The natural processes of the bacteria in your mouth, as well as acidic foods and beverages, can cause a microscopic erosion of the mineral crystals that make up your tooth enamel. If this microscopic enamel erosion is not countered by regular, daily exposure to fluoride it can pose several threats to your oral health.

The microscopic erosion creates tiny channels in the enamel. At first this can make your teeth more sensitive to hot, cold, sweet and acidic things. Over time this can also promote tooth decay, chips and fractures. Any one of these problems could compromise the tooth, requiring a crown, root canal or possibly even a total extraction of the tooth.

If you aren’t getting adequate fluoride exposure in your average day, Dr. Alan M. Howard and Yonatan Howard might suggest a basic fluoride treatment or using fluoride supplements. Some of the more common fluoride supplements include sublingual tabs, gels, mouth rinse or a concentrated fluoride toothpaste.

Prescribed fluoride supplements that are meant to be ingested, must be taken at the appropriate times to be truly effective. If Dr. Alan M. Howard and Yonatan Howard prescribes fluoride toothpaste or mouth rinse, you should apply them to your teeth right before going to sleep, or at a time when you can avoid eating or drinking for at least an hour. This will allow the fluoride to deeply penetrate the microscopic areas of your tooth enamel.

Using a toothpaste with added fluoride as part of your daily oral hygiene routine will also help to reverse enamel erosion every day.