Photo Taken by Author.

Photo Taken by Author.

 

Brushing your teeth daily is certainly a necessity. Just like the rest of our body, it is important to clean your teeth to prevent infection and decay. However the type of toothpaste that you use, especially, at a young age can affect the effectiveness of your results. Scientists have noted that brushing your teeth with fluoride tooth paste can be very beneficial to successful dental health for adults but also possibly for young children.

“Fluoride works to prevent cavities by rebuilding teeth. Highly reactive fluoride sticks to molecules in the tooth that become exposed when bacteria-produced acid attacks the teeth. Fluoride molecules latch on to the tooth and beckon other minerals such as calcium and phosphate in a process called remineralization. When fluoride is ingested, the levels of the entire body are raised. The resulting fluoride-rich saliva bathes and when fluoride is ingested, the levels of the entire body are raised.”

Based on a study led by J. Tim Wright, a pediatric dentist at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry in Chapel Hill, the ADA now recommends that children’s teeth should be brushed with a smear of fluoride toothpaste as soon as they appear. Too much fluoride for a young one, however, can be detrimental and can lead to fluorosis. Studies have shown that risk of fluorosis for some permanent teeth peaks around age two, but fluorosis also comes from other sources as well such as water and some foods like fish. Therefore parents should be careful about using too much fluoridated toothpaste — a pretty common habit, studies have found. “People tend to think a little is good, more is better,” Wright says.

Fluoride toothpaste is surely one way to prevent cavities in adults and it is looking promising as a way to reduce cavity amounts in young children as well.