Fluoride – What you need to know

Lots of parents come into The Kids Dental Office of Phoenix & Orthodontics with questions about fluoride. Fluoride is a natural substance that can be found in food and water. Some places even add fluoride to their water. Dentists use it because it helps to restore minerals to the tooth where bacteria have eaten into the tooth enamel. So, fluoride helps strengthen the tooth. It also helps to keep bad bacteria from growing so it helps stop cavities from developing. 

Fluoride won’t completely stop your kids’ teeth from decay but, with good dental hygiene, it can help prevent decay from getting deeper into your kids’ teeth. That’s why we recommend using fluoride in toothpaste and mouthwash to help replenish the teeth’s minerals. But sometimes, just practicing good dental hygiene isn’t enough. At The Kids Dental Office of Phoenix & Orthodontics, we provide a bunch of different fluoride treatments to restore and protect your children’s smiles.

Our professional fluoride treatments are quick and come in a couple ways – gels or varnishes. We will either use a swab (like a q-tip) or a tray to put the fluoride on your kids’ teeth but, it only take a couple of minutes. 

After its done, we ask your kid not to rinse, eat or drink anything for the next hald hour to make sure the fluoride absorbs into the teeth. Our dentists will likely recommend that your kiddo come back at least twice a year for fluoride but, it’s a quick, gentle and easy process that will help protect your kids’ smiles for a lifetime.

Is it Safe?

Fluoride is safe for children as long as you and your children are using it as prescribed and the way the bottle of toothpaste or mouthwash tells you. Obviously, don’t eat it! Lol.