Before fluoride could be widely used in toothpastes and mouthwashes, technological advances had to be made. For example, there had to be technology that allowed Frederick S. McKay, the person to first discover that fluoride is an effective cavity fighter, to actually discover it. One technological advance that was made was the toothbrush. Although it may not seem very technological, the toothbrush was a VERY important invention before the time of fluoride in drinking water. The toothbrush is used daily, and it is necessary to brush teeth with the toothbrush.
Fluoride is incredibly beneficial. It prevents tooth decay by reducing the ability of bacteria in plaque to generate tooth-weakening acids and by helping to remineralize those tooth areas where acid attack has already begun. But good things can also be bad, especially when they are overused. The consequences of using too much fluoride are what cause people to disapprove its use.
Some people disapprove of adding fluoride to drinking water for several reasons. First of all, studies have shown that too much fluoride impacts the teeth and the developing brain during infancy and childhood. For example, a study linked high-fluoride (5ppm) water to reduced IQ among the group of Mexican children that were tested in this experiment. The risk is particularly acute for children because their brains are particularly sensitive to environmental toxins. The study was able to detect a statistically significant effect within a small group of children, so it is highly likely that, because individuals vary widely in their sensitivity to chemicals, fluoride would cause even more amounts of IQ loss with a larger group of children.
Secondly, another reason that people disapprove the adding of fluoride to drinking water is that too much fluoride can cause stiff and painful joints, which has been known since the 1930s. Scientists have studied the condition, known as skeletal fluorosis, and found that the joint damage caused by fluoride mimics other, more common, forms of “arthritis”, which makes it easy for doctors to misdiagnose, especially the doctors who are not trained to detect fluorosis.
And finally, people may disapprove of adding fluoride to drinking water because too much fluoride, especially in children, can lead to dental fluorosis. In mild forms, dental fluorosis produces cloudy streaks and spots on teeth, while in the advanced forms, dental fluorosis weakens the enamel and causes it to crumble and break. These conditions are caused by fluoride by it accumulating within the tooth and interfering with the tooth’s normal mineralization process. Millions of American children now have it, with the cause being fluoridated water. Some people are opposed to adding fluoride to drinking water because it can cause a lower IQ, skeletal fluorosis (stiff and painful joints, similar to arthritis), and dental fluorosis (which can eventually cause teeth to crumble and break).
All of the side effects of using fluoride in drinking water concern me because they cause so much illness, pain, and lose of life. In places where there is naturally occuring fluoride in the water, such as Sicily, Turkey, villagers and their livestock are chronically ill, while people form neighboring villages with no fluoride in the water do not have these illnesses. In Sicily, effects include premature aging, children with brown decaying teeth, young adults without any teeth, wrinkled skin, looking the age of 60 at age 30, premature hardening of the arteries, loss of appetite, and a high rate of stillborn miscarriages by 4 months. In the United States, it is estimated that there are 30,000 to 50,000 excessive deaths each year in areas where there is 1 ppm fluoride in the drinking water, which is the normal amount.
My position on adding fluoride to toothpaste and drinking water is that I am for adding fluoride to toothpaste and drinking water because it helps to prevent tooth decay. But, I believe that fluoride should be put into the water in a minimal amount, and that people should be careful about overdoses of fluoride because of the potential harm that it causes, including skeletal fluorosis, which is similar to arthritis. All in all, I feel that fluoride is very beneficial, but it needs to be used in an appropriate amount, because there are serious consequences when too much fluoride is used.
My Sources:
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/7916sci4.html
http://www.fluoridealert.org/2007research/top10.html
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Filed under: Case Studies, Fluoride, Science
