Fluoride Myths and Facts

Fluoride is a controversial topic, but is fluoride dangerous? Learning about fluoride and how it affects you and those you care about is incredibly important.

Fluoride and Water

Fluoride occurs naturally in drinking water without additions needing to be made at all. Fluoride is added to drinking water because the naturally occurring amount of fluoride in the water isn’t enough to help strengthen our teeth and bones.

Strengthening Enamel

Your enamel is the part of your tooth that your food touches as you chew. This part of your tooth protects the rest of it, like a shield. Once the enamel is cracked or broken, your tooth quickly decays, leading you to tooth pain. Fluoride helps you by strengthening your enamel both when you brush and when you drink water.

Fluorosis

When you’re a child, you’re taught to spit out your toothpaste, not to swallow it, because of fluorosis. When appropriately used in products, fluoride is entirely harmless, but ingesting too much fluoride, just like any other vitamin or mineral, can have consequences in the form of fluorosis. Fluorosis is incredibly rare and usually happens when small children get ahold of a tube of toothpaste. You should always follow the guidelines on toothpaste use for both adults and children.

Fluoride isn’t a danger to your health or the health of your loved ones when used as intended. It can have some adverse effects if you ingest a larger amount of it at a time. Do you have more questions about fluoride and how it helps you? Feel free to ask us at your next appointment!