What is Fluoride?
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that comes from the common element fluorine. This mineral is found in rocks and, surprisingly, in many foods we eat. It is not only essential for our tooth health, but also for our bones to grow strong and to grow how they should.
Why do dentists like Fluoride?
Fluoride helps to reduce the risk of tooth decay. Decay happens when some of the bacteria in our mouths use the sugars in the food we eat to create acids that demineralise and dissolve the enamel of our teeth. This process occurs every time we eat. Our teeth can cope with this happening about 4 times a day before decay starts.
Flouride inhibits bacteria from being able to convert the sugars we eat into acids, reducing the amount of time the teeth are being attacked by the acid. Our teeth are protected as fluoride prevents minerals from being lost from the enamel, which makes it weak and more prone to attack by bacteria.
Food and Fluoride
Plants absorb fluoride while they grow, meaning it is present when we eat them and the animals that eat these plants.
Potatoes
Surprisingly, the way potatoes are cooked changes the amount of fluoride in them; baked potatoes contain more fluoride than roasted potatoes and oven chips.
Grapes
Grapes have a relatively low amount of fluoride compared to other foods. Once grapes become raisins, the amount of fluoride multiplies by about 20! Interestingly, white wine has almost double the amount of fluoride than red wine.
Black Tea
While fluoridated water increases the amount of fluoride we consume, black tea leaves naturally contain a high amount of fluoride compared to other foods. There is no fluoride added to the water in the Stroud area. The longer the tea is brewed, the more natural fluoride we drink.
A 2015 study brewed multiple brands of tea bags and found the PG Tips Decaffeinated contained the most fluoride, while Tesco Finest Assam contains the least at 3 times less.
Coffee
Along with your morning coffee, you will also be having a small amount of fluoride. While not present in as high a quantity as tea, instant coffee contains more fluoride than other types of coffee.
Fish
Those liking their fish and chips at the beach might be interested to know their meal naturally contains fluoride. Sardines canned in brine contain more fluoride than almost all foods and drinks, whereas tuna canned in brine contains almost 10 times less fluoride!
No matter what your stance on fluoride, we eat and drink foods that naturally have fluoride every day. This mineral is crucial to the normal growth of our bones and to the strength of our bones and teeth.
Studies show that even when eating a lot of the foods that have fluoride in them, the best way to protect your teeth is to use a fluoride toothpaste.
