Everyone has heard of fluoride – it’s in almost every toothpaste after all – but do you know what it is and what it does for your teeth? Fluoride is a naturally-occurring mineral that strengthens teeth and fights tooth decay by replacing minerals that are lost by normal wear and tear and the attacks of sugar, acids, and bacteria that even young tooth enamel is subjected to. This protective remineralization is especially important in little teeth to keep them from developing cavities. In fact, fluoride is so effective in doing its cavity-preventing job, it can sometimes even reverse early tooth decay. Our fluoride treatments are easy and fun. We just paint the fluoride on and ta-da! – every tooth is shielded! We even offer a variety of flavors for your child to choose from. Between fluoride treatments, we recommend “smearing” layer of fluoridated toothpaste as soon as the first tooth comes in until your child is able to spit effectively. Once they can spit, we recommend using only a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste and oral rinses especially designed for kids.
For those children that don’t take the traditional fluoride treatment well, we offer Silver Diamine Fluoride (“SDF”). This new method involves an easy, non-invasive application to the small areas of decay that can buy time in very young or anxious patients before final restorations are placed.
