In Holland we (used to?) get these fluoride paste treatments when we're young. They reinforce the enamel and it works really well. I've had like 2 cavities and I'm in my late 40s. And I drink a ton of sodas.
That paste used to make me really sick but wow it does work.
Not sure if they still have this though because the neolibs have destroyed the state health system and replaced it with mandatory private insurance that doesn't include dental anymore.
As a US kid in the 2000s my dentist would give some kind of foam fluroide treatment. Foam would be put into two trays and you'd have to keep them on your teeth for two minutes. I remember hating it because it made me nervous I'd swallow some.
I still get fluoride treatments from my dentist but now it's something he paints on, perhaps the same as what you've described.
Anyway, according to a dentist friend, whether you get cavities is also dependent on the natural groves in your teeth. Some people's genetics cause them to have more cavity prone teeth than others.
I know many in the US that fluoride treatments that are ridden with fillings. I think you have a tooth shape and oral microbiome, that is resistant to cavities, rather than the fluoride treatments. How can we know what the provided the benefit based on n=1?
Also General Jack D Ripper has concerns about the impact to P.O.E. ;)
Because it's not n=1. Most people from my generation have really strong teeth.
It's something that really helped, my dentist joked about being put out of business :P My parents' generation have really bad teeth that started going bad in their teens already.
It’s called fluoride varnish. The ADA use to recommend it only for children but in the last decade they updated their guidelines to include all ages. My dentist applies it now but my insurance does not cover it.
It wasn't applied like varnish though, it was gel in trays that we had to bite on for 5 minutes. Yuck.
It was indeed only for kids, the dentist said the enamel no longer absorbs it when the teeth are fully grown. But perhaps this has been disproven now. I'll ask my current dentist about it.
That paste used to make me really sick but wow it does work.
Not sure if they still have this though because the neolibs have destroyed the state health system and replaced it with mandatory private insurance that doesn't include dental anymore.