Introduction
Fluorides have been added to toothpaste for decades to prevent caries. Fluorides help to remineralize the tooth enamel and thus protect against the development of caries. In the case of food with a high sugar content or an acidic environment in the oral cavity, minerals may be released from the tooth enamel. The hard tooth substance becomes porous and the accumulation of bacteria leads to caries. The fluorides in the toothpaste are also normally a natural component of the enamel and can therefore help to re-mineralize the tooth structure and protect it from acid.
What is fluoride?
Fluorine is an important trace element that forms compounds with other elements. The salts of fluorine are the fluorides. These are components of bone, enamel and dentine, blood and gastric juice.
Fluorides can remineralize the dental enamel. After a particularly acidic environment in the mouth, for example by eating a lot of sugary food, the tooth can be protected from porosity. This can be achieved with externally added fluorides, as they can supplement the natural fluorides and thus remineralize the tooth.
Fluorides are contained in toothpaste or even table salt. Other natural sources of fluoride are black tea, green tea, fish and asparagus. Fluorides are also used in the treatment of osteoporosis. The fluorides stimulate the osteoblasts (= the cells of the bones that build them) and thus increase the bone mass.
Is fluoride useful?
Fluoride is very important for the body. Toothpaste containing fluoride is necessary, because it has been proven to reduce caries in children and young people. Scientists and consumer advocates believe that fluoride is useful.
This may also be of interest to you: How does tooth decay develop? Fluoride supports remineralization. It has been proven that fluoride helps other enamel components to be incorporated more quickly.
This gives the bacteria less time to attack the weak points in the tooth and reduces the development of caries. The fluorides are also incorporated into the enamel themselves. Furthermore, fluorides can directly penetrate bacteria and thus disturb their metabolism.
This inhibits the production of acids by the bacteria, which is dangerous for the tooth. As calcium fluoride from toothpaste or gels, they form a kind of protective layer against acid attacks on the teeth. Fluorides are naturally not sufficiently available in our body. Therefore they must be taken with toothpaste, table salt or fluoride tablets. However, depending on age, only a certain amount per body weight is recommended.
