Flouride Facts

Fluoride is a compound of the element fluorine, the 13th most abundant element, which is naturally present in water, soil, and air, as well as in most foods. Fluoride is absorbed easily into tooth enamel, helping to strengthen it, and is also is effective in preventing cavities from forming.

Fluoride was first added to community water supplies in the 1940s, but today, most cities and countries add fluoride to their public water supplies. Community water fluoridation is an effective, safe, and inexpensive way to prevent tooth decay. This method of fluoride delivery benefits people of all ages and socioeconomic status.

Your teeth are made of a form of the mineral calcium. Bacteria that naturally live in your mouth combine with food particles and become plaque, which secretes acid that can weaken a spot in your tooth enamel, which in turn, becomes a cavity, also called tooth decay.

Fluoride helps to prevent this tooth decay in three ways:

1. The fluoride in your saliva can be absorbed into the surface of a tooth where decay has occurred. The presence of fluoride then attracts other minerals, such as calcium, resulting in the formation of new tooth mineral.
   
2. The fluoride present in your mouth not only repairs the decay damage to your teeth, it creates a tooth surface that is more resistant to decay. The mineral that is re-formed on your tooth by fluoride is a "harder" mineral compound than what existed when the tooth initially formed and is therefore more resistant to the acid in plaque.
   
3. The third way in which fluoride prevents tooth decay is to decrease the rate at which the bacteria in dental plaque produce acid. Fluoride disrupts plaque's ability to metabolize sugars, which lowers the amount of acid that will be produced, which means fewer attacks on your tooth enamel.

To take advantage of these decay-preventing properties, you need prolonged exposure to a very small amount of fluoride. Brushing three times a day with toothpaste that contains fluoride is an ideal way to keep fluoride in your saliva. So is drinking fluoridated water. Research has shown that simply introducing fluoride into a city's drinking water supply can reduce its inhabitants' rate of tooth decay between 40 and 70 percent.

If given to children while teeth are forming, fluoride becomes part of a child's teeth and gives some protection from decay for the life of the teeth. However, the intake of fluoride in young children should be monitored. Too much fluoride in this developmental stage of your child's life can lead to dental fluorosis, a discoloration of the tooth enamel. That's why you should help your child brush his or her teeth when they're very young (up until about age six). Use only a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste and make sure your child doesn't swallow their toothpaste. If your child is younger than two, talk to your dentist about an alternate to fluoride toothpaste.








Used with an excellent regime of oral hygiene and a balanced diet, fluoride can help keep your teeth cavity free for life.

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Common Reasons for Braces

Your smile is the most striking part of your face. Do you like your smile now? Do you think your smile (or that of your child's) can be improved?

Orthodontics can boost a person's self-image as the teeth, jaws and lips become properly aligned, but an attractive smile is just one of the benefits. Alleviating or preventing physical health problems is just as important. Without treatment, orthodontic problems may lead to tooth decay, gum disease, bone destruction and chewing and digestive difficulties. A "bad bite" can contribute to speech impairments, tooth loss, chipped teeth, TMJ and other dental injuries.

Most bite problems are inherited, and therefore can't be prevented. Other factors, such as trauma, thumb-sucking or early loss of baby teeth may affect the shape of your mouth, the alignment of your teeth and your facial balance.

Orthodontics is the area of dentistry that treats dental and facial irregularities. Orthodontists use a variety of treatments, but braces are the most common method of balancing your teeth, your smile and your face. Some of the most common reasons for braces include:


Crowding -- About 90% of patients have an orthodontic condition known as crowding, in which teeth are crooked, turned, or overlapped. Generally, crowding is genetic (you've inherited a relatively small jaw or relatively large teeth) or caused by habits such as nail biting and thumb sucking. The bone and gums over the roots of extremely crowded teeth may become thin and recede as a result of severe crowding. Complications include teeth that should have come in but have not, poor biting relationships and undesirable appearance.


Overjet -- This condition is characterized by upper front teeth that protrude beyond normal contact with the lower front teeth, making them prone to injury. Protruded upper teeth are associated with a lower jaw that is short in proportion to the upper jaw and may indicate uneven jaw growth or a poor bite of the back teeth. Thumb sucking can also cause of overjet.


Deep Overbite -- The front lower incisor teeth biting too close or into the gum tissue behind the upper teeth characterize this condition. A deep bite can cause excessive wear of incisors, bone damage and discomfort.

Open Bite -- The upper and lower incisor teeth do not touch in an open bite. This open space causes chewing pressure to be placed on the back teeth, causing chewing to be less efficient. The excessive rubbing of the teeth may also cause significant tooth wear. Thumb sucking and tongue thrusting are habits that can have an affect on the development of open bite, as can speech problems such as lisping and genetic misalignment of the upper and lower jaw. Open bite is not a common problem, and those who seek treatment do so primarily for appearance. However, patients who have moderate to extreme open bite need treatment because the condition can affect the joints of the jaw and cause recurring pain.


Spacing -- The most common concern of patients with excessive tooth spacing is poor appearance. Spacing occurs in approximately 5% to 10% of the population and may be caused by thumb sucking or genetic factors, such as inheriting a large jaw and small-sized teeth.

Crossbite – Crossbites of both back teeth and front teeth are commonly corrected early due to biting and chewing difficulties. Uncorrected crossbite problems can lead to TMJ, premature wear of the teeth, and muscular problems in the jaw. Usually, one set of teeth will either fall inside or outside of the opposing set, leaving teeth out of place when the mouth is closed. The most common is when the upper teeth bite inside the lower teeth (toward the tongue). However, approximately 3-5% of patients have a lower jaw that is longer than the upper jaw, which causes the lower front teeth to protrude ahead of the upper front teeth. Heredity and delayed loss of baby teeth are two of the most common causes of crossbite.

Gummy Smile -- Too much pink tissue showing when a person speaks or smiles is called a 'gummy smile.' This condition may result from an enlarged upper jaw, a short upper lip, short upper front teeth, a forward position of the front teeth, or disproportionate lip length or tooth height.

Tongue Thrust -- You swallow about 2000 times each day and each time you do, 1-6 pounds of pressure is applied to the inside structures of the mouth. Normally when you swallow, your tongue is placed on the roof of the mouth, however, when the tongue slides between and behind the teeth, this pressure can push the teeth apart and out. Known as 'tongue thrust,' this abnormal swallowing can cause causing distortions of the face and teeth. It is most common in children with prior severe thumb sucking habits. Working with a speech therapist may help this behavior, but in severe cases, a special orthodontic appliance that inhibits this damaging tongue movement may be prescribed.

It is estimated that more than 5 million people in the United States and Canada are in the care of an orthodontist and looking forward to the day their braces come off and they can see their beautiful, healthy smile in the mirror.

Clenching and/or Grinding Your Teeth?

Most people refer to bruxism as "grinding" or "gritting" the teeth. When you "brux", you tightly clamp your top and bottom teeth together, especially your back teeth. Many people who clench also grind their teeth at the same time. Grinding is when you slide your teeth over each other, generally in a sideways, back-and-forth movement. Many people clench and grind their teeth during the day, but the nighttime bruxing is of most concern, because it is harder to control and can lead to eventual jaw, tooth and gum damage. Experts don't agree on what causes bruxism. Some researchers believe that it's caused by a bite that is not correctly aligned, while others believe it is a central nervous system disorder. Children frequently exhibit bruxism behaviors in response to pain and discomfort of illnesses such as colds, ear infections or allergies. Excess intake of alcoholic beverages may affect your level of grinding and clenching, and stress is also a huge factor in bruxing, with most experts saying that you may show elevated stress levels in your mouth before any other area of your body. Many experts believe it's a combination of these and other problems and that different people brux for different reasons. Almost everyone "grinds their teeth." The problem is the degree of bruxing. Some people only grind their teeth a bit and show few symptoms, but for those who brux frequently and over a period of many years, the effects on teeth and the surrounding structures of gums and bone can be severe. The pressure that you can apply to your teeth can range from 100 to 600 pounds per square inch! Severe bruxism can result in wearing or breaking of teeth, sensitive or loose teeth, receding gums, loss of supporting bone around the teeth, bony ridges in the gums, cheek irritation, sore muscles, headaches, earaches and TMJ (tempomandibular jaw) dysfunction. Pain caused by bruxism can also lead to insomnia, depression and even eating disorders. If you or a family member shows signs or sounds of bruxism, ask your dentist for an evaluation. An examination will rule out disorders, such as an ear infection, that could be causing the symptoms. Once a diagnosis is made, the goals of treatment are to ease pain, prevent damage to teeth and surrounding areas, and reduce bruxism behavior as much as possible. To prevent damage, your dentist may prescribe a mouth guard or some other appliance, such as a splint, for you to wear at night. Appliances may protect teeth from the pressure of clenching and may even reduce clenching, however some patients find that it makes their bruxism worse. There is no one cure-all for bruxism, so it may take a team effort between you and your dentist and perhaps other dental professionals, such as an orthodontist, to find the cure for your problem. Just remember that bruxism is not a dangerous disorder and that with conscious effort and professional help, you can prevent damage to your oral and overall health.