The next time you brush your teeth, perhaps later this night or tomorrow morning, you may like to check the list of ingredients on your toothpaste tube. For a certainty, you will find fluoride listed.
Fluoride is the fluorine ion added to toothpastes and dental rinses to help protect your teeth from cavities. Also, direct contact between fluoride and teeth strengthens and supplies much-needed minerals to damaged enamel, though it cannot fix a cavity once one is formed. According to about.com, below is how it works:
The calcium and phosphate compound which makes up tooth enamel can be damaged by acids. Bacteria that thrive on the sugars found in the mouth (that have been left over from food) multiply on dental surfaces and produce acids.
Mechanical brushing of teeth dislodges these bacteria and rinses them away, but does nothing to address the damage done to the enamel from acid exposure. Fortunately, saliva neutralises these acids and the teeth use compounds found in saliva to remineralise the enamel. So, as long as the rate of demineralisation and the rate of remineralisation remain in balance, the teeth remain strong and healthy. Problem only arises when more minerals are lost from the teeth than are replaced causing the formation of dental caries or cavities.
In such instances, fluoride helps the situation by interacting with a compound, hydroxyapatite to form a stronger compound that is not easily damaged by acids. There is some evidence fluoride may inhibit the growth of bacteria on teeth or limit their capacity for producing acid.
Even though you spit out toothpaste and probably rinse your mouth, enough fluoride remains on your teeth and in your saliva to offer protection for a while after brushing your teeth or using a fluoridated rinse like mouthwash.
If anything may inspire you to begin brushing your teeth twice daily, I guess this will be it!
