A wonderful way to supplement your yearly dental professional fluoride treatment is with at home fluoride treatments. There are several different options, and we recommend different options to different people depending on their age, habits, and risk for tooth decay.
Over the counter fluoride treatments
Our number one recommendation for over the counter fluoride treatment is a using a fluoride toothpaste. Using a fluoride toothpaste twice a day to clean your teeth allows the fluoride to be available to help strengthen and protect against cavities.
You can also use fluoride mouthwash, such as A.C.T. rinse, in conjunction with your routine brushing and flossing. This mouthwash can be used once a day. As the fluoride is not applied directly to your teeth, as it is with an in-office fluoride varnish treatment, eating and drinking isn’t recommended for 30 minutes after you use the mouthwash.
Using over the counter options to supplement your professional fluoride treatments helps maintain a level of bio available fluoride in your mouth year round.
Make sure you are supervising young children with over the counter fluoride products to ensure they don’t ingest any. The ADA does not recommend using fluoride toothpaste for children under the age of 2 or fluoride mouthwash for children under the age of 6. These children are at a greater risk of ingesting the products.
Prescription fluoride treatments
Over the counter fluoride treatments provide anywhere from 0.05% sodium fluoride to 0.12% sodium fluoride. For patients who are at a higher risk for caries, there are products available by prescription with higher concentrations of fluoride.
- Prevident toothpaste and mouth rinses have a higher concentration of fluoride and can be prescribed by your dentist.
- Clinpro 5000 toothpaste has both a higher concentration of fluoride, as well as Tri-Calcium Phosphate. Your tooth enamel is made of crystalized calcium phosphate, so the Tri-Calcium Phosphate works with the fluoride to remineralize your teeth and reverse white spots.
- MI PastePlus is a paste that you rub on your teeth twice a day. It contains fluoride as well as Recaldent. Recaldent contains casein phosphopeptite and calcium phosphate which helps remineralize your teeth and reverse white spots.
Prescription strength fluoride treatments should be used in conjunction with your regular oral hygiene routine to provide the best benefit. If you are using a prescription strength fluoride toothpaste, our doctors recommend using it as a replacement for your regular toothpaste before bed.
As of yet there is no fool proof product to protect against dental caries, but with a comprehensive at home fluoride program you can help to strengthen and protect your teeth. If your at home care doesn’t seem to be enough, talk to our Evanston dentists to find out what other options are available to help keep your smile healthy and beautiful.