Fluoride is the most useful cariostatic agent available. This will prevent cavities from eating away your child’s teeth, remineralise the tooth surface and prevent hypersensitivity.
Note that this product doesn’t cure cavities of teeth once it has occurred but it prevents your teeth from further damage and restricts cavities.
The most commonly used Fluoride varnish available has the following composition:
- Sodium Fluoride containing 2.26% Fluorine.
- Silane Fluoride containing 0.7% Fluorine.
Overall this varnish protects your teeth and preserves the smile on your face.
Methods of application of fluoride varnish:
1) Teeth are dried first with air (no need to isolate with cotton as the varnish sticks with cotton).
2) Apply 0.3- 0.5 ml of varnish all over the teeth. Start applying from the surface that is the junction between two teeth and apply all the surfaces of the visible enamel.
3) First, the lower arch is done then upper since saliva tends to accumulate in the lower arch easily.
4) The mouth is open for 4 minutes. Then the dentist asks the patient to spit the thing out.
5) You should not drink anything for 1 hr. Then you can drink but must not eat till next morning (18 hrs is the time required before consuming any solid foods to prevent the fluoride varnish from getting washed away).
Advantages of using fluoride varnish:
- Prevents early childhood caries in children below 5 years of age when used as prophylactic therapy.
- Causes remineralisation of the initiated dental cavities.
- Prevents hypersensitivity of teeth.
- Arrests cavities in its early stage even in adults that save your teeth from getting a root canal or extraction.
Drawbacks of applying the varnish:
As such no noticeable drawbacks are seen on teeth on prescribed use, but on the excessive application, certain side effects are seen which are:
- White spots may be seen on permanent teeth due to a high concentration of fluorine in varnish.
- Teeth may get stained and pitted.
- Plasma concentration of fluoride increases which affects the body in many ways.
- The fluoride varnish gets washed off easily on repeated drinking and eating for the first 24 hours.
- The smell may be nauseating to some individuals.
Conclusion:
As the age-old saying goes “Prevention is better than cure”, sparing some time to apply fluoride varnish is worthy of spending tons of money and time in further dental treatment to preserve your beautiful smile. Happy teeth, happy you.