Why do our teeth need Fluoride?
Fluoride is added to most municipal drinking water because it helps to remineralize teeth. This process can be enhanced using prescription strength fluoride treatments either at home or in the dental office. Fluoride helps to prevent the formation of cavities and also makes hyper-sensitive teeth less sensitive. Treatment can even help repair white spot lesions found on tooth surfaces that are highly susceptible to form cavities otherwise.
Commercial toothpastes have a small concentration of fluoride added, however this is often not enough to significantly strengthen teeth. Prescription toothpastes have concentrations of about 5000 parts per million of fluoride which allows it to be an effective topical treatment.
Who should use Prescription Toothpaste like Prevident 5000 Sensitive?
Prescription strength toothpaste is often prescribed to patients with high decay rate.
Patients with teeth that are highly sensitive to cold or acidic foods can also benefit from brushing with toothpaste that contains a higher level of fluoride.
Why don’t all toothpastes have this much Fluoride?
The FDA limits the amount of fluoride in commercially available toothpastes because swallowing such high concentrations can cause negative side effects, especially in the formation of developing teeth of children. This means that patients need to be educated on the proper way to use this toothpaste by a medical professional before incorporating it into their home dental routine.
Talk to your dentist in order to find out if you could benefit from prescription strength toothpaste.
