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What is fluorosis?

Posted on 10/24/2022 by Mark Bieber

This can be described as a dental condition that mostly affects the teeth of young children up to the age of eight years due to too much fluoride exposure. This condition may change the way tooth enamel appears since it attacks when the permanent teeth are still forming. A child may consume excess fluoride for instance through drinking water or even toothpaste.

What causes fluorosis?

Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally and is used in many ways. These may include being added to drinking water a process known as fluoridation. It's also used in the manufacture of toothpaste which is used for brushing teeth. Fluoride in toothpaste tends to be more concentrated but children below eight years enjoy it, especially when brushing their teeth. In this case, they ingest more of it and thus causing harm to their growing teeth leading to fluorosis.

Signs and symptoms of fluorosis

The most known cases of fluorosis are just mild, it is a painless condition that doesn't affect the teeth permanently. However, it can change the teeth' appearance to have stains.

There are also severe cases that are rare but may compromise your overall dental health. These cases have signs like permanent tooth enamel damage, brown spots which occur on the enamel and pitting of the enamel.

How fluorosis can be treated

If a child is diagnosed with fluorosis the dentist determines whether the condition is mild or severe. For a mild case, there is no need for treatment, but for a severe case, treatment is required for instance a dentist might use veneers or teeth whitening. This helps to restore discolored teeth.

Before treatment, caregivers and parents need to ensure children use the right amount of toothpaste while brushing and supervise them to ensure they spit it out. For more information regarding fluorosis, please reach out to our dental team.

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