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- 561-733-0004
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- 8188 Jog Rd Unit 104, Boynton Beach
- (561)-733-0004
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For a limited time, enjoy $1000 OFF smile designs (Includes: Exam, X-Rays)
Protect your smile with Fluoride Treatments in Boynton Beach, FL—a quick, gentle solution that strengthens enamel, helps prevent cavities, and supports long-term oral health with comfortable, stress-free care.
Fluoride treatments strengthen tooth enamel and prevent cavities by delivering concentrated fluoride directly to your teeth. At Boynton Beach Dental Services, Dr. Eliseo Fiffe and Dr. Katiuska McIntosh provide professional fluoride treatments as part of comprehensive preventive dental care. These quick, painless applications take just minutes during your regular dental visit and offer significantly more protection than fluoride toothpaste alone.
Professional fluoride treatments contain much higher concentrations of fluoride than over-the-counter products, allowing them to remineralize weakened enamel and reverse early signs of tooth decay. This preventive approach helps you avoid costly restorative procedures and maintains your natural teeth for life. Whether you’re prone to cavities, have exposed root surfaces, or simply want to strengthen your teeth, fluoride treatments provide an effective layer of protection.
Understanding fluoride’s protective mechanisms helps you appreciate its value in preventive care. Fluoride protects teeth from cavities by restoring enamel damaged by plaque through a process called remineralization. When you consume foods and drinks containing sugar, bacteria in your mouth produce acids that attack tooth enamel. This acid attack pulls minerals like calcium and phosphate from your enamel, weakening its structure.
Fluoride reverses this damage by attracting these minerals back to the tooth surface and incorporating them into the enamel structure. This remineralization process makes your enamel more resistant to future acid attacks. Fluoride also disrupts the ability of bacteria to produce acid, providing a dual layer of protection against decay.
The outer layer of your teeth, called enamel, naturally contains minerals that give it strength. Over time, dietary acids, bacterial activity, and normal wear gradually erode these minerals. Professional fluoride treatments replenish lost minerals more effectively than fluoride toothpaste because they deliver higher concentrations directly to tooth surfaces and remain in contact with teeth longer.
Fluoride treatments benefit patients across all age groups, though some people gain more significant advantages than others.
Adults over 50 face increased cavity risk as gum recession exposes tooth roots. Adults over age 50 are more susceptible to tooth root decay because roots lack the protective enamel covering found on tooth crowns. The exposed root surface, made of softer dentin, decays more easily when exposed to bacteria and acids. Regular fluoride treatments strengthen these vulnerable areas and reduce decay risk.
Many of our Boynton Beach patients in active retirement communities benefit from fluoride treatments to protect against root decay. Medications commonly used by older adults often cause dry mouth, which reduces saliva’s natural protective effects. Fluoride treatments compensate for reduced saliva by strengthening enamel directly.
Several conditions increase your need for professional fluoride treatments. People with a history of frequent cavities benefit from extra fluoride protection, as past decay indicates ongoing susceptibility. Those undergoing orthodontic treatment face challenges cleaning around brackets and wires, making fluoride treatments particularly valuable during this period.
Patients with dry mouth from medications, medical conditions, or treatments require additional fluoride protection. Saliva normally helps remineralize teeth and wash away food particles and bacteria. When saliva production decreases, teeth become more vulnerable to decay. Individuals with exposed root surfaces from gum recession, those with dental restorations requiring protection of surrounding tooth structure, and people consuming frequent sugary or acidic foods and beverages all gain significant benefits from regular fluoride treatments.
We offer different fluoride application methods tailored to your specific needs and preferences.
Fluoride varnish represents the most common professional fluoride treatment method. This sticky substance adheres to tooth surfaces and releases fluoride over several hours. We paint the varnish directly onto your teeth using a small brush, and the entire application takes just a few minutes. You can eat and drink immediately after application, though we recommend waiting 30 minutes before consuming hot beverages or hard foods.
The varnish appears yellow or clear on your teeth and wears off naturally within a few hours as fluoride absorbs into your enamel. This method proves particularly effective because the varnish maintains contact with your teeth for an extended period, maximizing fluoride absorption.
Fluoride gel or foam applications use trays fitted to your teeth. We fill custom trays with fluoride gel or foam, and you wear them for one to four minutes while the fluoride absorbs into your enamel. After treatment, you avoid eating, drinking, or rinsing for 30 minutes to allow maximum fluoride absorption.
This method delivers fluoride to all tooth surfaces simultaneously and works well for patients needing comprehensive protection. The gel or foam reaches areas difficult to access with a brush, ensuring even coverage across all teeth.
Understanding what happens during your fluoride treatment helps you know what to expect.
Professional fluoride treatments typically occur during your regular dental cleaning appointment. After we remove plaque and tartar from your teeth, we dry your tooth surfaces to ensure proper fluoride adhesion. The cleaning process creates an ideal environment for fluoride application by removing barriers between the treatment and your enamel.
We then apply your selected fluoride treatment method, whether varnish painted directly onto teeth or gel placed in custom trays. The application itself takes just a few minutes and causes no discomfort. Many patients appreciate how quickly and easily we complete this protective treatment.
Following your fluoride treatment, we provide specific care instructions to maximize effectiveness. Most fluoride applications require you to avoid eating, drinking, or rinsing for 30 minutes to several hours depending on the product used. This waiting period allows fluoride to fully absorb into your enamel and provide maximum protection.
You may notice a slightly different taste or texture in your mouth immediately after treatment, but this sensation fades quickly. Your teeth may appear slightly discolored if we used fluoride varnish, but this disappears as the varnish wears away. Resume your normal oral hygiene routine that evening, brushing and flossing as usual.
Fluoride treatments work best as part of a comprehensive preventive dental program.
Professional fluoride treatments complement but don’t replace daily brushing and flossing. You should brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and floss once daily to remove plaque before it produces cavity-causing acids. These daily habits, combined with periodic professional fluoride treatments, provide the strongest defense against tooth decay.
Using fluoride toothpaste at home delivers continuous low-level fluoride exposure, while professional treatments provide periodic high-concentration applications. This combination approach maintains consistently high fluoride levels in your enamel, maximizing protection against decay.
Scheduling dental cleanings every six months allows us to monitor your cavity risk and provide fluoride treatments when needed. During these visits, we remove plaque and tartar buildup that contributes to decay, examine your teeth for early signs of problems, and apply fluoride treatments to strengthen your enamel. This preventive approach catches issues early when they’re easiest and least expensive to treat.
Even if you have crowns, dental implants, or other restorations, fluoride treatments still provide important benefits.
Crowns, bridges, and other restorations cover portions of your natural teeth, but the remaining tooth structure still requires protection. Fluoride treatments strengthen the exposed areas of restored teeth, preventing decay at restoration margins where natural teeth meet artificial material. This protection proves particularly important because decay forming at these junctions can compromise your restoration’s fit and stability.
Patients with multiple restorations often face higher decay risk on their remaining natural teeth. Regular fluoride treatments help preserve these teeth and reduce the likelihood of needing additional restorative work.
While fluoride doesn’t directly affect dental implants themselves, it protects your natural teeth surrounding implants. Maintaining healthy natural teeth supports your overall oral health and reduces the risk of problems that might complicate your implant’s long-term success. Patients who’ve invested in implant-supported dentures or other implant restorations benefit from protecting their remaining natural teeth through fluoride treatments.
Understanding the financial aspects of fluoride treatments helps you plan for this preventive care.
Professional fluoride treatments typically cost between $20 and $50 per application, making them one of the most affordable preventive dental procedures. This modest investment provides significant protection against cavities, which cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to treat. Most patients find fluoride treatments worthwhile given the potential savings from preventing decay.
We offer fluoride treatments during regular cleaning appointments, eliminating the need for separate visits. This convenience factor, combined with low cost and high effectiveness, makes fluoride treatments an excellent value in preventive dental care.
Many dental insurance plans cover fluoride treatments for children and may provide coverage for adults at high risk for cavities. We work with most PPO insurance plans and help you understand your specific coverage. Even if your insurance doesn’t cover adult fluoride treatments, the out-of-pocket cost remains minimal compared to potential savings from prevented cavities.
We also offer CareCredit financing options if you need assistance managing dental care costs. Our team helps you explore all available options for making preventive care affordable.
Dr. Eliseo Fiffe brings more than 30 years of dental experience to your preventive care, while Dr. Katiuska McIntosh applies over two decades of dedication to helping patients maintain healthy smiles. This husband-and-wife team provides comprehensive preventive dentistry, including professional fluoride treatments tailored to your specific needs. Our practice welcomes Spanish-speaking patients and serves Boynton Beach’s active retiree community with understanding of age-related dental concerns.
We accept most PPO insurance plans and offer flexible scheduling to accommodate your busy lifestyle. Our commitment to preventive care helps you avoid costly dental problems and maintain your natural teeth for life. Contact us today to schedule your next cleaning and fluoride treatment, or ask about adding fluoride to your upcoming dental appointment.
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