If you’re careful about your dental health care, then you’re probably familiar with the popularity of fluoride for keeping your teeth strong and healthy. The mineral is found in most major toothpaste brands, in your tap water, and even at your dentist’s office in the form of fluoride treatments. To help you maintain an effective dental hygiene routine, your Ft. Worth orthodontist, Dr. Ciro Cabal, explains why fluoride is a staple of good dental health, especially if you’re undergoing orthodontic treatment.
What is Fluoride?
Scientifically speaking, fluoride is a chemical ion of the element fluorine, with an additional electron that gives it a negative charge. As a mineral, fluoride is also an essential ally to your teeth’s protective layer of enamel. The strongest substance your body produces, enamel is highly mineralized and formed mainly from calcium and phosphate mineral crystals, with a small amount of fluoride thrown into the equation. Oral bacteria, which contribute to plaque, attack your tooth enamel by producing acid that depletes these minerals from your teeth, weakening the barrier between your teeth and the bacterial infection that causes tooth decay. To strengthen your teeth, fluoride bonds to your enamel’s surface in the same way calcium and phosphate do, fortifying your enamel structure and reducing the risk of developing tooth decay.
Improve Your Hygiene, Especially with Braces
Keeping your teeth strong and healthy is always important. When your teeth are crooked or misaligned, however, the threat to your oral health is elevated as the odd spaces and angles create more spaces for bacterial plaque to hide. Even in the midst of orthodontic treatment to correct your crooked teeth, extra diligence is needed to ensure that no food debris or plaque hides around your brackets and wires. Dr. Cabal can offer specific instructions for proper hygiene and care to help keep your smile disease-free during your orthodontic treatment.
Straight & Healthy Smiles at Your Ft. Worth Orthodontist’s Office
To learn more about improving your dental hygiene, call Lake Country Orthodontics today at (817) 236-7846 and schedule a consultation with your Ft. Worth orthodontist. Located in the 76179 area, we proudly serve families from Azle, Saginaw, Springtown, Weatherford, Haslet, Ft. Worth, and all surrounding communities.
