"Not when DEATH is on the line!"

My friend and I have been talking about teeth lately. Trips to the dentist could go better. 

They Lady Dentist we go to is always quick to remind me we should be using fluoride toothpaste,  but I've heard that there's more than enough fluoride in our water already.

http://www.whale.to/d/fluoride.html

Fluoride Debate: Against!

Some background from an opinion piece:

"Fluoridation is a 1940's concept begun with the mistaken belief that one milligram fluoride ingested daily from one liter of water reduced children's tooth decay while teeth formed. Now children consume up to six times that amount of fluoride from water, food, beverages, and dental products negating the need for water fluoridation and putting Americans at unnecessary risk of fluoride's adverse effects and overdoses. Further, swallowing fluoride doesn't stop cavities. Fluoride hardens outer tooth enamel topically, not systemically, according to the CDC."

From a study by the Center for Endemic Disease Control in China:

"The ratio of osteoprotegerin ligand (OPGL) to osteoprotegerin (OPG) determines the delicate balance between bone resorption and synthesis...The results indicated that OPG and OPGL may play important roles in skeletal fluorosis, and that fluoride may enhance osteoclast formation and induce osteoclastic bone destruction."

Apparently fluorosis is this:

http://blog.listentoyourgut.com/why-you-should-avoid-fluoride/

This study purports that the fluoride in toothpaste can't even be digested or absorbed by our bodies:

"Currently, diet and fluoride toothpastes are the main sources of fluoride to children at the age-risk for fluorosis development. However, when estimating the risk of fluorosis from toothpaste inadvertently ingested, it has not been considered the systemic fluoride bioavailability."

This one seems strange to me because if ingested fluoride isn't bio-available, why the heck is it in our water at all? 

Fluoride Debate: For! Kind Of.

Cancer.gov admits there has been ample speculation about the link between fluoride and cancer:

"A possible relationship between fluoridated water and cancer risk has been debated for years. The debate resurfaced in 1990 when a study by the National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, showed an increased number of osteosarcomas (bone tumors) in male rats given water high in fluoride for 2 years...However, other studies in humans and in animals have not shown an association between fluoridated water and cancer."

Honestly, so far, this article from Science Daily is the only one that is reassuring to me:

"Fluoride is known to help prevent dental cavities, but long-term ingestion of excessive amounts could cause bone problems. The average person ingests a very safe amount, 2 to 3 milligrams, daily through fluoridated drinking water, toothpaste and food. It would take ingesting about 20 milligrams a day over 10 or more years before posing a significant risk to bone health."

Good ol' Dr. Weil (whom I like quite a bit) isn't worried a bit:

"High amounts of fluoride over several years can cause brittle bones, but this is extremely rare. Fluoride is toxic in very large quantities and can cause gastrointestinal symptoms and sometimes even death. But you'd have to ingest about 20,000 times more fluoride than what's in an 8-ounce glass of fluoridated water to see such an effect. On the other hand, I believe the evidence is overwhelming that fluoride builds and maintains strong, cavity-free teeth. The addition of this mineral to most public water supplies is credited with preventing tooth decay between 40 and 60 percent in both children and adults who live in fluoridated communities."

Fluoride Debate: Hurts Your Thyroid?

On About.com, Dr. David Derry mentions that "...what is important is fluoride is in the same chemical family as iodine and can replace iodine in the body if the iodine is deficient." Lest we forget, your thyroid needs iodine to make thyroid hormones, so if fluoride is taking iodine's place, your thyroid won't have the tools it needs.

More on this from dearthyroid.org:

"According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, fluoride in the range of 2-5 mg per day is enough to slow down thyroid function.1 In fact, fluoride was used to treat hyperthyroidism before more powerful medications were developed."

Clearly, no one agrees. It's clear that too much fluoride is bad for you, some is good for your teeth, and none is bad for your teeth. The real question is if the amount in our water supply is too much or just enough.

What I really find weird is that any government entity is putting anything in our water without our consent. What else is going in there?!