Health

How Silver Diamine Fluoride Treatment Improves Oral Health?

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is a liquid substance used for dental treatments to prevent tooth cavities from growing and spreading to the other teeth. It is an inexpensive and non-invasive remedy.

What Is SDF Made Of?

SDF is made of:

Silver: It helps in killing bacteria in your mouth.

Fluoride: It helps the teeth in rebuilding the material they are made of.

Water: It provides a liquid base for the whole mixture.

Ammonia: It helps the solution remain concentrated so that its effectiveness against cavities remain intact.

How Is It Used?

Most dentists use a liquid form of SDF which contains about 38% of the SDF solution. It contains two ingredients, silver, and fluoride. The silver kills the bacteria in your cavities and it also penetrates the weak parts of the tooth. The residual silver keeps on killing additional bacteria resulting in the tooth structure that can become immune to further decay. Then the fluoride remineralizes the weak areas of the tooth. A study concluded that using SDF once a year is more effective in terminating cavities than the applications of fluoride varnish four times a year. Dentists recommend SDF treatment because it is less painful and has more benefits than any other surgery option for treating dental problems.

Who Should Get SDF Treatment?

SDF has a clinical utility in kids and adolescents when patient cooperation is limited due to young age, dental anxiety, or intellectual disabilities. Unrestored teeth can also lead to disturbances in a child’s bite force and jeopardize the space needed within the dental arch for the eruption of the permanent teeth. As it turns out, SDF application is not a replacement for the restoration of decayed teeth with dental fillings. Rather, it is an effective therapy used as part of a comprehensive treatment plan supervised by a dentist.SDF treatment

What Are The Benefits Of SDF Treatment?

There are several benefits of SDF treatment, such as:

  • SDF treatment stops the development and spread of the cavity once it is formed. It is the most effective remedy that stops the cavity development as well as its formation. Dentists name this process as Caries Resonance.
  • SDF also stops the spread of bacteria that break down the tooth surface from one tooth to another by killing them.
  • SDF is the most comfortable remedy for curing cavities as it does not involve drilling them. This treatment is suitable for kids and children, also for the adults who have dental anxiety issues and who do not cooperate well with the dentist during a particular dental treatment. It is also suitable for patients with special healthcare needs.
  • If you are very sensitive to the equipment used to treat dental cavities, then SDF is the right treatment for you.
  • SDF is the right treatment for keeping the cavities to the minimum, also helps prevent the cavities altogether. You also would not need to go to the dentist regularly because it is generally done once a year.

Possible Side Effects Of SDF:

SDF can cause significant and irreversible black staining to the tissues of the mouth, lips, and skin due to the formation of silver oxide. Mechanical removal of arrested dental caries and placement of tooth restoration do not always eliminate black stains of the tooth structure.

Therefore, SDF must be appropriately applied carefully only by trained professionals in a controlled clinical environment.

Barming Dental Care will take care of your dental issues and the dentists there will give you the best treatment options. If you or your loved ones are facing any kind of oral cavity or dental problem, book an appointment with them or give them a call today.

Also read: Are Dental Implants Expensive or Cost Effective?

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Vivek

Vivek is a writing enthusiast fond of healthy and happy living. He believes Knowledge gets better when shared. So he founded The Mindful Bytes as a platform for people who love to read and write anything that has to do with Health, Tech, Business, Finance, and Lifestyle.

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