A chemical compound containing fluorine, commonly added to toothpaste and water supplies to prevent tooth decay. Found naturally in some minerals and foods.
From 'fluor' (from Latin 'fluere' meaning to flow, referring to fluorite's use as flux in metallurgy) plus the suffix '-ide' indicating a chemical compound. The dental benefits were discovered in the 1930s.
The discovery of fluoride's dental benefits came from investigating why people in certain areas had brown-stained but remarkably decay-free teeth - leading to one of the most successful public health interventions in history. Controlled water fluoridation has reduced tooth decay by 20-40% even in the era of fluoride toothpaste.
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