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Fluoride is something that you probably get a lot more of than you realize. If you drink and cook with your tap water, the supply is most likely fluoridated. Children generally get multiple fluoride treatments over the years of early preventive dental care. Temecula dentists at the Oasis Family Dental will share with you how the ACS journal Langumir recently printed new information about fluoride. This study shows that the strengthening aspects of fluoride might not be the main reason that the compound helps fight tooth decay.

Super Enamel

Tooth enamel is already the hardest substance in your body. In fact, enamel is so hard, it’s actually the second strongest compound in the entire world. How can something that hard ever be softened or damaged? Our teeth simply take too much of a barrage of abuse – chewing, poor diet, acidic beverages, traumatic injuries, lazy oral hygiene – which means that enamel doesn’t always stay intact. Fluoride exposure has long been assumed to make an already strong part of our mouth even more impenetrable. The new study, led by Karin Jacobs and a group of her fellow scientists showed that fluoride only hardens a small outer layer of tooth enamel. If this was all it did, it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as it has been in reducing cavity rates over the years. So the scientists dug deeper.

Fluoride: Pretty Slick

The researchers found that that fluoride’s real gift may be its ability to impact the adhesion capabilities of bacteria to your mouth. Germs (sometimes by the thousands) are a natural occurrence in your mouth. Without the ability to create plaque and stick to teeth, certain bacteria will be much less successful at creating tooth enamel damaging acid. Fluoride appears to work as a sort of non-stick cooking spray in the oven of your mouth. With the right balance, bacteria may slide right off your teeth, thereby getting no opportunity to cause cavities.

Visit Your Temecula Dentists

Your dentists in Temecula include several specialists to help meet all of the comprehensive dental needs of our patients. If you are in need of a checkup, cleaning, restorative procedures (such as fillings or crowns) or you have a toothache that concerns you, contact our 92591 dental office by calling (951) 695-2290 to schedule an appointment today. We welcome patients from Temecula and all surrounding communities.