Ang Kalatas October 2015 Issue | Page 22

18 Fluoride and Your Teeth O ne of the topics I’ve been contemplating on writing is about the dental benefits of fluoride. The reality is, the benefits of preventing dental decay overall really outweighs the negative claims of some groups/individuals about fluoride. Contrary to popular belief, fluoride it is not a medication. Fluoride is a mineral found naturally almost everywhere i.e. rock, soil, plants, water, etc. SO HOW DOES FLUORIDE WORK? To address this question, we must first understand how tooth decay starts. Tooth decay occurs when acid attacks the surface of the tooth. Acid is produced by bugs in the plaque of our teeth. Plaque occurs when we don’t brush our teeth regularly. When acid destroys the hard surface of THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 6 Number 1 | OCTOBER 2015 FOOD & HEALTH Your Mouth, Your Body, Your Health Pinoy Cooking Demo at Auburn City Festival DR. ROUEL VERGARA [email protected] the tooth, we get holes or cavities! What fluoride does in this situation is it helps in repairing the acid attack before it becomes more serious resulting to a hole in a tooth. So consider fluoride as a “repair kit”. One of the benefits of fluoride aside from hel