Posted on 07/08/2005 6:59:28 AM PDT by jim_trent
I picked up a study at the State College recently about Fluoride. It seems that the “optimum” dose of it is considered to be 1mg per liter of water. The State (Nebraska) has set limits between 0.7 to 1.5 mg/l to “reduce tooth decay”. The local water suppliers are charged with meeting and staying within those limits. Prolonged drinking of water with more than 2.0mg/l can cause discoloration of the teeth. Much higher amounts are poisonous.
What I found interesting is that the groundwater was tested throughout the state to see what the naturally occurring fluoride was before anything was added. Thirty-six (36) out of forty-nine (49) counties have naturally occurring Fluoride of 0.7mg/l or above. No fluoride is added to the water in these counties. One county had 2.6mg/l naturally occurring (the highest found in the State). No word on whether or not fluoride is removed in that county.
What I found interesting is the high percentage of counties that already had sufficiently high amounts of fluoride naturally occurring. I have not seen that fact brought up in other discussions I have read here about fluoride.
If it is as bad as some say, how can the people survive who live in the areas that already have that much fluoride naturally occurring. I wonder what the percentage of land in the entire US already has sufficient naturally occurring fluoride so that none is added? Is it as high as here or is this an anomaly? How is fluoride different from chloride, iodine, and any other halogens that are used in purifying water?
There are all kinds of pros and cons about flouride. You just have to make your on decisions about it I guess.
You definitely have to read about the loons in Vermont who refused fluoride in their drinking water as they feared it was a communist plot. Google it - a scream. No surprise Dean/Kerry are so popular with this bunch.
Their are generations of bad teeth in those parts.
They have a wonderful set of tooth.
Bwhahahah - coffee all over my screen.
Seriously, per the post, any hard water will discolour your teeth. Use baking soda and don't stop using fluoride.
The controversy is not about the benefits and risks of fluoride but about the government deciding what medicines to push down our throats.
I went to high school with one girl who was so sensitive to fluoride, she could not bathe in Nashville water.
I suppose those of us who have never lived in a place where flouride is added have bad teeth.
For a laugh read the thread on my homepage left here by a Troll a few weeks ago.
Wow.
If you eat heaps of sugar and don't practice proper oral hygiene no one can help you.
My dentist who is an older chap has commented that the addition of fluoride is creating a cavity free generation. My children have never had their mouths drilled. I have a filling in each molar. Their father's situation is similar. Clearly, genetics only go so far. Fluoride can make a difference.
Proper dental hygene is the key. Dental care has improved a great deal as well. I'm in the same boat as you. I have fillings in several molars from my childhood but my teeth are really in pretty good shape due to proper care as I got older. Still no flouride in my water because mine comes from my well.
I've read that naturally occurring flouride usually comes with calcium to balance it. That calcium contributes to better teeth. Artificially added flouride, on the other hand, comes with 17 other chemicals to keep the flouride from destroying the pipes.
I recommend flouridating sugar, not water. My city flouridates, and there are dentists everywhere. The advertising that dentists would go out of business turned out to be a myth.
Scarry isn't it?
My ex didn't have a cavity until she was around 26. She had flouride treatments as a child. Not sure about her water.
That's an extremely rare condition. She likely has a number of autoimmune issues (prone to exema, lupus-type conditions, right?) and even non-fluridated water would create problems as any higher mineral content would agitate her skin.
Jim, there is a benefit to having an appropriate amount and chemical form of fluoride in water. It is incorporated into the tooth matrix and indeed makes teeth resistant to cavity causing bacteria. But, like anything, there is a toxic level that is not too far above the beneficial level in this case. Too much of anything is toxic--hell too much pure water ingestion will kill you. A basic principle of toxicology is the dose makes the poison, meaning for example that a low-dose of aspirin is beneficial while a high-dose is lethal. This is what the idiots in Vermont don't understand. You should be able to find toxic levels by googling fluoride toxicity. I know there are many counties in West Texas where the ground water has so much fluoride naturally that it causes discoloration and actually weakens the dental and skeletal (bones have many similar matrix characteristics to teeth) structures.
Science is easy. All you have to do is break the words down.
Fluoride - flu - now we know that is bad. Ride - something you do when you can't walk so that is bad, too. Conclusion, fluoride is bad.
Chloride - chlo, as in chlorophyl, the stuff that plants have that makes our breath smell good. Ride, same as above. Chloride is a wash.
Iodine - I, me, myself, and I. Good. Dine, lots of good groceries. Iodine is very good.
Halogen - halo, the thing around the heads of religious icons. Got to be good. Gens for generations or gins, both good. Halogens are good.
Once you get the hang of breaking down the words these things are a snap. Go in peace and be a happy scientist.
There go out precious bodily fluids, Mandrake...
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