Written By Scotia Ouellette | Edited By Lexi Chen
Origins of Fluoride
Fluoride is a natural mineral found throughout Earth in soil, air, and water. Chemically, fluoride is composed of negatively charged fluorine and positively charged sodium atoms. The combination of these two elements creates the best tool available to protect our teeth.
Why We Need Fluoride
All of our teeth are coated in a calcium-phosphate built shield called enamel. Enamel helps protect our teeth by keeping them strong and solid. However, when we eat food, such as sugars, bacteria in our mouth feast on carbohydrates and produce an acid that in turn destroys enamel. Without the full protection of enamel teeth are more susceptible to cavities and tooth decay. Luckily, fluoride helps protect us from losing our enamel and in return reduces cavities, fillings, tooth extractions, tooth decay, and overall patient tooth related pain.
How We Get Fluoride
While bacteria try to break down our enamel layer, fluoride helps to build it up, making it even stronger. This characteristic of fluoride makes it essential for children who are gaining permanent teeth to ensure their teeth are strong. In addition, fluoride is key in reducing high cavity rates among children. Fluoride can be found in everyday products such as toothpaste, mouth wash, drinking water, and dental prescriptions. For over 70 years Fluoride has been added to drinking water as a public health measure. According to the CDC’s 2012 report, 60% of Americans receive fluoridated water in the taps of their homes. Adding fluoride to drinking water is enforced by respective local governments, who choose safe low-levels of fluoride - unless it is added naturally. Levels of fluoride in your water source can be checked by contacting your local public health department. When used with brushing twice a day, fluoride levels in drinking water and other dental products create the optimal amount of fluoride needed to maintain healthy teeth.
Works Cited
American Dental Association. (n.d.). The Superhero That Lives Inside Your Mouth. Mouth Healthy. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/fluoride-superhero
American Dental Association. (n.d.-a). Fluoride. Mouth Healthy. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/f/fluoride
CDC. (2019, March 8). About Fluoride. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/faqs/about-fluoride.html
Gupta, R. C. (2015, April). Fluoride and Water. KidsHealth. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/fluoride-water.html
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