“Brush at least twice a day, before and after meals if you can.”
“Don’t forget to floss after brushing and throw in some mouthwash!”
We have heard the same tips for taking care of our teeth over and over for years. While they are timeless bits of good advice, they can get a bit repetitive.
Little Heroes pediatric dentist offices wants to shine a little light on one of the other main goals of your dental health that hardly gets attention: getting enough fluoride!
How much do we really need fluoride?
You only need fluoride if you want to fight cavities and prevent tooth decay. Other than that, there’s not much it does for you.
All kidding aside, fluoride is essential in protecting your teeth. Fluoride strengthens your teeth’s enamel and helps rebuild it when it is weakened.
#Flouride is important to keep your #LittleHeroes teeth nice and #strong #RGVDentists Click To TweetWhere Can I Get Some of that?
There are a number of foods and beverages that you can add to your diet to get more fluoride. While they differ in amounts, they are diverse enough to fit any food guidelines your family follows.
Whether it be carrots, raisins, russet potatoes, or lamb, there is something for every set of taste buds. In fact, from that list right there you can probably put together a nice wholesome meal.
What is even better is that you don’t even have to put in all that time cooking. The water that your city provides your home with likely has enough fluoride added to help protect your teeth.
This initiative has been going on for over 70 years and is considered one of the greatest public health accomplishments of the last century.
Nearly three-fourths of the country has access to these types of fluoride-enhanced water systems.
#BlackTea, #spinach, #grapes, & #potatoes all have good amounts of fluoride #EatHealthy Click To TweetMore options
Water can’t do all the work for you though. That’s where all that brushing and mouth-washing come into play.
Many kinds of toothpaste and mouthwashes contain fluoride to help extend the protection you get from water and other parts of your diet.
If for some reason you still feel your family is not getting enough fluoride or are still at risk for cavities and tooth decay, your options haven’t dried up yet.
To help address this concern, your dentist can actually take care of things themselves and put the fluoride directly on your teeth.
Following a pattern that should be clear by now, you have different choices on how this gets done: a foam, rinse, or gel.
Your children can also get a prescription for a fluoride supplement. These supplements, available in tablet, drop, or lozenges, are primarily designed for children under 16 who live in communities whose drinking water is not sufficiently enhanced with fluoride.
Additional Notes On Fluoride And Water
Many readers might be hesitant to drink the community water available to them, regardless of the potential fluoride benefits. For this reason, many people turn to bottled water as an alternative.
While water is water (usually) as far as drinking goes, your teeth might take a hit if you opt for the plastic-packaged variety.
Many types of bottled waters do not contain fluoride and you and your family would miss out on the benefits it provides. If this is your preferred type of water, it means that you will have to add fluoride by some other means.
The same is true for families that use water filters to purify their water. The filters do remove plenty of unwanted minerals from community waters but may also filter out the added fluoride.
It is up to you to decide whether to switch out a brand that gets rid of the fluoride or find your fluoride elsewhere.
#Be #Aware: Bottled water & filters may not be best option for your #fluoride needs Click To TweetLet Little Heroes help take care of your children’s dental and fluoride needs.
Find comfort in knowing that there are many possibilities when it comes to making sure your family gets enough fluoride.
Little Heroes knows the importance of this tooth-protector and the role it plays in good dental health.
We’d love to answer any questions you have and help you design a plan to protect your family’s smiles.