How Parents Can Help Prevent Tooth Decay

One thing that concerns many dental savvy parents is whether or not their child is getting enough fluoride. In the United States this isn’t generally a concern, as the water in most municipal areas has had fluoride added. Those who get their water from a well or who don’t drink city water may find themselves lacking in fluoride. Fluoride plays a vital role in protecting your teeth from the ravages of decay, so ensuring that your children get enough of it is important to their lifelong dental health.

How Does Fluoride Protect Our Teeth From Decay?

When your child’s teeth are getting enough fluoride, they benefit from everything it has to offer to their enamel. Fluoride has the wonderful property of strengthening your enamel, making it more resistant to decay and acid. The way it interacts with your teeth can even mean it repairs your teeth and helps to reduce or even reverse minor cases of decay. All of this leads to one question. What do we do if we’re not getting enough fluoride from the usual sources?

Ways To Get Additional Fluoride For Your Child?

The first thing to know is that if your child is under six years old? They won’t need any fluoride supplements. Following that your first step should be to speak to your pediatric dentist. Even in places where you aren’t having fluoride added to your water, it’s still a naturally occurring element often found in water sources. It’s a good idea to get your water tested for fluoride before adding any supplements to boost it. When it comes time to find ways to boost your child’s intake of fluoride, the following options are viable:

• Use a fluoride-containing toothpaste to brush your child’s teeth
• Speak to your dentist about drops, tablets, or vitamins that contain fluoride
• Fluoride treatments are often available to help protect your child’s teeth.
• Consider adding fluoride containing foods such as spinach, raisins, and potatoes to your diet.

These are all great ways to ensure that your child gets the fluoride that they need in their diet. Once point to consider when using food as a way to get fluoride. The amount of fluoride we can naturally get from our diets isn’t enough to properly compensate for a lack of fluoride. It doesn’t hurt as an additive, but you’ll almost certainly have to speak to your dentist about alternative choices.

Want to know more about how to ensure your child is getting enough fluoride? Reach out to the team at Smiling Kids Pediatric Dentistry in Noblesville, IN. We’re proud to be the dentistry provider that so many of the families in the Noblesville area rely on, and are ready to welcome you into our patient care family. Our team works diligently under the guidance of Dr. Sam Bullard to provide a consistently excellent level of care for our patients. Call today to make an appointment to protect your child’s dental health and become part of what makes Smiling Kids Pediatric Dentistry Noblesville’s choice for pediatric dentistry.