Fluoride in Drinking Water: Is it good? Essay

Another issue of controversy is the safety of the chemicals used to fluoridate water. The most commonly used additives are silicofluorides, not the fluoride salts used in dental products (such as sodium fluoride and stannous fluoride). Silicofluorides are one of the by-products from the manufacture of phosphate fertilizers. The toxicity database on silicofluorides is sparse and questions have been raised about the assumption that they completely dissociate in water and, therefore, have toxicity similar to the fluoride salts tested in laboratory studies and used in consumer products (Coplan and Masters 2001). It also has been maintained that, because of individual variations in exposure to fluoride, it is difficult to ensure that the right individual dose to protect against dental caries is provided through large-scale water fluoridation. In addition, a body of information has developed that indicates the major anticaries benefit of fluoride is topical and not systemic (Zero et al. 1992; Rölla and Ekstrand 1996; Featherstone 1999; Limeback 1999a; Clarkson and McLoughlin 2000; CDC 2001; Fejerskov

Fluoride has been used by people for many decades. The most common use is in toothpaste. Fluoride was added to toothpaste to lower the amount of dental cavities that one gets, and works by protecting the enamel (outer hard layer over the tooth). Another use of fluoride is in drinking water. It was added to drinking water to also help with tooth decay. Many people are debating whether or not this is truly safe. In the essay, “The Fluoride Conspiracy”, by Laurie Higgs, she talks about the use of fluoride drinking waters and dangers it brings by using logos, pathos, and ethos.

Few object to the therapeutic use of fluoride to stop tooth decay, but fluoridation, the addition of fluoride to the public water supply, can spark avid controversy. Most dentists, medical groups, and government officials argue that fluoridation is a cheap and risk-free venture that doubles cavity prevention. In contrast, a small minority of dentists and conservative political groups argue that fluoride is a hazardous, poisonous substance that should not be consumed. Some antifluoridationists even claim that fluoridation is an untrustworthy form of socialized medicine. But rather than just attacking fluoridation as socialized medicine, opponents originally claimed that it was a conspiracy to poison or brainwash Americans through

According to World Health Organization data obtained from a study on 12 year old’s levels of tooth decay, fluoride has had very little effect, if any at all, on tooth decay. Countries such as Japan, Italy, and Iceland, who are non-fluoridated countries, actually have about the same level of tooth decay decrease as countries that have fluoridated water. Fluoride is considered a drug, according to the FDA, which means that it is a medical treatment. Medical treatments are not to be given unless the patient agrees to the treatment, therefore, placing fluoride into the public water supply violates informed consent seeing as how citizens are not given the opportunity to vote on the matter. Even if people could vote on the situation, not all people are going to agree with and since it is considered a drug, it

Fluoridation of drinking water addresses the health issue of tooth decay and the related dental problems associated with it.1 Fluoride is associated with this health issue since fluoride has been recognized as an important nutrient for healthy teeth.1

The investigation is about if Adelaide’s water should be fluoridated if it could cause problems to humans. This issue was chosen because it is an important issue that affects everybody. In this investigation some things that will be talked about is how fluoridation works and the positives and negatives of fluoridation such as the benefits of drinking fluoridated water.

I have been assigned the role of the leader of Fluoride Action Network. The Fluoride Action Network is a non-profit organization and an international coalition seeking to broaden public awareness about the toxicity of fluoride compounds and the health impacts of current fluoride exposures. The organization’s mission is to “provide comprehensive and up-to-date information regarding all aspects of fluoride” and to “remain vigilant monitoring government agency actions that may impact public’s exposure to fluoride.”1

Fluoride compounds have been added to water supplies since as early as the 1950s because claims were made to support fluoride's use as a cavity preventer. However, studies conducted even decades before have shown that fluoride is an extremely hazardous substance that should be completely avoided. These views or claims about fluoride are just too contradictory, both cannot be true. Fluoride has hidden dangers that not enough people know about and should be removed from the water supplies despite false reports that it is actually beneficial, and the practice of water fluoridation should be completely eliminated.

For over 60 years, Americans have been inundated with propaganda proclaiming the benefits of artificially fluoridating the public’s drinking water to prevent tooth decay. I do not use the term “propaganda” lightly. In fact the “father” of modern propaganda, nephew of Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays was brought in to sell spiking America’s public water supply with fluoride (Pilger). This was critical to protect the American Aluminum Company (ALCOA), the world’s largest aluminum producer, from litigation from their workers who were exposed to toxic levels of sodium fluoride. Fluoride in the public water supply is a detriment to the health of Americans and provides no positive benefits while presenting great risk. Fluoridated water is poison, it is proven to decrease IQ, and it is medicating the public with an FDA classified tranquilizer without the informed consent of the citizens.

In 2014, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Americans using community water systems had a 74% chance of receiving fluoridated water. However, many Americans do not know that there is fluoride in their water, what the fluoride is meant to do, or how fluoridating water has become a common practice. The lack of common knowledge on this subject helps to explain why there is also little attention paid to the possible risks of using this process.

For many years the general public has been told that water fluoridation is safe and beneficial, supporters of water fluoridation claim that it improves dental health. Anybody who questions the safety of fluoride, according to the government, are conspiracy theorist and nutcases (Griffiths, 2012).

Today I will be writing about the ever going argument of “Is fluoridated water better for your health?” Many people have said that it is in fact the opposite but i intend to change their opinion with my research project. If you don't know what water fluoridation is, it is the adjustment of fluoride to the recommended level for preventing tooth decay.

One commonly referenced paper describes a meta-analysis of studies done on fluoride’s effect on neurobehavioral development. This meta-analysis showed a decrease in IQ of children who lived in areas with high fluoride exposure and is often cited in arguments against the institution of water fluoridation . Many other experiments into fluoride toxicity has shown similar results and are often used by anti-fluoridation organizations to support their claims. These more scientific founded bases form the crux of the majority of theorists’ beliefs in water fluoridation. Namely, they adamantly believe that fluoride is either unsafe or at least ineffective according to the studies and experiments they have read. With only this information to go on they believe that the possible cons outweigh the possible pros, in this way they maintain a rationality behind their beliefs that adheres to the anti-fluoridation

The history of fluoride dates back to the 1940’s when an experiment was conducted in four major cities in the United States to see if water fluoridation would help the communities with dental cavities. This study states that “Over a ten year period of fluoridation, the incidence of cavities in each city was cut in half. The beneficial effect of fluoride was not dependent on the source of the fluoride” (Fallon 2006 pg. 2). The benefits of fluoride are great because if a person takes in some fluoride over a period of time there will be less cavities and he/she will have stronger teeth. Arkansas Dental Hygiene Association states, “Community water fluoridation is an effective, safe, and inexpensive way to prevent tooth decay. Fluoridation benefits Americans of all ages and socioeconomic status.” It has been proven that the use of fluoride dental products can effectively prevent tooth decay in

The same process that adds fluoride to the teeth also adds fluoride to the bones of individuals that ingest the fluoride. This process is cumulative over a lifetime and may not result in any harmful effects if fluoride consumption throughout life is a relatively low. The addition of fluoride to bones, however, does weaken them slowly. If fluoride absorption is high over a person’s life span he or she may experience weaker than normal bones in old age (National Research Council, 2006). This would increase the risk of bone fractures in elderly people beyond the rate at which they already occur. If this problem could be prevented by discontinuing community water fluoridation it would definitely be worth it. Skeletal fluorosis, as damaging as it is, may not be the worst effect of drinking fluoridated