preview

Fluoride Research Paper

Good Essays

Fluoride Fluoride happens to be one of the most abundant elements on the earth’s crust, the 13th most abundant in fact. It’s a chemical ion of the fluoride element and has a single extra electron, giving it a negative charge. It’s found naturally in the soil, in our water, our food as well as several other minerals including fluorite. The concentration of fluoride within our seawater would appear to average at around 1.3 parts per million or ppm. In fresh water however it naturally ranges anywhere from 0.01ppm to 0.3ppm, though there are parts of the world that are subject to fresh water with dangerously high amounts of naturally occurring fluoride and as a result, health issues arise in later life. On top of naturally occurring fluoride, there is also man-made fluoride manufactured in laboratories and it’s this that’s added to toothpaste, mouthwashes and more importantly our drinking water. Water authorities add this manufactured fluoride to our tap water under the pretense that it reduces tooth decay. Way back in the 1930’s, scientists found that any given population would benefit from two thirds fewer cavities if they were brought up in areas with naturally fluoridated water. This was in comparison to those living within areas where the water wasn’t …show more content…

The US National Research Council found fractures with fluoride levels of 1-4mg/L suggested something called a dose-response relationship i.e. there was a change found at differing levels of exposure. Consumption of fluoride over a long period of time was also seen to lend itself to something called skeletal fluorosis and in some areas, such as the Asian subcontinent, there appeared to be a skeletal epidemic. Early stages of skeletal fluorosis aren’t clinically obvious however and are often misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis or even ankylosing

Get Access