Flourish Health & Wellbeing Magazine - Dec23 - Flipbook - Page 18
MYTH TWO
It doesn’t matter what toothpaste you use,
so long as you brush.
THE TRUTH: There’s a whole industry of wellness
products 昀椀lling chemist and supermarket shelves and
many include 昀氀uoride-free toothpastes. But without the
essen琀椀al ingredient of 昀氀uoride, the toothpaste may not
protect the teeth as much as necessary for op琀椀mum
protec琀椀on. There’s a very large body of evidence showing
that 昀氀uoride toothpastes prevent more tooth decay than
non-昀氀uoride toothpastes.
It’s in our water too and Australian studies show this reduces
tooth decay in children by 26% to 44% and 27% in adults. Tooth
decay is a largely preventable disease, and the addi琀椀on of 昀氀uoride to most
(89%) of Australian water is a substan琀椀al help in preven琀椀ng decay. Despite the claims
of minority groups, there’s extensive research that shows there are no adverse health e昀昀ects from
昀氀uoride, a naturally occurring mineral, when used within recommended limits.
MYTH THREE
The longer you brush
the cleaner your
teeth will be.
THE TRUTH: If you’ve done it correctly, two
minutes will do the job. Brushing beyond that 琀椀me
isn’t needed if you’ve done a thorough job during
the recommended two-minute period.