The sources include toothpastes, mouth rinses, gels, foams and other dental products that may be recommended by the dentist.
Systematic Fluorides
These fluorides are used to strengthen teeth that are forming. As such they are consumed in the form of fluoridated water or dietary fluoride supplements such as tablets, drops or lozenges.
Fluoridation levels in the water differ from place to place. The level in your area can be clarified from your dentist. The fluoridation level recommended by the ADA is 0.7 to 1.2 parts fluoride per million parts water.
Due to concerns raised on fluoride levels by the increasing number of bottled water consumers, a fluoride supplement is being included into bottled water to provide an adequate daily intake of fluoride. Bottled water manufacturers are able to claim a reduced risk in tooth cavities and decay as a result of consuming their bottled water, if the water contains 0.6 to 1.0 mg/L total fluoride. (As ruled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2006).
With regard to the dietary supplements, these need to be prescribed by the dentist, and are generally recommended for children from six months to sixteen years, living in areas with low water fluoridation levels.
Risks of excess fluoride consumption
Children under the seven years of age require a healthy daily intake of fluoride. However, it should be ensured that excess intake is avoided, as children of this age are at a higher risk of being susceptible to enamel fluorosis (Enamel hypermineralization).
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
It is just so unfortunate that the scientists in the field of medicinal chemistry & other biological sciences were never able to unanimously decipher & decide about the harms or benefits of not only flouride like chemicals but also of many of the medicines still being widely used & distributed all over the world Especially in the third world countries . One of the reason for this is the lack of proper & very precise analyticasl methods & techniques available even todate. Clinical medicines & trials have to be extremely specific in detecting the real benefits or harms in all living beings. I always still believe that this is a clear indication of the complexity of the biological processes & systems. We are still far from achieving the proper goals even in todays scientific techniques. Probably, due to our discrete knowledge, the doubts will remain with us for ever even in the later eras to come.