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We don’t fluoridate our water but from 12-18 we do “fluor happen” (loosely translated: “fluor biting”), where we are given an upper and a lower bit which are bo

by jorvi 3y ago

We don’t fluoridate our water but from 12-18 we do “fluor happen” (loosely translated: “fluor biting”), where we are given an upper and a lower bit which are both filled with heavily fluoridated gel, you bite into it and after a couple of minutes you take the bits out, rinse your mouth and then spit out any left-overs.

andruby 3y ago
That’s interesting. Hadn’t heard of that. How common is this practice?
- heyoni 3y ago
  It’s very common in the US as well. It’s called fluoride treatment and is usually reserved for children.
- jaclaz 3y ago
  In Italy, many years ago, when I was a kid, this fluoride bite was something that was given to us at (elementary) school, cannot remember if once or twice a year, they made a sort of quick medical checkup and while the doctor was visiting you, you had this bite. But the practice was later abandoned, as it seems that the 6-8 age is the worst one to supplement (too much) fluoride, that could later develop in dental fluorosis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_fluorosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_fluorosis
edg5000 3y ago
I forgot about this. This was a total nightmare for me as a kid. The gel made me want to throw up badly. I think they offered two "flavours" you could pick from, both equally nightmarish.
ben7799 3y ago
I grew up in the US and remember this too, an absolute gag inducing gel that they put in a little mouthguard shaped thing and jammed in your mouth. There have been various iterations of dentist office flouride treatments I remember. As an adult the dentists I went to switched to a 2x 30 second rinse (60 second?) with a mouthwash at the end of the appoinment. The last 10 years they eliminated that and I do a nightly flouride rinse. I lived various places as a kid, from 10-18 I lived somewhere with no flouride in the water (rural with well water) and we did pills and dentist treatments instead. Too much in this thread assumes everything is the same everywhere in a given country. I have also probably never brushed my teeth with a non fluoride toothpaste living in the US. So it's not like that's different from the EU. I have very little tooth decay in my mid 40s.

by jorvi 3y ago

andruby 3y ago

That’s interesting. Hadn’t heard of that. How common is this practice?

heyoni 3y ago
It’s very common in the US as well. It’s called fluoride treatment and is usually reserved for children.
jaclaz 3y ago
In Italy, many years ago, when I was a kid, this fluoride bite was something that was given to us at (elementary) school, cannot remember if once or twice a year, they made a sort of quick medical checkup and while the doctor was visiting you, you had this bite. But the practice was later abandoned, as it seems that the 6-8 age is the worst one to supplement (too much) fluoride, that could later develop in dental fluorosis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_fluorosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_fluorosis

edg5000 3y ago

I forgot about this. This was a total nightmare for me as a kid. The gel made me want to throw up badly. I think they offered two "flavours" you could pick from, both equally nightmarish.

ben7799 3y ago

I grew up in the US and remember this too, an absolute gag inducing gel that they put in a little mouthguard shaped thing and jammed in your mouth. There have been various iterations of dentist office flouride treatments I remember. As an adult the dentists I went to switched to a 2x 30 second rinse (60 second?) with a mouthwash at the end of the appoinment. The last 10 years they eliminated that and I do a nightly flouride rinse. I lived various places as a kid, from 10-18 I lived somewhere with no flouride in the water (rural with well water) and we did pills and dentist treatments instead. Too much in this thread assumes everything is the same everywhere in a given country. I have also probably never brushed my teeth with a non fluoride toothpaste living in the US. So it's not like that's different from the EU. I have very little tooth decay in my mid 40s.