There is a great deal of controversy about the effectiveness and the safety of fluoride, especially in the form of water fluoridation. The intent of this paper is to provide you with information you will need to make an informed decision about fluoride. This information is based on valid scientific sources, and its basic premise of is that water fluoridation is ineffective at improving dental health, and does have the potential of adverse health effects in other words, harm. Water fluoridation began in the late 1940’s and 50’s after some preliminary studies were done that purportedly showed that a certain optimal level of fluoride stated to be one part per million – 1ppm in the drinking water led to decreased cavities in children. For a detailed history of the dubious beginnings of water fluoridation in this country, lt see the fluoride deception, by christopher bryson1.

Water fluoridation soon became a public health policy priority and has been heavily promoted ever since. Today, the american dental association ada proclaims that, based on the overwhelming weight of peer reviewed, credible scientific evidence, the ada has long supported community water fluoridation as a safe, effective means of preventing tooth decay. 2 is that truly the case? if we look at science rather than proclamations or endorsements, the story is different. Large scale, broad based, well controlled epidemiologic studies published in peer reviewed medical or scientific journals show no substantial statistical difference between fluoridated and non fluoridated communities. The largest survey ever conducted in this country was commissioned by the national institute of dental research nidr in 1987.

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The average difference in tooth decay in children aged 5 17 years who had lived all their lives in fluoridated vs. Non fluoridated communities was not statistically significant! using an index called dmfs, which means counting decayed, missing, and filled surfaces of teeth, the actual difference was less than one half of one percent. Similarly, a study done in washington state in 19964 looked at caries prevalence in 3,0 third grade children in 39 counties throughout the state. Their statistics were almost identical to the brunelle study, and the investigators reported, this study did not find a statistically significant effect of water fluoridation. They did find a significant correlation between decay and economic status, which is a finding that should be pursued. The world health organization gathered data in 20015 on tooth decay trends over the last several decades in twenty different countries.

They found that there has been a significant decline in decay in 12 year olds since about the early 1970’s. What is more interesting is that this decline is virtually the same in countries that are fluoridated, partly fluoridated or totally non fluoridated.

the mechanism of fluoride’s effects

there are pervasive notions and assumptions about how fluoride supposedly works that persist in the public and even in the dental profession, in spite of evidence to the contrary. Most dentists were taught in dental school that ingested fluoride will incorporate into the developing tooth enamel of a child and make the teeth more resistant to decay. Furthermore, topically applied fluoride would create an enamel surface more dense with fluoride ions and more resistant to the decay causing acids produced by plaque bacteria.

what does research really show?

featherstone and other prominent researchers on fluoride have found that ingested fluoride does not significantly reduce decay, and that fluoride’s primary effect is topical. Their studies have found that the level of fluoride incorporated into dental mineral by systemic ingestion is insufficient to play a significant role in caries decay prevention.6,7 so, if ingested fluoride doesn’t do any good, why are we drinking it, and why are some physicians still prescribing fluoride supplements for infants and children? one noted authority, dr. Paul connett, has stated that ingesting fluoride for cavity prevention makes about as much sense as swallowing sun block to protect the skin form sunburn.

what, then, about the topical effect?

some have postulated that drinking fluoridated water will lead to fluoride in the saliva continually bathing the teeth and protecting them. Research has shown that there is, in fact, a higher amount of fluoride in the saliva where water is fluoridated vs. Non fluoridated areas, but in both cases the concentration is very low: 0.016ppm vs.

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Researchers have concluded that this concentration of fluoride is not likely to affect cariogenic cavity causing activity. 9 what about topically applied fluoride in the dental office, or with fluoride rinses, in order to create a more fluoride dense enamel surface a goal that dentists have always strived for ? in fluorides in dentistry, clarkson, fejerskov and others state that the prevalence of dental caries in a population is not inversely related to the concentration of fluoride in enamel. 10 in other words, higher fluoride level on the enamel surface does not equate with fewer cavities. Other researchers have found a higher concentration of enamel fluoride is not necessarily more efficacious in preventing dental caries.

11,12 these studies are cited in the centers for disease control cdc report of august, 2001.13 featherstone reports in a cover story for the journal of the ada in july of 20: even when the outer enamel has higher fluoride levels, such as 10 ppm, it does not measurably withstand acid induced dissolution any better than enamel with lower levels of fluoride. Science, it seems, rather than providing an explanation of how fluoride works, actually provides a pretty good explanation of why fluoride doesn’t work. Why, then, do these old assumptions about fluoride still persist?

what about the safety of fluoridation?

fluoridation as a health policy is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It’s really obsolete … i think those nations that are using it should be ashamed of themselves.

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