Recently there has been an explosion of information concerning water fluoridation and its usefulness. Fluoride was initially used in drinking water because it was thought to help keep teeth healthy. It is now known that fluoride is ONLY beneficial to teeth topically and not when it is ingested. This means that the fluoride in toothpaste is beneficial to teeth, but water fluoridation is not. Further findings suggest that water fluoridation is also having a negative impact on many other areas of the body.

Fluoride is a non-essential chemical that is added to our water supply, not to treat the water to make it drinkable, but as a medication to treat those drinking the water. It is not required for the body to work properly. It is the only chemical in the world that is used this way. There are a number of problems with medicating the population in this way. First, medications are meant to be prescribed in correct dosages, to the correct patients, for a correct period of time while the patient is being monitored by a professional. Fluoridation is given in a “one-size-fits-all” dose with no thought to how it might affect smaller people more than larger people. Also, the dosage is dependent on how much water a person drinks. Someone who is a laborer in the sun or a diabetic will drink more water than those sitting at a desk in the air conditioning and therefore the dosages are different.

One of the major concerns with water fluoridation is dental fluorosis. Over one third of the children in the United States suffer from dental fluorosis which is damage to their teeth from excessive fluoride exposure while their teeth are developing. If these children are showing signs of excessive fluoride in the part of the body where fluoride is supposed to help, what other areas of their bodies are affected without us knowing? It has been shown that children with higher fluoride exposures have lower IQ’s, higher risk of broken bones, and possibly higher risks of bone cancers. Fluoride has been classified as a “chemical having substantial evidence of developing neurotoxicity” by the EPA. The American Dental Association recommends that mothers who are feeding their children formula use water that is fluoride free.

Another concern about fluoride is that it is an endocrine disruptor, meaning it can change the way hormones are produced and used. This can affect the thyroid, brain, adrenal glands, and reproductive organs. An average adult (154 lbs) can have endocrine effects from fluoride at the level of 3.5 mg/day. The average exposure of an adult is 3.0 mg/day. So if you drink more than the average amount of fluoridated water, you may be causing harm to your endocrine system. A 30-pound child will consume the average of 1.5 mg/day of fluorine. However, they can have endocrine effects at 0.7 mg/day. It is very important for a child whose brain and body are still developing to have non-fluoridated water.

Not only is fluoride in our drinking water, but in all beverages and soups that we make with the water. It is also in pesticides that are used on fruits and vegetables and in tooth paste. However, as stated above, the fluoride in toothpaste is beneficial if used correctly and not swallowed. Also, most of the fluoride in our water is not the same chemical compound of fluoride as the toothpaste. Sodium fluoride is commonly used in toothpaste, however, in our water we get the waste product of a chemical reaction used to make phosphates for fertilizer. Our water is treated with hexafluorosilicic acid, which is a combination of two pollutant by-products that are gases. They were too toxic to be let into the air so they are combined and made into a liquid to be used in our water supply. It is not even refined to eliminate any heavy metals like arsenic before it is used.