Toothpaste is a paste applied to the surface of human teeth in the way of friction, with the main purpose of cleaning. Friction agent is the main raw material of toothpaste. When brushing teeth, the friction agent in toothpaste is rubbed on the tooth surface through the toothbrush bristles to achieve cleaning and removing tooth stains.
What is fluorine?
"Fluorine" is a trace element, mainly with drinking water into the human body. It is a double-edged sword, moderate intake of fluoride can prevent caries; However, if the intake is too much, it will lead to chronic fluorosis and "fluorosis", which is manifested as tooth discoloration or even rough surface and defect, and serious fluorosis will cause systemic bone calcification and other lesions. In addition to ingestion through drinking water, fluorine can also be ingested through breathing, and people living in coal-producing areas are prone to fluorosis because of the release of fluorine during the burning of coal.
What is fluoride toothpaste?
Fluoride toothpaste refers to the addition of fluoride, such as sodium fluoride or fluoride salt, to the toothpaste formula. Fluoride binds to minerals on the surface of the tooth to form a protective fluoride layer that prevents the tooth from being eroded by acids and reduces the risk of dental caries.
What are the benefits of fluoride toothpaste to inhibit cariogenic bacteria:
Fluorine can inhibit the growth of cariogenic bacteria and neutralize polysaccharide. The occurrence of caries is closely related to the bacteria attached to the tooth surface. The experiment showed that fluoride concentration could inhibit the storage of polysaccharides in the cells of S. cariogens. Intracellular polysaccharide is the nutrient of bacteria, its lack will affect the metabolism, growth and reproduction of bacteria. Fluorine can also enter the plaque through two ways of dental tissue outward or through saliva inward, inhibiting the glycolysis into organic acid enzymes, thus reducing the formation of organic acid, demineralization of hard tooth tissue is suspended, and the prevalence of caries is reduced accordingly.
Repair tooth enamel
After the use of fluoride toothpaste, the fluoropapatite formed in the outer enamel can be maintained for a long time. In the early stage of enamel demineralization, the surface enamel crystal changes from hydroxyapatite to fluoropapatite which is more resistant to acid dissolution. Its strong crystallization surrounds the original hydroxyapatite crystal and prevents it from continuing to dissolve. When the concentration of fluoride ions in the mouth continues to maintain a relatively high concentration, fluorine can reduce the dissolution of hydroxyapatite, showing the effect of repairing tooth enamel, and can form an ion transport barrier, increase the concentration of calcium and phosphorus ions in the mouth, and then promote the remineralization of tooth enamel, and participate in the reaction of enamel mineralization and remineralization, playing a beneficial role.
Can children use fluoride toothpaste? Fluoride can only cause harm to the specific structure of teeth during development. Generally, only children who live in high fluoride areas for a long time before the age of 6 to 7 years will have fluorosis. Children over the age of 7 do not develop dental fluorosis even if they move to high fluoride areas.
For children younger than 2 years of age, the use of fluoride toothpaste is not recommended because their swallowing reflex is not fully developed. For children who have been able to complete the mouth movement, the use of fluoride toothpaste is safe and beneficial, but children under the age of 6 should be supervised by an adult to urge them to spit out the toothpaste foam in time.
In addition, for children in non-high-fluorine areas, it is also recommended to use "fluoride" for caries prevention, the specific way is to go to the hospital every six months to "fluoride" caries prevention treatment, it is not recommended that parents buy their own fluorine-containing preparations for children to eat or apply
How to use fluoride toothpaste correctly
The application of fluoride can be divided into systemic application and local application. Systemic applications include: drinking water fluoridation, salt fluoridation, milk fluoridation, fluoride tablets, fluoride drops. Local applications include: fluoride toothpaste, fluoride mouthwash, local application of fluoride, fluorine coating, fluorine foam, fluorine gel, etc. The most common use of fluoride in our daily life is the local application of fluoride toothpaste and oral fluoride. In terms of usage and dosage, it should also be divided into adults and children, especially infants and toddlers, which need special attention.
Adult:
Toothpaste is a preparation to assist in brushing teeth, which can enhance the friction of brushing teeth, help remove food debris, soft dirt and plaque, help eliminate or reduce bad breath, and make breath fresh. Adults only need to use about 1 gram (about 1 cm in length) of paste each time they brush their teeth. If other active ingredients, such as fluoride, antibacterial drugs, control calculus and anti-sensitivity chemicals, are added to the toothpaste paste, they have the effect of preventing caries, reducing plaque, inhibiting calculus formation and anti-tooth sensitivity, respectively.
Children:
Fluoride toothpaste has definite effect on preventing caries. Preschool children generally gargle and spit out foreign bodies in the mouth, so children's fluoride toothpaste can be used to brush their teeth, but the amount of each time is the size of a pea, and under the supervision of parents or teachers to prevent swallowing.
It is recommended to use toothpaste with a fluoride content of 500 PPM between the ages of 1 and 5 (children who do not have the ability to gargle fully before the age of 3 should prevent accidental swallowing and avoid excessive swallowing); From 6 to 11 years old, use a toothpaste with a fluoride content of 1000ppm, and older than 11 years old use a toothpaste with a fluoride content of 1500ppm.
Infants and young children:
Recommendations and guidance on the use of fluoride toothpaste for infants and young children aged 6 months to 3 years, after the first baby tooth eruption, parents should use fluoride toothpaste to brush their children's teeth twice a day. To ensure safety and effectiveness, it is recommended that infants and young children aged 0 to 3 years use 500 to 1100 mg/kg fluoride toothpaste, the size of a grain of rice (15 to 20 mg) each time, and use gauze to remove the remaining toothpaste in the mouth after brushing.
Recommendations and guidance for the use of fluorine-containing coatings in infants and young children aged 0 to 3 years According to the results of the risk assessment of caries in infants and young children, from the first tooth eruption, a personalized local application of fluoride can be performed by a professional to prevent caries. It is recommended that infants with moderate or low risk of caries should use fluorine-containing coatings (fluorine-containing mass concentration of 0.10-2.26 mg/L) twice a year. For infants and young children at high risk of caries, fluoride is recommended four times a year.
Fluorinated foams, fluorinated gels and fluorinated mouthwashes are not recommended for infants and young children under 3 years of age.