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Showing posts from February, 2016

Understanding Pediatric Fluoride Treatment

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It's undeniable that fluoride has played a major role in the decline of dental cavities in the United States.  However what isn't so clear to many parents is whether or not fluoride treatments are safe and/or beneficial for children. After all, children receive fluoride on a regular basis from many different types of foods and even water.  Through these sources alone, minerals lost due to plaque, bacteria and sugars are  remineralized on teeth. So, is an additional fluoride treatment at the dentists necessary and if so, at what age are the treatments most beneficial? Read on to find out. Why You Should Consider Fluoride Treatments For Your Child While it's true that fluoride found in foods and water can replace lost minerals, it sometimes isn't enough to strengthen teeth and protect against cavities.  In fact, if you don't consume enough natural fluoride, demineralization will occur much more quickly than remineralization, leaving enamel at risk and causin

Diet does not mean tooth friendly.

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How are you doing with your New Year's resolutions?  Are you still watching your diet?  Keep in mind, having  a sugar-free label does not make a product tooth-friendly. Sugar-free beverages and candies can be as damaging as those containing sugar. The studies found that the majority of soft drinks and sports drinks led to softening of dental enamel - the outer layer of the tooth - by between a third and a half. Researchers at the Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), based at the University of Melbourne, Australia, tested 23 different types of sugar-free drinks - including soft drinks and sports drinks - and found those that contain acidic additives and those with low pH levels cause measurable damage to tooth enamel, even if they have no sugar. While most people are probably aware of the link between sugar and tooth decay, what is perhaps less well understood is the nature of that link, and why drinks that are acidic - whether they contain sugar or not - can also b