Fluoride is Bad For You!
Is fluoride bad for you? Yes. Is fluoride toxic? Yes. Should you avoid fluoride in toothpaste? Yes. Should you avoid fluoride in water? Yes. The truth is that fluoride is a toxin, and toxins do not belong in health products (like toothpaste) or drinking water.
What Does Fluoride Do?
The premise of using fluoride in water and toothpaste is that it becomes incorporated into the enamel of the teeth - making the enamel more resistant to plaque and acids and ultimately preventing tooth decay. The problem with this thinking is that fluoride doesn't actually prevent tooth decay. The reality is that tooth decay still occurs in the presence of fluoride. In fact, our sister clinic, Eric Davis Dental, regularly treats patients suffering from tooth decay who use fluoridated toothpaste and drink fluoridated water.
The chart above chart highlights how tooth decay has continued to decline in all Western countries, irrespective of whether the nations water is fluoridated or not. It shows that fluoride is not even serving its intended purpose reducing the rate of tooth decay.
Does Fluoride Help Prevent Tooth Decay?
The primary driver of tooth decay is an improper diet—specifically one high in sugar and carbohydrates and low in protein and fat. No amount of fluoride can combat the effects of an improper diet on teeth. So long as people follow a poorly formulated diet, they will suffer from tooth decay—irrespective of fluoride. A study conducted by pioneering dentist Dr Weston A Price highlights this point particularly well.
Fluoride and Tooth Decay According to Dr Weston A Price
During his studies, Dr. Price discovered that a change in diet could halt and even reverse the effects of tooth decay. He observed this while treating a group of malnourished children in an orphanage. By prescribing a high-fat, high-protein diet consisting of butter, cod liver oil, meat and vegetable stews (including the bones), cultured dairy products, and fermented foods like sauerkraut, while eliminating complex carbohydrates and sugar, Dr Price was able to stop the children's tooth decay, prevent new cavities, and promote the remineralisation of their teeth.
Fluoride Does Not Stop Tooth Decay
This study debunks the myth that fluoride is crucial for oral health and necessary to prevent tooth decay, and in doing so, undermines the entire premise of using fluoride in toothpaste and water.
What Does Fluoride Do, Actually?
It begs the question: if it doesn't protect teeth from decay, what does fluoride do, really? The below list from the IAMOT (International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology) more accurately reflects what fluoride does, and highlights how fluoride is causes and is associated with a host of health risks.
Fluoride Side Effects
- Acne and other dermatological conditions
- Arterial calcification and arteriosclerosis
- Bone weakness and risk of fractures
- Cancer of the bone, osteosarcoma
- Cardiac failure
- Cardiac insufficiency
- Cognitive deficits
- Dental fluorosis
- Diabetes
- Early puberty in girls
- Electrocardiogram abnormalities
- Harm to the fetal brain
- Hypertension
- Immune system complications
- Insomnia
- Iodine deficiency
- Lower fertility rates
- Lower IQ
- Myocardial damage
- Neurotoxic effects, including ADHD
- Osteoarthritis
- Skeletal fluorosis
- Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)
- Thyroid dysfunction
What Does Fluoride Do To The Body?
Fluoride is associated with these side effects and health risks because it affects and interferes with several critical bodily functions. The most important ways fluoride affects these bodily functions are as follows.
Formation of Fluoride Ions
Upon ingestion, fluoride converts into highly reactive fluoride ions (F-) in the body. These ions actively engage with and can replace/displace crucial molecules.
What Does Fluoride Do to Mineralisation
Fluoride can disrupt the normal mineralisation of teeth and bones by substituting hydroxyapatite crystals in enamel and bone with fluorapatite - altering their structure and resulting in a loss of strength and structural integrity.
What Does Fluoride Do to Enzyme Function
Fluoride disrupts the activity of several key enzymes, impacting processes such as energy production, neurotransmitter synthesis, and antioxidant defences. This disruption can lead to cellular malfunction.
What Does Fluoride Do to Collagen Synthesis
Fluoride can hinder the synthesis of collagen, which in turn affects the strength and flexibility of bones, teeth, and other connective tissues. This disruption can lead to weakened structural integrity in these areas.
What Does Fluoride Do to Oxidative Stress
Fluoride exposure can increase the production of reactive oxygen species, leading to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress destroys cell components and destabilises healthy cell function, laying the groundwork for disease, infection, toxicity and disability from aging.
What Does Fluoride Do to Cell Signalling
By disrupting the function of enzymes and proteins involved in signaling pathways, altering protein phosphorylation, and interfering with calcium homeostasis, fluoride can interfere with cell signalling pathways.
What Does Fluoride Do to Endocrine Function
Fluoride disrupts the endocrine system by affecting the normal operation of several glands, such as the thyroid, pineal and pituitary glands. It hampers enzyme activities crucial for hormone synthesis, alters hormone release, and interferes with hormone receptor interactions, resulting in imbalances that impact metabolism, reproduction, and development.
What Does Fluoride Do to the Brain
Fluoride is a neurotoxin that affects the brain by disrupting the development and function of the central nervous system. Studies have shown that fluoride exposure, particularly during critical periods of brain development in children, lead to cognitive impairments and lower IQ scores. Fluoride can accumulate in brain tissues and interfere with neural signalling and neurotransmitter functions.
What Does Fluoride Do to DNA
Fluoride exposure can lead to DNA strand breaks and mutations. Studies have shown that fluoride can cause chromosomal abnormalities and interfere with the repair mechanisms of DNA - resulting in cellular damage and increased risks of cancer and other health issues.
What Does Fluoride Do to Immune Function
Fluoride has been linked to reduced production of antibodies and impaired immune responses. Fluoride can interfere with the normal function of white blood cells, including lymphocytes and neutrophils - ultimately increasing susceptibility to infections and diseases.
What Does Fluoride Do to Gastrointestinal Health
Fluoride can increase stomach acidity and damage the mucosal lining, leading to inflammation and potential ulceration. It generally compromises gastrointestinal health and is associated with symptoms like bloating, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea.
What Does Fluoride Do to Calcium Homeostasis
Fluoride ions have a high affinity for calcium ions, so when fluoride ions enter the body and accumulate in tissues, they can displace calcium ions. This leads to decreased calcium availability in bones and teeth, which can result in weakened bone and tooth structure. It also affects other physiological processes that rely on calcium homeostasis.
Why Avoid Fluoride in Toothpaste and Drinking Water?
When you consider that fluoride doesn't even serve its intended purpose of stopping tooth decay, and on top of this, it causes a litany of health issues, it becomes an easy decision to avoid fluoride in toothpaste and drinking water.
How to Avoid Fluoride in Toothpaste and Drinking Water?
There are two primary ways in which you can avoid fluoride in toothpaste and drinking water:
- Drink filtered water
- Use a fluoride-free toothpaste
Many people believe that ingesting fluoride via water is the only way fluoride can enter and harm the body. Thus, many see no harm in continuing to use fluoridated toothpaste. However, the reality is that the tissues in the oral mucosa - the cheeks, gums and under the tongue - are highly absorbent, which means fluoride from toothpaste is easily absorbed directly into the bloodstream, even when not swallowed.
Fluoride Free Toothpaste
This is why we advocate for the use of fluoride-free toothpaste and have created our very own all-natural oral healthcare range. Unlike regular oral healthcare products, ours are free from fluoride and other toxins! They're not made to simply clean the teeth and gums but to restore the balance of microbes in the mouth and support healing.
