Community Water Fluoridation

Fluoride in drinking water has been a hot topic in the past decade. Some communities are all for it and some are completely against it. With such a range of opinions on the matter some organizations have took it upon themselves to present the pros and cons of the fluoride to the public so they can make informed decisions. Often times these surveys are bias to one side or the other, so I shall be giving information on both sides of the issue, the future outlook, and my personal opinion in order to help inform you to decide on your own.

Fluoridation of group drinking water is a main consideration in charge of the decrease in dental caries (tooth rot) . The historical backdrop of water fluoridation is a great case of clinical perception prompting epidemiologic examination and group based general wellbeing intercession. Albeit other fluoride-containing items are accessible, water fluoridation remains the most fair and practical strategy for conveying fluoride to all individuals from most groups, paying little respect to age, instructive achievement, or wage level.

In United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Healthy People 2020 (2011), the report talks about how many improvements have occurred in oral health but there is still a lot more improvement needed. The report further explains how water fluoridation has been one of the most efficient ways to reduce decay across the nation. Mostly everyone has access to water and if the water is fluoridated, then those with little or no access to dental care are getting preventative dental care in the form of a fluoride regimen in their daily water intake. (HHS, Healthy People 2020, 2011) Given this, it would only make sense that the government would employ a dental professional to assess the water fluoridation in every state.

Few object to the therapeutic use of fluoride to stop tooth decay, but fluoridation, the addition of fluoride to the public water supply, can spark avid controversy. Most dentists, medical groups, and government officials argue that fluoridation is a cheap and risk-free venture that doubles cavity prevention. In contrast, a small minority of dentists and conservative political groups argue that fluoride is a hazardous, poisonous substance that should not be consumed. Some antifluoridationists even claim that fluoridation is an untrustworthy form of socialized medicine. But rather than just attacking fluoridation as socialized medicine, opponents originally claimed that it was a conspiracy to poison or brainwash Americans through

According to World Health Organization data obtained from a study on 12 year old’s levels of tooth decay, fluoride has had very little effect, if any at all, on tooth decay. Countries such as Japan, Italy, and Iceland, who are non-fluoridated countries, actually have about the same level of tooth decay decrease as countries that have fluoridated water. Fluoride is considered a drug, according to the FDA, which means that it is a medical treatment. Medical treatments are not to be given unless the patient agrees to the treatment, therefore, placing fluoride into the public water supply violates informed consent seeing as how citizens are not given the opportunity to vote on the matter. Even if people could vote on the situation, not all people are going to agree with and since it is considered a drug, it

Fluoridation of drinking water addresses the health issue of tooth decay and the related dental problems associated with it.1 Fluoride is associated with this health issue since fluoride has been recognized as an important nutrient for healthy teeth.1

I feel like this because it is inexpensive, everybody that is exposed to fluoride is benefit, and it has proven to be effective in decreasing dental caries prevalence and severity. I know that many parents nowadays, are against the use of any fluoride product for their kids and I respect that. However, I feel that in most cases they are missed informed and make their decision based on personal believe and not in scientific evidence researches. I feel that U.S. is privileged to have public health system that implement this measure to prevent one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. In countries in where fluoridated water does not exist, the high incidence of caries is evidence throughout the whole population. I know that water fluoridation alone is not enough, but it is a good start. Other preventing strategies such as nutritional counselling, sealants, oral health education, regular visit to the dentist, fluoride applications, fluoridated toothpaste and mouth rinse will also contribute to lower the risk of dental decay, and benefit the part of the population that does not have access to fluoridated

In those case the person have to control the levels of fluorides because in most cases the levels are greater than FDA/CDC recommend but most people don't treat their water to lower the amount of fluoridation. In the case cities water systems fluoridation is monitored and adjusted to meet certain standards, low enough not to cause harm yet high enough to aid in preventing tooth decay. Tooth decay is a big health problem if not controlled. Which one the the water supply systems did you read about that was causing the health

The current data suggests that water fluoridation disproportionately harms low-income and minority communities. In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control released the results of a national survey of dental fluorosis, which was conducted between 1999 and 2002. According to the results, in the U.S., African American children have significantly higher rates of dental fluorosis.2 Same observation has been made in other studies as well. Another study conduced in Indianapolis, Indiana, shows that “the prevalence of dental fluorosis in African American children (80.1%) was significantly higher than in Whites (62.5%). 3

Are you aware that fluoride that is used to help keep teeth healthy is actually a harmful compound. The number of products that contain fluoride is actually quite high. Many people may not know it is also in our drinking water. The scary thing is fluoride is now classified as a neurotoxin.

Research has been showed that such an improvement is due to many factors that combined together. One of these factors is systemic water fluoridation, which has been announced to have a substantial impact on children dental health, alongside with topical fluoride that can be found in mouthwash, toothpaste, and fluoride supplements. In addition to better nutrition, rising standards of living, and better access to dental care 76.

"Naturally fluoridated areas preceded the field trials" since fluoride occurs naturally in some areas. (Oral) Communities with naturally occurring fluoride in water supplies were chosen for the trials, because results could be seen in these communities without so many years of testing. The studies showed that fluoride reduces dental caries to some extent depending on the amount of ingestion. These positive results lead to water fluoridation becoming a popular practice throughout civilized areas of the world. Putting a substance like fluoride in municipal water supplies is a good way to medicate many people at a time, since everybody drinking from the water supply would have a constant intake of fluoride. "The big advantage of water fluoridation is that it benefits all residents in a community regardless of age, socio-economic status, education or employment." (Kirshen)

One of the main disagreement is fluoridation takes away the public’s choice. “Rodriguez reportedly said it is a violation of his individual rights by the government because the process forces people to consume a substance they may not know is present or that they would rather avoid” (Advocate, V. 2015). There is also a controversial debate if it would be cheaper for the cities and communities to discontinue the fluoridation program. Then, Teek Miller, a retired science and math teacher wrote a letter to her city council and stated that she thinks brushing teeth with fluoride is beneficial, but swallowing the chemical is not. Miller goes on to explain how fluoride is damaging to the bones and brain, when swallowing (Advocate, V. 2015). Public health officials have been looking into the health considerations when digesting fluoride, because in large amounts, fluoride is considered poison, but those levels cannot be reached by drinking just fluoridated

Health experts generally recommend consuming eight to ten cups of water a day. The amount may vary based on body size, physical activity, and exposure to hot weather. More consumers are tending to drink bottled water for the convenience and supposed purity. Some even substitute these expensive bottles of water instead of fluoridated tap water. A recent study shows that Americans consumed more than five billion gallons of bottled water in 2000, more than double the amount from the previous decade. However, if this bottled water is your main source of drinking water, you could be missing the decay and caries preventing benefits of fluoride. As discussed earlier, many manufacturers completely remove or reduce the amount of fluoride in their bottles of water. Water fluoridation is a community health measure that is widely researched, documented, and accepted for its role in preventing tooth decay. In areas where natural fluoride occurs in tap water below optimal levels, many communities add it to the tap water to make certain that residents receive the benefits of

For over 60 years, Americans have been inundated with propaganda proclaiming the benefits of artificially fluoridating the public’s drinking water to prevent tooth decay. I do not use the term “propaganda” lightly. In fact the “father” of modern propaganda, nephew of Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays was brought in to sell spiking America’s public water supply with fluoride (Pilger). This was critical to protect the American Aluminum Company (ALCOA), the world’s largest aluminum producer, from litigation from their workers who were exposed to toxic levels of sodium fluoride. Fluoride in the public water supply is a detriment to the health of Americans and provides no positive benefits while presenting great risk. Fluoridated water is poison, it is proven to decrease IQ, and it is medicating the public with an FDA classified tranquilizer without the informed consent of the citizens.