Fluoride is a mainstay of dental care， whether it’s delivered in a treatment at your dentist’s office or in your toothpaste. But fluoride has become the focus of several conspiracy theories over the past few years， raising questions about its use. Some people allege that fluoride is harmful， while others say it’s a helpful tool in good dental health. Who is right？ Here’s what you need to know about fluoride， as well as all the misinformation swirling around it.

氟化物是牙齒護理的主要成分，無論是在牙醫(yī)診所的治療中還是在牙膏中。但在過去幾年中，氟化物已經(jīng)成為幾個陰謀論的焦點，引發(fā)了人們對其使用的質疑。一些人聲稱氟化物有害，而另一些人說它有益于牙齒健康。誰是對的？以下是你需要了解的關于氟化物的知識，以及有關它的所有錯誤信息。

What is fluoride？

Fluoride is an element that’s naturally found in rivers， lakes and oceans， as well as in some foods and drinks， according to the American Dental Association. “It is also added to public water supplies，” Dr Michael Kosdon， a dentist at Smiles of NYC， tells us. Fluoride is known as “nature’s cavity fighter”， according to the ADA， and it’s often added to dental products， including toothpaste， to protect people from cavities.

什么是氟化物？

根據(jù)美國牙科協(xié)會的說法，氟化物是一種天然存在于河流、湖泊和海洋以及一些食物和飲料中的元素。“它也被添加到公共供水中?！奔~約微笑牙醫(yī)邁克爾·科斯登博士告訴我們。根據(jù)美國牙科協(xié)會的說法，氟化物被稱為“大自然的蛀牙斗士”，它經(jīng)常被添加到包括牙膏在內的牙科產(chǎn)品中，以保護使用者不長蛀牙。

What does fluoride do？

Fluoride helps to strengthen your teeth， Rebecca Henderson， associate professor in The Ohio State University College of Dentistry in US， tells us. “Teeth， like bones in our body， are composed of minerals—primarily calcium and phosphate. When someone has cavities， bacteria feed on refined carbohydrates that you eat and produce an acid byproduct in your mouth，” Henderson says.

“This acid removes minerals from our teeth， breaking down layers of tooth structure and eventually leading to a hole in the tooth surface，” she explains. “Fluoride helps to strengthen the tooth surfaces by returning and preserving the lost minerals in our tooth， preventing a cavity from forming.” Research has found that adding fluoride to water reduces the amount of tooth decay in young kids by 35%.

氟化物有什么作用？

美國俄亥俄州立大學牙科學院副教授瑞貝卡·亨德森告訴我們，氟化物有助于增強牙齒。亨德森說：“牙齒就像我們身體中的骨骼一樣，由礦物質組成——主要是鈣和磷酸鹽。當人有蛀牙時，細菌以你吃的精制碳水化合物為食，并在你的口腔里產(chǎn)生一種酸性副產(chǎn)品?！?/p>

她解釋說：“這種酸會從我們的牙齒中去除礦物質，破壞牙齒結構層，最終導致牙齒表面出現(xiàn)洞。氟化物通過恢復和保存牙齒中丟失的礦物質來幫助強化牙齒表面，防止蛀牙的形成?！?研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在水中加入氟化物可以減少35%的兒童蛀牙。

Can fluoride be harmful？

Fluoride is beneficial， say experts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States， it’s considered “one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century” thanks to its ability to prevent tooth decay. There are claims online that fluoride is poisonous， but experts say that’s a stretch. Excessive amounts of fluoride can be harmful， but it’s rare. The ADA notes that you would have to drink five liters of water for every kilogram of body weight at once to have fluoride toxicity.

氟化物有害嗎？

專家說氟化物是有益的。根據(jù)美國疾病預防控制中心的說法，由于其防止蛀牙的能力，它被認為是“20世紀十大公共衛(wèi)生成就之一”。網(wǎng)上有人聲稱氟化物有毒，專家說這是牽強附會。過量的氟化物可能有害，但這種情況很少見。美國牙科協(xié)會指出，你必須一次性喝5升水才能對你身體的1千克體重產(chǎn)生氟化物毒性。