Fluoride Helps Dental Health
A new study has found that children drinking water with added fluoride helps dental health in adulthood decades later.
"Your fluoridation exposure at birth is affecting your tooth loss in your 40s and 50s, regardless of what your fluoridation exposure was like when you were 20 and 30 years old," said Matthew Neidell, a health policy professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.
He combined data from recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention community health study and a water census to see the affects of drinking fluoridated water in the 1950s and 1960s on tooth loss in the 1990s.
For children whose adult teeth have not shown yet, fluoride still improves tooth enamel, the highly mineralized tissue on teeth's surface. Fluoride also helps teeth damaged from the decay process and breaks down bacteria on teeth.
The researchers write that respondents who did not live in the same county their entire lives received differing amounts of fluoride in their water, which complicated study findings.
The study, which focused on tooth loss as an indication of overall oral health, could not adjust for factors such as use of toothpaste, which also provides a dose of fluoride.
To prevent tooth decay, Howard Pollick, a professor of clinical dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco recommends also brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and reducing sugar levels in diet.
The article has been published in the October issue of the American Journal of Public Health
Risk for Periodontal diseases?The American Academy of Periodontology seeks to educate the public about research findings which support what dental professionals have long suspected: Infections in the mouth can play havoc elsewhere in the body. For a long time it was thought that bacteria was the factor that linked periodontal disease to other infections in the body; however, more recent research demonstrates that inflammation may link periodontal disease to other chronic conditions.
Research has shown, and experts agree, that there is an association between periodontal diseases and other chronic inflammatory conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, treating inflammation may not only help manage periodontal diseases but may also help with the management of other chronic inflammatory conditions.
When an inflammatory condition is suspected or diagnosed, it is important to consult with both a general physician and a dental health professional, such as a periodontist. Sometimes the only way to detect periodontal diseases is through a periodontal evaluation. A periodontal evaluation may be especially important if you:
Have a high risk for periodontal diseases. Take the AAP risk assessment test. Have heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease or osteoporosis, or are thinking of becoming pregnant. Have a family member with periodontal disease. Research suggests that the bacteria that cause periodontal disease can pass through saliva. This means the common contact of saliva in families puts children and couples at risk for contracting the periodontal disease of another family member. Have a sore or irritation in your mouth that does not get better within two weeks.
Could you be one of the millions of people who have gum disease and don't know it?
Take the risk assessment test now
