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Fluoride's Dental Dominion May Remain a Mystery

氟化物在牙科領(lǐng)域如何發(fā)揮作用仍是一個謎

Beauty is only skin deep. And the beauty of shiny white teeth is even less deep. Because a new study shows that fluoride forms a thinner protective shield than experts thought it did. The results appear in the surface science journal Langmuir.

美麗只是外表而已，一口潔白閃亮的牙齒甚至更“膚淺”。這么說是因為一項新研究表明氟化物形成的保護膜比專家們料想的還有薄。研究結(jié)果發(fā)布在《朗繆爾》（Langmuir）雜志上，是其封面報道。

American consumers spend more than $50 billion a year fighting cavities. When we realized that fluoride could help, we put it in our drinking water, our toothpaste and our mouthwash. But how does fluoride work its magic? Many figured that fluoride chemically reacts with the main mineral in enamel to form a thick, decay-resistant veneer. But the latest research kicks that idea in the teeth.

美國消費者每年花在消滅蛀牙上的費用超過500億美元。當我們意識到氟有助于保護牙齒，我們就把它放入我們的飲用水、牙膏和漱口水中。但是氟是如何發(fā)揮其魔力的？許多人認為氟跟牙釉質(zhì)中的主要礦物質(zhì)發(fā)生化學反應(yīng)，形成一層厚厚的、抗蛀齲的保護面。不過這項最新研究顛覆了我們對牙齒的這種想法。

Scientists in Germany used x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to get a detailed image of the surface of a treated tooth. And they found that the protective covering is actually only 6 nanometers thick. That’s about a fifteen-thousandth as thick as a sheet of paper. And a layer that skimpy would likely be worn away by ordinary chewing.

德國科學家利用X射線光電子光譜法繪制出一個治療過的牙齒表面的詳細圖像。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，保護敷層實際上只有6納米厚，大概是一張紙的千分之十五的厚度。而這樣薄薄的一層只是普通的咀嚼就會被磨損殆盡。

How fluoride keeps the tooth fairy away is a mystery that researchers are still working to unravel. In the meantime, we may not know how it works, but we know that it works. So keep brushing.

氟是如何保護牙齒讓牙仙女遠離我們是一個研究人員仍在努力解開的謎。在此期間，我們不知道它是如何工作的，但我們知道，它的確在發(fā)揮作用。因此，請堅持不斷地刷牙吧。

—Karen Hopkin

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