This film was made possible by a grant from the Colgate -Palmolive Company, worldwide leaders in dental research and oral care products.
There's something very special about a smile.
Smiles help make us unique as individuals, and when you think of the positive effect they have upon our lives, a natural healthy smile is one of the most valuable assets we can have, and certainly one we want to keep.
When you look at a smile like that, who would ever guess you were looking at a scene of battle, one that has gone on ever since the time of primitive man.
The battleground is in the human mouth.
On one side, the teeth made up of millions and millions of microscopic mineral crystals.
On the other, acid -forming bacteria trying to break down the crystals to cause tooth decay.
For thousands of years, the bacteria were winning this war, and a smile more often than not revealed teeth that were decayed, discolored, or missing altogether.
In fact, this painful, often disfiguring disease is the most prevalent of all human illnesses.
Then about 50 years ago, scientists began to understand the effect on tooth decay of a colorless, odorless, tasteless mineral called fluoride.
This magnificent mineral has already prevented billions of cavities.
Yet perhaps because the benefits of fluoride came gradually at first, most of us don't realize how much it has contributed to the health and well -being of hundreds of millions of people.
To appreciate the importance of fluoride, we first have to look at the tooth itself.
The tooth's outer surface, called the enamel, is the hardest substance in the human body, but this appearance of strength and stability is an illusion.
Seen under a scanning electron microscope magnified more than a thousand times, this enamel cross -section is revealed as a porous substance composed of millions of tiny mineral crystals.
The crystals are susceptible to tooth decay, which starts when we eat carbohydrates, particularly sugars.
That's because the bacteria, living in a sticky film on the teeth called plaque, use these sugars for food, producing acids as a byproduct.
The acids attack the tooth, dissolving some of the mineral crystals just beneath the surface in a gradual process known as demineralization, another name for early tooth decay.
The reverse of this tooth decay process is called remineralization, in which minerals from the saliva rebuild the enamel the acid has dissolved.
Demineralization and remineralization are going on all the time, like the action of waves on a shoreline, building up on the one hand, wearing down on the other.
Sometimes the enamel just below the surface is dissolved faster than it is built up.
The result is decay, at first invisible to the eye, but if the decay is allowed to progress, the surface collapses to form a visible full -fledged cavity.
Fluoride plays a key role in the remineralization of our teeth.
We've known for a long time that fluoride helped to prevent decay, both by making the enamel more acid resistant and by inhibiting the production of acid by bacteria.
Recently, our research has shown that fluoride does even more.
By enhancing the rebuilding of demineralized enamel, fluoride actually helps reverse the decay process.
Ultimately, fluoride makes the enamel stronger and more acid resistant than it was originally.
It all began in the 40s and 50s when it was discovered that people who lived in certain communities had far less decay than most other people.
Long -term studies proved that the presence of fluoride in their water supplies was responsible for the reduction in tooth decay.
What does all this mean to Eddie and his family? It means that the children may never have a cavity, and it means all of them may have healthier teeth as long as they live, thanks to the widespread use of fluoride.
All water contains some fluoride, but most water doesn't have enough naturally occurring fluoride to help stop decay.
Scientists have found that raising the level of fluoride slightly to about one part of fluoride per million parts of water is extremely effective in the prevention of tooth decay.
Today, Eddie is lucky enough to live in a community with a fluoridated water system.
We've lived here for 10 years since before Eddie was born, and I'm sure the waters had a great effect on his teeth.
Isn't that right, Eddie? See, Grandpa? My teeth certainly weren't like Eddie's at his age.
Every time Eddie takes a drink of water, a tiny amount of fluoride from the water is absorbed into the body and is circulated to his developing teeth.
We call this way of delivering fluoride systemic fluoride.
Since birth, Eddie, like many children, has been drinking fluoridated water.
His teeth were absorbing fluoride for many years before they erupted, making his tooth enamel more resistant to acid attack.
Studies show a 50 to 65 percent reduction in the number of cavities among children like Eddie compared with children who did not have fluoridated water.
But what about the billions of people throughout the world, including more than 100 million people in the United States alone, who live in communities without water fluoridation? Carla lives in a smaller town where there is no municipal water supply.
But Carla is fortunate because her school is one of about 500 in the United States with its own fluoridated water system.
The water you drink here at school is fluoridated at a higher level than water in fluoridated communities.
That's because here at school you're only drinking fluoridated water part time.
Yes, Carla? But what if our school didn't have any fluoride in the water? Well, some schools have other kinds of systemic fluoride, like fluoride tablets.
The kids just chew them up, swish around like a rinse, and swallow.
Very often, children in non -fluoridated areas can take fluoride supplements at home.
Physicians and dentists prescribe fluoride drops for infants and the tablets for older children.
So far, we've been talking only about systemic fluoride, but in addition to being absorbed systemically, fluoride can also be applied directly to the mouth.
Brushing every day with a fluoride toothpaste and rinsing regularly with a fluoride mouth rinse are important surface applications.
In our school, we give a mouth rinse with slightly more fluoride to the children once a week.
Ready, class? Begin.
They're among an estimated 10 million children now using a weekly mouth rinse in schools.
Application of a fluoride solution or gel by a dentist or hygienist is another important source of fluoride for tooth surfaces.
Open wider, Eddie.
You know, you've really been taking care of your teeth.
Thank you.
Both systemic and surface fluoride have had a major effect on oral health.
Eddie's a great example.
Good boy, Eddie.
We'll see you in about six more months, huh? Okay.
Keep up the good work.
Getting fluoride both at home and at school has had its effect on Carla's teeth as well.
Oh, Carla, do you know how I know fluoride is working? How? Just by looking at your smile.
As important as fluoride is to children, it's a common misconception that fluoride is only for them.
Not true.
For example, fluoride is part of the reason why Eddie's grandfather at age 60 still has teeth in good condition, and to keep them that way, he needs to continue using fluoride at home and to visit the dental office regularly.
Often, adults have receding gums, which can expose the root surfaces of their teeth.
These surfaces can become extremely sensitive to heat, cold, and pressure, and they're also vulnerable to root surface decay.
There's some evidence to suggest that surface fluorides can help both of these conditions.
Fluoride is also a proven aid in helping to treat other disorders.
Fluoride can help to prevent rampant tooth decay caused by xerostomia or dryness of the mouth, a lack of saliva associated with some cancer treatments, also produced by certain medicines.
Much larger amounts of fluoride show promise as a possible treatment for osteoporosis or calcium loss of the bone, a condition responsible for many fractures in the elderly, especially women.
Researchers at the National Institute of Dental Research and elsewhere are finding new ways of applying fluoride and helping us to better understand how fluoride works.
In the past, we accepted tooth decay and its consequences as inevitable.
Today, thanks to fluoride, we know this needn't be true.
Yet there are millions of people in this country and billions outside it who are still without the benefits of fluoride.
Fluoride has proved its value to us during the last 50 years.
We know that it strengthens enamel crystals against acid and even helps reduce the production of acid.
And we know that fluoride can actually help reverse the decay process to restore the tooth to a healthy state.
We know how to get it, systemically in fluoridated water or in fluoride drops or tablets, and also in surface applications, including fluoride toothpaste, mouth rinses, and fluoride treatments.
We know that we need both systemic fluoride from birth and surface applied fluoride on erupted teeth.
We also need to see our dentist regularly, take care of our teeth at home, and cut down on sweets.
And with fluoride as our strongest weapon, we can help win the battle against cavities.
Grandpa, what does a cavity really feel like? You know something, Eddie? I don't think you're ever gonna find that out.
If we keep using fluoride all our lives, someday a cavity may only be a word in a history book, and everyone will have a better chance of having a healthy, natural, beautiful smile.
