Fluoride healthy or harmful?

            For as long as I can remember my dentist has preached to me about how fluoride is good for my dental health and how it will help protect my teeth form cavities. Until I turned 18, I would have to stand over the sink in the dentist’s office with a mouth guard that had some sort of fluoride containing substance on it that was supposed to help protect my teeth from decay. My last dentist visit before I left for college I can specifically remember my dental hygienist mentioning to me that I should think about getting mouthwash with fluoride in it before I left for school to ensure that my teeth would be getting enough fluoride.

            According to the CDC, the addition of fluoride to public drinking water is one of the top public health achievements of the 20^th century. Fluoridated water can occur either naturally or by the addition of fluoride during water treatment processes. The idea is that when you drink water that has fluoride in it, your tooth enamel is much less likely to demineralize as quickly and this will in turn help prevent the formation of cavities.

            Some believe that the addition of fluoride to public water systems is unnecessary in developed countries because fluoride toothpastes and mouthwashes are readily available to most people. The concern surrounding fluoridation of public water supplies lies in amounts of fluorine that are considered to be above what is naturally occurring in the environment. Consuming water which has concentrations above what the World Health Organization considers to be safe can lead to adverse health effects such as severe dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis and weakened bones. Fluoride poisoning is another negative health effect from the over consumption of fluoride. Instances of this occurred multiple times in the U.S. during the 1990’s.