Caring for the health of your child begins as soon as they are born. As a parent, your instinct is to worry about everything about your child. As they grow older, there are even more needs to care for. This is why it is so easy for parents to neglect the oral needs of their kids. It is not enough to ensure that your child has brushed their teeth before bed. Excellent oral health is attained when there is no oral problem to worry about.
In pediatric dentistry, one of the core ways to excel in oral health is through preventive dental care. It entails different measures that help preserve oral health by remaining proactive regarding different oral issues. One such approach is fluoride treatment, which is essential for good oral health for children.
It is a treatment that involves enriching the enamels of teeth with fluoride, a natural mineral that helps strengthen teeth. The treatment involves applying a fluoride varnish on the surfaces of teeth. Once applied, fluoride mixes with saliva and hardens on teeth, creating a protective layer thereof. Fluoride treatment is common in pediatric dentistry, as it is administered to children, especially when their adult teeth begin to erupt. However, adults too can benefit from this treatment as a preventive measure to boost their oral health.
Fluoride is a natural mineral that is necessary for sustaining strong and healthy teeth. Its presence impacts how your teeth fight against dental cavities. Therefore, when the treatment is administered, it is meant to boost your teeth’ capacity for fighting against dental cavities.
Technically, dental cavities occur when plaque and bacteria infect the enamel of your teeth. With time, the infection breaches the different layers of your teeth, causing dental decay, abscessed teeth, among other oral problems. Preventive measures are reinforced in dentistry to prevent the process of decay. This is why fluoride comes into play.
Ideally, this natural mineral can be found outside the dentist’s office. It is present in the foods we eat, including foods cooked in water, fluoridated tap water, tea, fish eaten with bones, to mention a few. Even the toothpaste you use contains fluoride that is beneficial for your teeth. However, when it comes to fighting against dental cavities, these sources of fluoride will not supply enough of this mineral. In that case, a fluoride treatment is needed to boost the amount of fluoride your teeth can absorb. This will help keep your teeth strong and resist dental cavities.
Fluoride treatment that is administered by a dental expert is safe for children. Ideally, a pediatric dentist near you will watch out for the concentration of fluoride he/she uses in the process of treatment. For any risk factors and complications that may arise, your dentist will ensure to notify you about them. This way, you will make an informed decision about fluoride treatment for your child, especially about safety measures.