Fluoride

Essential for the prevention of caries

Fluoride is a necessary building block for the normal formation of tooth enamel. Enamel protects the tooth against caries. Continual acid attacks, which arise from acid in foodstuffs (e.g. Fruit juices) and bacteria, promote caries. Daily food intake cannot fulfill the need for fluoride. Daily doses of between 0.3-4.0 mg, depending on one’s age, are both necessary and completely harmless. It is a scientifically proved fact, that fluorides which are applied to the tooth surface after the teeth appear do prevent caries. For example, investigations were carried out in 1953 regarding the population of Sembrancher in the Canton of Wallis regarding general medical problems. The only surprising result was low rate of caries in spite of bad dental hygiene. The reason for this had to do with the natural drinking water, which had a fluoride content of between 1.0-1.4 mg.

Periodic fluoride treatments are recommended in order to maintain the tooth enamel. The dosage depends on one’s age and the medically defined limits should not be exceeded. The treatment can take different forms, for example mouthwash solutions, jellies and coatings. In the meantime there have been more than 300’000 scientific studies on the use of fluoride. They demonstrate its harmlessness, given the correct application. Medical supervision is therefore necessary when fluoride is used.