YOU know how toxic fluoride can be, yet the GOVERNMENT continues to pour it into the water supply!
Yes, the government.
Fluoride does not just make its way into the water, it’s intentionally added.
But why?
Water fluoridation began in 1945 in Grand Rapids, Michigan as a way to reduce cavities, and is now found in 2/3 of the drinking water in the U.S. (1)
Cavities form as a result of demineralization of the teeth caused by acids formed during the bacterial fermentation of sugar.
According to Alice Barnes, author of Dentist Be Damned, your saliva actually protects you from this by cleansing your teeth naturally, washing out food particles that clog onto or between the teeth and gums.
It aids in enamel repair, provides lubrication to avoid damage from clenching or grinding your teeth, inhibits bacteria, and neutralizes the pH in your mouth.
Safe to say, you need to mind your saliva!
Demineralization occurs at pH levels below 5.5 while remineralization occurs at a pH between 7.5 and 8.5.
So avoiding things that make your mouth acidic – like sugar – while optimizing the things that will create a neutral or alkaline environment in your mouth is the KEY to oral health.
Fluoride actually protects against acidic food and acid produced by cavity-causing bacteria.
How?
Another great question!
First, a little dental 101: Your enamel is made up of a form of calcium phosphate – hydroxyapatite crystals. When you eat acidic and sugary foods, you dissolve that calcium, leading to demineralization and… yup! Cavities!
Simple enough.
To help remineralize those teeth, fluoride mixes with our saliva’s own phosphate and calcium to create a stronger enamel crystal – calcium fluorapatite – which is tougher than our natural hydroxyapatite and is more resistant to bacteria and acid.
Even if our own hydroxyapatite erodes, as long as fluoride is present, calcium fluorapatite will get created.
Doesn’t sound so bad, right?
So why the fuss?
Here’s what the research shows about ingesting (key word here) fluoridated water.
The Cochrane Collaboration, a group of doctors and researchers known for their comprehensive reviews, analyzed every study done on the effectiveness of fluoride in water in preventing tooth decay and found that there was no sufficient evidence that it actually helped. (2)
A systematic review of water fluoridation conducted in 2000 by the Hull York Medical School in the U.K. reached similar conclusions. (3)
And yet another study that tracked the fluoride consumption of more than 600 school children in Iowa likewise showed no link between fluoride ingestion and tooth decay. (4)
But what HAS it been linked with?
Fluoride has been shown to:
– be an endocrine disruptor; (5)
– impair brain function; (6)
– be linked to ADHD; (7)
– and has even been linked to hypo-thyroidism (and in fact, has been used to treat hyper-thyroidism). (8) (9)
Fluoride toxicity can also lead to dementia, arthritis, hyperactivity, increased tumor and cancer growth, and muscle disorders. (10)
And particularly, fluorosis, which creates white specks on, brown stains, and mottling of the teeth, and in severe cases can cause calcification in ligaments. The scary part is that 40% of people in fluoridated areas have some level of fluorosis yet the majority of cases are unnoticeable to the average person. (1)
If it’s so bad Nick, why did you mention how useful it is in remineralizing teeth?!
Now that’s a REALLY GREAT QUESTION! So perceptive :).
Well here’s why.
The toxicity comes from ingesting fluoride into the body. Which is not the same as applying toothpaste that contains fluoride onto the teeth themselves.
In fact, another Cochrane study showed fluoride toothpaste actually does prevent cavities. (11)
So what gives?
You see all of these cautions around fluoride in dental products like toothpaste and mouthwash, and there’s all of these fluoride-free alternatives now… but has it been unnecessarily demonized?
Probably.
As always, people tend to generalize without taking into consideration the context in which certain things are used or the form that’s being applied. We see this time and time again…
So what what about fluoride? We saw how it could help with remineralization, but also how damaging it could be.
Well for starters, fluoride in any form can be toxic if ingested, whether in toothpaste or in water. (Just look at the warning on the toothpaste labels!)
Fluoride used in dentistry comprises fluoride salts and not the 100% fluoride that’s known to be damaging. Dental products use Sodium Fluoride and Sodium Monofluorophosphate – which is NOT what’s found in your tap water.
Barnes writes that it’s too costly and too big a hassle to transport sodium fluoride so silicofluoride is used instead, which contains waste products from fertilizer factories and is even more toxic than regular fluoride.
So yes, toothpaste with fluoride can be safe AND effective if used appropriately! Fluoridated water, not so much.
If you CAN tolerate it, make sure to use good quality, pastured, preferably raw, organic, and local products. That being said, there are a lot of golden nuggets you can slowly start using in your dental regiment so definitely check it out!
Sources:
1.http://www.newsweek.com/fluoridation-may-not-prevent-cavities-huge-study-shows-348251
2. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub2/abstract
3. http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/fluoride/documents/crdreport18.pdf
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19054310
5. https://www.nap.edu/read/11571/chapter/10#266
6. http://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-015-0003-1
7. http://www.newsweek.com/water-fluoridation-linked-higher-adhd-rates-312748
8.http://www.newsweek.com/water-fluoridation-may-increase-risk-underactive-thyroid-disorder-309173
9.http://www.amymyersmd.com/2016/10/what-does-your-mouth-have-to-do-with-your-thyroid/
10. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/20/fluoride-denialism.aspx
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