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
Another issue of controversy is the safety of the chemicals used to fluoridate water. The most commonly used additives are silicofluorides, not the fluoride salts used in dental products (such as sodium fluoride and stannous fluoride). Silicofluorides are one of the by-products from the manufacture of phosphate fertilizers. The toxicity database on silicofluorides is sparse and questions have been raised about the assumption that they completely dissociate in water and, therefore, have toxicity similar to the fluoride salts tested in laboratory studies and used in consumer products (Coplan and Masters 2001). It also has been maintained that, because of individual variations in exposure to fluoride, it is difficult to ensure that the right individual dose to protect against dental caries is provided through large-scale water fluoridation. In addition, a body of information has developed that indicates the major anticaries benefit of fluoride is topical and not systemic (Zero et al. 1992; Rölla and Ekstrand 1996; Featherstone 1999; Limeback 1999a; Clarkson and McLoughlin 2000; CDC 2001; Fejerskov
The NRC reported in 2007 that fluoride was considered an element essential to life. Fluoride plays an important role in the body’s ability to perform metabolic and biochemical reactions that help prevent tooth decay and help bone formation. Essentially the government says that the fluoridation of water is more helpful than harmful for people as it is a good use of tax dollars as it treats upper class and lower class citizens equally in dental prevention.
Fluoride has been used by people for many decades. The most common use is in toothpaste. Fluoride was added to toothpaste to lower the amount of dental cavities that one gets, and works by protecting the enamel (outer hard layer over the tooth). Another use of fluoride is in drinking water. It was added to drinking water to also help with tooth decay. Many people are debating whether or not this is truly safe. In the essay, “The Fluoride Conspiracy”, by Laurie Higgs, she talks about the use of fluoride drinking waters and dangers it brings by using logos, pathos, and ethos.
Fluoride has been shown to be toxic and affects the brain and kidney when ingested. Research lasting one year has demonstrated that a very small quanitity of fluride added to water was suffiecient to cause changes to the kidney and brain could lead to Alzheimer’s. Fluoride allows aluminium a heavy metal to cross the blood brain barrier which can therefore cause this sickness associated with this element.
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
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendation for the optimal fluoride level in drinking water to prevent tooth decay have changed from 0.7 -1.2 milligrams per liter stablished in 1962 to 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. This change was the result of a systematic reviews of the scientific evidence related community water fluoridation since it was incorporated in 1945. As a result of community water fluoridation there was an increase in the percentage of children who were caries-free and a significant decreases in the number of teeth or tooth surfaces with caries in both children and adult. The main reason to lower the recommendation was because Americans nowadays have more sources of fluoride than the ones
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
I have been assigned the role of the leader of Fluoride Action Network. The Fluoride Action Network is a non-profit organization and an international coalition seeking to broaden public awareness about the toxicity of fluoride compounds and the health impacts of current fluoride exposures. The organization’s mission is to “provide comprehensive and up-to-date information regarding all aspects of fluoride” and to “remain vigilant monitoring government agency actions that may impact public’s exposure to fluoride.”1
Fluoride is the ionic form of the element fluorine and is the 13th most abundant element in the earth's crust. Chemically, fluoride is negatively charged and combines with positive ions to form stable compounds such as calcium fluoride or sodium fluoride. Such fluorides are released into the environment naturally in the form of both water and air. Generally, when the term fluoride is mentioned, thoughts associated with calcified tissues (i.e., bones and teeth) are provoked. This is likely due to fluoride’s high affinity for calcium, enabling its ability to inhibit or even reverse the initiation and progression of dental caries, otherwise known as tooth decay. Caries are an infectious, multifactorial disease afflicting most persons
This statement assumes that enough fluoride is added to water to harm whomever is drinking it; the actual amount of fluoride in drinking water is in the range of 0.7 to 1.2 parts per million. To help visualize that amount, just one part per million is one minute out of two years. For fluoride to be harmful to humans, someone would have to ingest 5 to 10 grams in the same sitting, the same as needing to drink more than 10,000 glasses of tap water at the same time, which is physically impossible. In fact, the human stomach can only hold about 34 ounces at it’s capacity, not close to the 80,000 ounces of tap water someone would need to ingest to die. Before getting close to being harmed by fluoride, water intoxication would potentially kill the individual. Not enough fluoride is added to have chronic effects too. Chronic fluoride toxicity occurs after being exposed to fluoride for long periods of times, developing after 10 years. Nevertheless, the amount added to fluoride is not enough to develop chronic fluoride toxicity. Therefore, the amount of fluoride added to water has no ill effects on populations.
In the early 1900s, dentist Frederick McKay began to see a trend in the patients he was seeing in Colorado Springs, Colorado (NIDR, 2014). The majority of his patients were showing signs of dental fluorosis, brown spots on permanent teeth, with no explanation (NIDR, 2014). Surprisingly, Dr. McKay found that those with dental fluorosis were also resistant to tooth decay (McClure, 1970). There was very little known about this condition, so Dr. McKay took it upon himself to do some research. After looking at trends, he discovered that the areas where dental fluorosis was prominent were also areas where there was naturally occurring fluoride in the drinking water (McClure, 1970). The first water fluoridation project began in 1945 in Grand
Most people know fluoride as a chemical added to water and toothpaste to improve dental health. Some people believe that fluoride is vital to the growth and maintenance of out teeth but others say fluoride is dangerous and harmful even when diluted. So what are the reasons behind adding this supposed “poison” to our water supply and do we really need it? Well I believe we need fluoride, and this document should help to explain why.
There is ample evidence that fluoride is harmful to health: that is why it has been banned or discontinued in 21 European countries, Japan and Hawaii. A major report ordered by Congress in January 1990 from the U.S. government's National Toxicological Program links fluoride with bone and mouth cancer, a rare form of liver cancer, and thyroid cancer. In his book Fluoride: The Aging Factor, Dr. Yiamouyiannis refers to a 1977 study that found 10,000 to 20,000 excess deaths were
The government says that we need fluoride, but fluoride is not an essential nutrient for humans. Fluoride is the only chemical added into our water for the purpose of medical treatment. It is supposed to prevent tooth decay, but studies show that tooth decay hasn’t decreased significantly since fluoride was added (fluoridealert.org, 2012). Fluoridated countries do not have less tooth decay than non-fluoridated countries. Many U.S