What’s Up With Fluoride?

In the early 1900’s, dentists successfully lobbied for fluoride chemicals to be added to US drinking water supplies, based on skimpy scientific evidence, truly believing they had their magic bullet to prevent tooth decay. But they were wrong.

Old-time dentists, who like today, settled where residents could afford them.  And just like today, their healthier wealthier patients had fewer cavities but their teeth were yellow and brown stained (now known as dental fluorosis). Their drinking water contained high amounts of calcium fluoride.

They accurately pinpointed fluoride as the discoloring culprit. Not knowing that calcium is a tooth required nutrient, they assumed fluoride was also preventing tooth decay in those mottled teeth.

Dentists successfully lobbied governments to add sodium fluoride (later switched to hydrofluosilicic acid because it’s cheaper) into drinking water and all but guaranteeing tooth decay rates would decline spectacularly, million$ in dental care would be saved, dentists would go out of business. Fluoride has no side effects, they said, except for very mild dental fluorosis that was projected to afflict only 10% of children and it would be hardly perceptible – some even claimed it made teeth prettier.

So, after 76 years of fluoridation, their mistake is quite evident.

• 70% of US children and adolescents are afflicted with dental fluorosis – much of it moderate/severe – requiring expensive cosmetic dentistry
• Tooth decay is epidemic, according to the American Association of Pediatric Dentists
• In 1950 there were 42 dental Schools. Now there are 68.
• 16,555 were enrolled in dental school in 1969-70. Now 25,995 are enrolled, the most ever.
• Dental spending reached a historic high of $136 billion, according to the American Dental Association
• Dental hospital emergency room visits doubled from 1 million in 2000 to 2.2 million in 2012, costing 1.6 billion dollars annually.
• More dentists and dental groups now oppose fluoridation. For example, the IAOMT, the IABDM, these dentists. 378 dentists listed here. More are opposed but fear speaking out

We are all inundated with fluoride – in foods naturally, from fluoridated water in processing or from fluoride-containing pesticide residues; in medicines; fluoride-containing food wrappers and storage containers; feed regimen of animal products and, of course in dental products – toothpaste, mouth rinses, gels, varnish, pills, drops, floss, dental cements, dental filling material

No one disputes over-exposure to fluoride is health-harming. No one needs fluoride as consuming a fluoride-free diet doesn’t cause tooth decay.

Fluoride, neither a nutrient nor essential for healthy teeth is a drug with side effects – the most egregious is fluoride’s neurological effects.  Fluoride’s kidney effects are 100 years old and its thyroid effects well documented.

Fluoridation is based on politic$; not science.  Follow the Money.  It’s time to end the archaic  public health mistake called fluoridation.

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