The Killer of Decayed Teeth: Toothpaste with Fluoride

Decayed teeth are familiar to people because near all people have suffered from them in their childhood. Some old people also have decayed teeth. The most effective way to prevent teeth from being decayed is to keep the oral cavity as clean as possible. As fluoride is beneficial to dental care, dentists suggest people to use toothpaste with fluoride.

Fluoride help strengthen teeth because it can mineralize enamel and dentine. As a result, it is capable of restraining the production of organic acids and slowing down the metabolism of bacteria. Therefore, using toothpaste with fluoride in the needed parts, especially brushing the up and root parts of teeth, can prevent from decaying. But medical research has indicated that this kind of toothpaste has limitations. As we know, a small amount of fluoride can mineralize decayed enamel to prevent from further decaying. And an adequate amount of fluoride would strengthen the teeth. However, a great amount of this chemical would cause diseases such as dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. Such diseases not only influence the beauty, but also affect the health.

Using toothpaste with fluoride in tooth care has a long history. The fifty-year-long experience of European countries and America has proved that it can greatly reduce the risk of decayed teeth. There were disagreements about it. But experts say that the danger of fluoride is not from toothpaste, but from the fluoride in water. No case has showed that dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis has anything to do with the fluoride in the toothpaste. The efficiency and the safety of toothpaste with fluoride have been admitted by the World Health Organization, the International Dental Federation and the International Dentist Alliance. Statistics have indicated that it has reduced 20% to 30% of dental diseases.

At present, most toothpaste on the market is with fluoride. Many brands mark “fluoride” in obvious places. Though there are no such labels on the packing of some brands, we can still find ingredients such as sodium monofluorophosphate and sodium fluoride. But we should keep in mind that not all people can use such toothpaste. Babies and children who are under the age of three are not allowed to use any toothpaste with fluoride, while other young children should use it carefully. In addition, there are some tips for using this kind of toothpaste. Dentists suggest that it should stay in the oral cavity for at least three to five minutes. Meanwhile, parents should make sure that their children do not swallow it unconsciously. Besides, it should be washed away by gargling. Or when the fluoride enter the human body, it would absorbed by the intestines and cause abscess.