Fluoride Dental Treatments

Fluoride is an anion of the element Fluorine and it's known to help prevent and reverse the early stages of tooth decay. Fluoride effectively eliminates tooth decay in two ways. It creates a protective layer around the teeth that prevents the acid in plaque from dissolving tooth enamel and it allows the teeth to re-mineralize. Fluoride dental treatments come in fluoride gels, foams and varnishes, slow release devices and dental fluoride supplements.

Fluoride Gels, Foams and Varnishes

• Fluoride gels and foams are used by patients who are at high risk for tooth decay, cavities and tooth loss and have minimum access to other fluoride sources. Fluoride gels and foams are applied through a mouth tray that contains the product. The only downside to this process is that the patient is not allowed to rinse, eat, drink and smoke for at least 30 minutes after the process. To avoid this, a patient can opt for a fluoride varnish. This has the same effect on a person's teeth without the waiting time necessary with gels and foams.

  According to the research performed by Amir Azarpazhooh and Patricia Main of the Canadian Dental Association, the frequency of this type of fluoride treatment varies from person to person. It depends on the level of risk a patient has for dental caries. According to their research, it is recommended that a single-dose package of fluoride should be applied to low-risk patients once a year and twice a year for patients who are at high risk.

Slow-release Fluoride Devices

• A dentist can also install slow-release fluoride devices on a patient's teeth. As the name suggests, these devices allow for a slow but continuous application of fluoride on teeth. These are an effective method of increasing fluoride concentration in person's teeth and mouth; however these devices easily fall off a patient's tooth, increasing the chances that the device could be swallowed.

  According the World Health Organization, the duration of the use of slow-release fluoride devices can vary from 30 to 180 days depending on the risk for tooth decay and tooth loss in the patient. Their research has shown that these slow-release devices effectively increased the fluoride levels in patients who were given slow release devices for 100 days.

Fluoride Supplements

• According to the Center for Disease Control, these supplements are primarily prescribed for children who need a regular supply of fluoride in their mouth and teeth. Depending on the severity of tooth decay, the child's age and the amount of fluoride in the water the child drinks regularly, a dentist is allowed to prescribe 0.25 to 1 milligram of fluoride. By ingesting fluoride supplements, the fluoride enters the bloodstream of the patient and incorporates itself into the developing teeth of young children. This makes the teeth tougher and less prone to acids produced by the bacteria found in plaque.

  According to the Center for Disease Control, dentists prescribe their patients below 16 years of age fluoride supplements that strictly follow the recommended schedule for fluoride intake. This schedule is scaled to the fluoride concentration in the community drinking water. This is jointly recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA), the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). According to the same research, in the year 1997, the Institute of Medicine published age-specific recommendations for total dietary intake of fluoride.