flouride

Toothpaste with Bioactive Glass

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A research group at Queen Mary University of London have developed a very fast dissolving ‘bioactive’ glass that will be put into a toothpaste to repair decayed teeth. This builds upon the researchers prior work with bioactive glass that release fluoride, forming a chemical that mimics tooth and bone mineral. The new toothpaste with bioactive glass developed using chlorine instead of flourine. The chlorine atom and ions are much bigger, which enables them to incorporate much more of it into the glass. The toothpaste is designed for people who don’t want to use a fluoride-containing toothpaste and for areas of the world where the water is naturally fluoridated. This toothpaste is unique because it can put back the mineral lost from your teeth after consumption of an acidic drink, but without the use of fluoride. The researchers feel that everyone can possibly … Read more

Does Fluoride Cause Additional Hip Fractures?

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Researchers are interested in studying fluoride and it’s possible benefits and risks due to it commonly being in water supplies of communities. This is because fluoride is known to help prevent cavities. Even so, some question if putting fluoride in everyone’s water is the right thing to do as some people could experience problems from the water. For example, several studies have shown Large Amounts of Fluoride Consumed by Young Children Leads to Fluorosis. Hence, it is beneficial to minimize fluoride exposure to young children. Others have looked at the opposite end of the age spectrum: old people. Researchers in Sweden have investigated the possibility that fluoride in the water can lead to additional hip fractures. The study consisted of a large amount of Swedish residents who were exposured to fluoride levels with the researchers testing a hypothesis that there … Read more

How does Flouride really Protect Teeth from Cavities?

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A recent study that appeared in the journal Langmuir looked into the role of fluoride and their protection on teeth. The researchers who published the journal article found the protective shield fluoride forms on teeth is up to 100 times thinner than what was previously thought. It is well known that fluoride is found in toothpaste, mouthwash, and public drinking water in many areas in the world. The use of fluoride of course is to help prevent tooth decay which causes cavities to form. Researchers found the fluorapatite layer created by fluoride on the hard white substance covering teeth’s surface called enamel is only 6 nanometers thick. This layer is very small and over 10 times thinner than what was indicated in any prior studies. Hence the researchers raise questions about how a layer so thin can protect teeth from … Read more