Turn on the tap, and what do you get? In the City of Atlanta and many other cities in the United States, you get water and fluoride. The addition of fluoride to drinking water has greatly reduced the amount of dental decay in our country. While people want healthy teeth, many object to it being added to drinking water for several reasons. Some common concerns are that high levels of fluoride may be harmful to your health, that people are getting too much fluoride in their diets and from other sources, and that the need for fluoridated water has been eliminated by fluoride toothpaste.
First of all, people disapprove of adding fluoride to drinking water because it can be harmful to your health. Fluoride is a potentially toxic substance. There is a great debate as to the effects of fluoride on the body. What adds to the debate is the fact that no one knows how much fluoride they are exposed to everyday. The CDC states that over exposure to fluoride in children can lead to dental fluorosis, a permanent tooth defect caused by fluoride damage to the cells of the teeth. It also finds that long term exposure to high levels of fluoride can lead to skeletal fluorosis, a rare bone and joint disease. These are the only two harmful side effects the CDC attributes to fluoride over exposure. Unfortunately, other doctors and scientists believe that there are many other health risks, including lower IQ scores, osteosarcoma (bone cancer), iodine deficiency, hypothyroidism, Alzheimer’s disease, genetic defects, mental retardation, male infertility, kidney damage, and brittle bones. American scientific groups like the CDC, the FDA, and the National Cancer Institute do not believe that studies to date show any connection between fluoride and these issues. Because of these different opinions, a big debate has developed over the fluoridation of the water supply. The side effect that concerns me the most is the higher occurrence of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in young males who are exposed to drinking water fluoridated at levels optimal for dental health. Click here for the study on osteosarcoma. This study is more serious because it involves a group of people who did not receive high amounts of fluoride and still developed cancer. The CDC has recommended that additional studies be done on this subject. If confirmed, these studies could show that any water fluoridation is dangerous to your health. Click here for CDC report on fluoride.
Secondly, some scientists fear that Americans are getting high levels of fluoride from processed foods and drinks made with fluoridated water, fluoridated water, and fluoride toothpaste. Also, fluoride is found naturally in surface water, soil, and the atmosphere. Even though the level of fluoride added to drinking water is considered safe, it has to be remembered that it is just one source of fluoride that people are exposed to. 50% of the fluoride a person ingests leaves the body within 24 hours in urine. The rest is stored in bones, teeth, and tissues. This means that a great deal of fluoride is accumulated in the body over time. Click here for information about the risk of fluoride.
A third reason people question a fluoridated water supply is that fluoride is already added to almost all toothpastes in this country. Fluoride toothpaste has been found to reduce dental decay just as effectively as fluoridated water, but it is not swallowed. Before fluoride could be used in toothpaste, the problem of matching the right type of fluoride with a compatible abrasive component had to be solved. Early on, sodium fluoride was used with calcium phosphate abrasives. It did not work because the sodium fluoride was not very soluble in the calcium phosphate. Calcium phosphate trapped the fluoride on the abrasive surface and did not let it release into the saliva. In 1955, Crest came on the market. It matched stannous fluoride with calcium pyrophosphate successfully. In 1982, Advanced Formula Crest used sodium fluoride with hydrated silica abrasive. All of these combinations allow the fluoride ion to be available in solution. Today, the fluoride tooth paste is a part of most people’s daily hygiene routine. Click here for more facts about toothpaste. For a summary of fluoride in toothpaste click here.
Because of the foregoing issues, I believe that fluoride should not be added to drinking water because it is no longer needed to prevent tooth decay and just adds to the amount of fluoride that people are exposed to everyday. Before fluoride toothpaste was developed, it made sense to add fluoride to the water system to reduce dental decay. Now, the most effective way to prevent dental decay is with fluoride toothpaste. Americans do not need to get more exposure to fluoride in drinking water. While the levels of fluoride in drinking water are considered safe, no tests show how much fluoride people are exposed to from other sources. Also, people have the choice whether to use fluoride toothpaste and expose themselves to fluoride. Once the water supply is fluoridated, people do not have a choice. Everyone must use the water. The studies that show a link between fluoride and human health risks should not be ignored by the scientific community of our country. This possible connection between fluoride and illness is enough to stop the fluoridation of the water supply. People can use fluoride toothpaste to protect their teeth.
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