Fluoride and You

4 mins read

By Audrey Stack, DDS

What Is Fluoride?

Fluoride is a form of the element fluorine. It occurs naturally in mineral formations and in all natural bodies of water around the world. Fluoride that is added to drinking water comes from natural calcium deposits in phosphate rock, which are then purified. Fluoride is considered safe in appropriate amounts, and recommended for good dental health by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.

How Does Fluoride Work?

In the early 1900’s it was discovered that entire populations in Colorado had no tooth decay where natural fluoride levels were high. Fluoride has been found to strengthen tooth enamel by attaching at the molecular level. It disables acid-forming bacteria in the mouth by reducing their acid production (the main cause of tooth decay), as well as their ability to stick to tooth structure.

How Can Fluoride Help?

There are several ways that fluoride, in optimal doses, can help –

Water Fluoridation has been the most significant in reducing dental caries (cavities), especially in children, by strengthening their newly forming teeth.

Supplemental Fluoride in the form of tablets or drops is recommended for children with very little, or no, fluoride in their drinking water, children at high risk for tooth decay and children over 6 months of age. Fluoride supplements are available by dental or medical prescription only.

Fluoride Rinses can topically strengthen already erupted teeth. They are recommended for children and adults at high risk for dental decay, and should only be used if the child or adult is able to rinse and spit.

Fluoride Toothpaste should be used in smaller amounts for young children. It is recommended that a smear no bigger than a rice grain be used for children under 3 years of age and no more than a small pea-sized amount for ages 3-6. Supervised tooth brushing is recommended twice daily to ensure that the correct amount is used.

Professional Fluoride Treatments can be administered periodically by a dental or medical provider as soon as teeth begin to appear.

How Much Fluoride Do We Need?

In order to determine this, all sources of fluoride ingestion, as well as risk for decay, are factors that need to be considered. Well water may contain fluoride at varying levels and can be tested specifically for fluoride content to determine how much is in the water the family drinks at home. Schools, day care centers, friends’ and relatives’ homes where water is consumed should also be noted. Foods which are prepared with fluoridated water, including processed foods, also contain it. Fluoride does not pass from mother to baby through breast milk, but breast milk has so many of its own benefits that fluoride supplements are not indicated. However, most infant formulas do contain fluoride.

The following is a link to the most current list of fluoridated communities in Maine. Some changes may have occurred since it was last updated.

Audrey Stack, DDS, is a pediatric dentist at Community Dental.

Community Dental Farmington is located at 131 Franklin Health Commons St, Farmington, ME. Telephone: 207-779-2659 / fax: 207-779-2697 Community Dental improves the lives of children and adults in our communities by providing needed, accessible, comprehensive quality oral health care. For further information please visit our website at www.communitydentalme.org

Support for the Franklin Children’s Oral Health Project is provided by the Maine Oral Health Funders.

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9 Comments

  1. It’s incredibly obvious, isn’t it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That’s the way a hard-core Commie works.

  2. Dear Seamus, It’s incredibly obvious, isn’t it? A foreign substance (fluoride) is introduced into the precious bodily fluids of the pregnant mom without her knowledge. Certainly, without any choice for the fetus. If the fluoride level is high enough in the pregnant mom, the fetus will lose IQ points. That’s the result of hard-core fluoridation promoters. By the way Seamus, read more about the new U.S. sponsored study that states this, http://fluoridealert.org/articles/fluoride-exposure-in-utero-linked-to-lower-iq-in-kids-new-study-says/

  3. If it is so safe why are many major cities in the United States banning it from the public drinking water ? Fluoride is a bi-waste product in the manufacturing of aluminum and is toxic to the human body.
    In 1983, however, a PHS panel of “world-class experts” reviewed the safety data on fluoride in drinking water and was surprised to discover that much of the vaunted evidence of fluoride’s safety barely existed. The panel recommended caution, especially in regard to fluoride exposure for children.
    In 1977, congressional hearings revealed that the government had never cancer-tested fluoride and the NCI was ordered to begin an investigation. The study, completed in 1989 – 12 years later – found ‘equivocal evidence” that fluoride caused bone cancer in male rats. The NCI found that nationwide evidence “of a rising rate of bone and joint cancer … was seen in the fluoridated counties but not in the non-fluoridated counties.”
    Not for me or my family…..The times they are a changing

  4. I remember back in about 1970-1971 there was a HUGE debate about putting fluoride in the public water system. ie. Wilton. My parents were against that as were others. I think I was in 7-8 grade. Even back then there was evidence of liver and kidney damage. Especially in older people. Perhaps the same argument could be had today. Let people research and decide for them selves.
    My parents lost the battle to keep fluoride OUT of the Wilton’s water supply. Some people have been drinking it for many years.?!?!

  5. https://forcedfluoridationfreedomfighters.com/a-preliminary-investigation-into-fluoride-accumulation-in-bone/
    Anyone who thinks that delivering any medication by dumping it into public water supplies is scientific is scientifically illiterate. On top of that, fluoride is highly toxic and a cumulative poison, like lead, arsenic, and mercury. I have asked many forced-fluoridation fanatics to tell me how much accumulated fluoride in the body they think is safe. So far not a single one of them has been able to answer the question. It is unlikely to just be a coincidence that the US, Australia, and Ireland, which have had high rates of forced-fluoridation for decades, also have high rates of joint problems, and poor health outcomes in general.

  6. Kuddos to all who are getting the truth out! Fluoride is a poison. What a sham has been orchestrated on the American public and the world. Many countries have banned in their drinking water.

    Be careful what you drink. Some of the bottled waters out there have it and so do the infant drinks. Read labels friends and neighbours. Especially if you have children! Good health to you all.

  7. Dr. Stack:

    Thank you for trying to simplify the discussion about fluoride and its benefits for our community. Although I’m sure you have to put up with them in your daily practice, please ignore the unscientific and fear-mongering posts above and keep up the wonderful work you’re doing, one child and one patient at a time.

    Dr. Erika Schumacher
    Pediatrician, mom, community member working hard every day to build a healthier Franklin County

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