FLUORIDE TRAYS STOP DECAY BEST
The best protection against decay has been available for more than 30 years. It is the daily use of a prescription-grade fluoride in custom trays for 5 minutes per day.
All you need to do is brush your teeth, put a little fluoride in the trays, and place the trays in your mouth. Then just watch the clock and 5 minutes later you are finished.
The best trays are the ones made in our office, but if you want to save $100, go to a sporting goods store. Then buy, boil, and bite the mouth guard and follow the directions to use it with the prescription fluoride.
You still need to brush, floss, and cut down on sugar, especially the kind that stays in your mouth and sticks to your teeth, as with sugared soft drinks and candy.
ADULT FLUORIDE TREATMENT
In the past, treating teeth with fluoride to prevent decay was
considered to be a benefit only to children. In recent years, however, after extensive research, the American Dental Association has concluded that fluoride would be beneficial to adults as well.
Adults are keeping their natural teeth longer than ever before and studies show that decay often becomes a problem. It is common for the roots of adult teeth to become exposed due to abrasion, recession, and periodontal disease. This exposed root structure is susceptible to decay, hard to restore, and close to the nerve of the tooth. Additionally, decay around the margin of a crown will often necessitate replacing the crown. For these reasons, we recommend fluoride treatment for adults.
Fluoride treatment is usually not covered by insurance, but the fee involved is significantly less than that of restoring a small cavity on the root surface. The cost of a crown would be even more. We feel that fluoride treatments are an excellent preventive service that we can offer our adult patients.
We hope this explanation gives you adequate information to make an informed decision when you are offered an adult fluoride treatment. We are aware that most dental offices do not offer this service. We do, however, because we want our patients to have access to the best and most up-to-date preventive treatment available.
