Sodium fluoride

Today I went shopping and I remembered I needed new toothpaste, when i got to the display of toothpaste, I had no clue which one to choose, there were so many! I ended up just buying one at random, but why are there so many different kinds? Well that would be a too long story, so I decided to look what they all have in common: sodium flouride is one of the most common ingredients.
Sodium fluoride  is an inorganic chemical compound with the formula NaF. When pure, it is a colorless solid.

NaF is prepared by neutralizing hydrofluoric acid  (H₂SiF₆). Neutralizing agents include sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate. Alcohols are sometimes used to precipitate the NaF:

HF + NaOH → NaF + H₂O

Sodium fluoride is widely used in toothpaste to prevent cavities as the fluoride ion strengthens teeth and reduces the chance of decay.

But be careful digesting excessive fluoride can result in dental fluorosis, where the teeth become mottled and discolored and the surface of the enamel becomes pitted.

NaF also has several other industrial uses. The compound can be used to make enamel, preserve wood, and make foam, then it is also used to fluoridate water (control the level of fluoride in the public water supply). It is also part of a paper coating process and can assist in producing opal glass.

Of course there are many other ingredients in toothpaste and every brand has different ingredients, but at least now you are a step closer to know what exactly is in your everyday goods.

look at the link below to see some amaizing reactions with Flouride.

flouride is one of the most reactive metals in the peroidic table, so it is really amazing too see how it reacts.

Periodic Table of Videos