What Should Parents Know About Fluoride Varnish?

Recent research shows that fluoride varnish for kids helps prevent tooth decay in children and adolescents. Dental experts recommend children get fluoride varnish; at least 2-4 times a year. It helps significantly reduce the prevalence of dental caries. Additionally, it also provides extra protection against tooth decay.

Fluoride varnish is also helpful for the adult population. It enters the tooth enamel and helps prevent caries development and tooth decay in adult patients. ADA recommends that adults over 18 years should receive 2.26% fluoride varnish at least after every 3-6 months. Continue reading about the information parents should know about fluoride varnish.

What is Fluoride Varnish?

Fluoride varnish is a preventive dental treatment used to prevent tooth decay. Put simply; it is a layering of concentrated fluoride on the patient’s teeth (top and sides). Fluoride varnish provides extra protection for oral health maintenance and teeth brushing.

It is a pale-yellow 5% sodium fluoride gel that sets quickly onto the teeth. It enters the tooth enamel and makes the tooth harder. As a result, it helps prevent tooth decay or stops it from getting worse. According to scientific studies, fluoride protects against tooth decay when brushing your teeth with fluoride toothpaste. Choose a fluoride toothpaste based on your dentist’s recommendations and opt for fluoride varnish to improve your oral health.

There are numerous advantages of getting fluoride varnish treatment for kids and adults. Some of them are:

• Well tolerated by people, including those with special needs.
• It’s a cost-effective way to prevent dental caries.
• No professional dental cleaning is necessary before the procedure.
• It helps enhance the remineralization of the tooth surface.
• Fluoride is pleasant to taste.

Who Should Get This Treatment?

Fluoride varnish is usually recommended for children as they are more prone to cavity formation or tooth decay. However, anyone at risk of tooth decay can have this treatment per the dentist’s recommendation.

Is Fluoride Varnish Safe and Effective?

This treatment is entirely safe and utilized by people worldwide to prevent cavity formation and tooth decay. It is even possible to apply to babies when they have their first tooth at around six months. Fluoride varnish uses a small amount of fluoride without any risks of swallowing the product.

Fluoride varnish is an effective anti-cavity treatment that provides added protection. Some studies showed that young people treated with fluoride varnish experienced a 43% decline in having a missing or decayed tooth.

Fluoride Varnish Application Process to Teeth?

Fluoride varnish is easy to apply and takes minimal time. In addition to this, the patients also do not need to have professional dental cleanings before this treatment. The application process for fluoride varnish involves the following steps:

• First, your dentist cleans the teeth with a piece of gauze.
• After the cleaning process, they apply the varnish to the teeth. The varnish application uses a tiny brush to clean the teeth from all sides.
• The varnish forms a sticky covering over the tooth. It takes less than 2 minutes to complete the procedure.

The Bottom Line:

Fluoride varnish for kids is a preventive dentistry treatment that prevents people from having tooth decay or forming cavities. It is usually safe for everyone except ones who are allergic to varnish ingredients or have mouth sores.

Contact your Stockton dentist for kids, Dr. Sajjad Rizvi DDS at Happy Kids Dental today to learn more about Fluoride Varnish.

Resource:

Is Fluoride Safe For Kids?

This media/content or any other on this website does not prescribe, recommend, or prevent any treatment or procedure. Therefore, we highly recommend that you get the advice of a qualified dentist or other medical practitioners regarding your specific dental condition