Do you think fluoridated water is bad for you?

[Deleted User]

Some years ago I followed natural health quite fanatically but these days I think that most of what you read on natural health sites are stories made up by people who want your money. These days I'm happy to eat pizza when I'm out with my friends or forgot to pack my lunch.

But something that I still wonder is, is fluoride bad for you? Nowadays I think that apart from a few individuals who are unnaturally sensitive to it, it's harmless. But I'm still too afraid to drink water that hasn't been filtered.

 

[VinsCool]

I've been drinking sulphurated water from my old house for years. Never kept any sequels.
I presume that same works for this.

 

[Veho]

But I'm still too afraid to drink water that hasn't been filtered.

Do household water filters even remove fluoride?

 

[slaphappygamer]

I drink water right from the tap in my house, even when I was a kid. Drinking from the garden hose was normal (only after letting the water run for a minute to let the bugs flow out). I’m now 40 and my teeth are great. Haven’t had many cavities and no gum disease. I think it’s only bad if you are 3 or younger. Eat whatever you like, just don’t over eat and you should be fine.

 

[Issac]

Fluoride isn't good for you - in high doses. The amount in drinking water? No biggie, at least in Sweden.
However, there's a reason you shouldn't swallow toothpaste or mouthwash, and that's the fluoride.

 

[koz]

Hi,

Fluoride should be banned from public drinking water.

Here is the latest scientific study showing a potential link between drop in IQ in offspring related to a mother drinking fluoridated water in pregnancy.

Of course, more evidence is required, but its a worrying sign for us all.

Higher levels of fluoride in pregnant woman linked to lower intelligence in their children - September 20, 2017

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-09-higher-fluoride-pregnant-woman-linked.html


Thanks.

 

[Foxi4]

Fluoride is perfectly safe, the only known adverse effect of fluoride overdose is fluorosis, a purely cosmetic condition, and it only occurs in children - overmineralisation of your enamel won't kill you. The benefits of fluoride are well-documented, the CDC explored all possible side effects and found no convincing evidence of it being harmful. The amount found in community water isn't going to affect you negatively. Natural health websites on the other hand will - it's all drivel written by people with no medical expertise. Any website with the word "natural" in it is automatically a quack science outlet 100% of the time.

http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/basics/fluoride/article/is-fluoride-bad-0316

 

[the_randomizer]

Fluoride in minuscule amount is innocuous, but if too much is swallowed at once (toothpaste and mouthwash) it will make you quite ill. Peoples' fears about it in water are over exaggerated.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

It makes your tooth enamel stronger

 

[johnbus]

The dose makes the poison. The 'health experts' often site real scientific studies, but neglect to mention the benefits along with the risks. It's very selective science.

There is always some risk with anything medical, or life in general, but there are good reasons for why things are the way they are. I don't necessarily recommend any bans, but simply for people to understand what can and does go wrong at times. Knowing what is wrong is the first step to making things better for future generations, but the progress towards such improvement is necessarily slow for safety's sake.

And so ends my most generic post on this site... I was hoping to make it able to apply to any new health claim as they seem to be made every minute of every day. -.-

 

[osaka35]

I can help explain how it works, if you'd like. But first you should know a few things.
1. Everything is lethal, it's just the amount that dictates when it's lethal. The dose makes the poison. You can die from drinking too much water, for example.
2. "Natural" has no bearing on health. Nature has no need to be safe or healthy for humans, it has no intent. It's just the way it is.
3. Artificial has no bearing on health either, it just means someone mixed chemicals in a lab as opposed to taking chemicals out of a plant/nature (more or less).
4. Origins make no difference when you're talking about chemical makeup. H20 gotten from a plant is the same as H20 gotten from blood, ya know?
5. Fluoride is one of the most heavily tested chemical ever. We know this stuff backwards and forwards.

Okay, given that, here's the skinny. The fluoride in water is in tiny amounts. Even assuming absolutely everything you eat or drink has a cumulative amount, and you add all that together, you're still going to be fine unless you're in an environment where the dose is much much much higher. Don't swallow loads of toothpaste and which Foxi4 pointed out, it's still not going to hurt you (well, toothpaste has bitterants so your body won't like it, but that ain't fluoride's fault).

So, what actually happens? It gets in your teeth, protecting your teeth from the inside out. Teeth-rotting bacteria can't handle the stuff (more or less). You brush with fluoridated toothpaste to protect from the outside, and water fluoridation ensures you have a line of defense within your teeth as well. Genetics plays a part in whether your teeth are more susceptible to rot or not, So, drink fluoridated water and brush/floss your teeth and you help give your teeth the best chance they'll have.

 

[aykay55]

Some years ago I followed natural health quite fanatically but these days I think that most of what you read on natural health sites are stories made up by people who want your money. These days I'm happy to eat pizza when I'm out with my friends or forgot to pack my lunch.

But something that I still wonder is, is fluoride bad for you? Nowadays I think that apart from a few individuals who are unnaturally sensitive to it, it's harmless. But I'm still too afraid to drink water that hasn't been filtered.

Flouride is bad for you if a lot of it is ingested, same as other things like toothpaste and seafood. Ever wonder why the dentist (if you go) says to not swallow it and makes you gargle? Yeah! The minimum lethal dose of flouride is 5mg/kg, so yeah. That's a lot when you think about it.

 

[J-Machine]

Hi,

Fluoride should be banned from public drinking water.

Here is the latest scientific study showing a potential link between drop in IQ in offspring related to a mother drinking fluoridated water in pregnancy.

Of course, more evidence is required, but its a worrying sign for us all.

Higher levels of fluoride in pregnant woman linked to lower intelligence in their children - September 20, 2017

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-09-higher-fluoride-pregnant-woman-linked.html


Thanks.

287 mother child pairs in mexico is a ridiculously low number then take into account that their exposure was more than those generally would get in canada or america and suddenly the findings become garbage. let's not forget they didn't take into effect parenting or teaching methods among other social based variables...

 

[lordkaos]

depends on the amount of fluoride, if you regularly drink water with a high level of fluoride while the enamel of your teeth is still in formation it can cause discoloration and in severe cases malformation of the enamel of you teeth, it is called fluorosis, it mostly happens on areas with a natural high level of fluoride on water tough, fluoride is really good for your teeth in normal amounts.

 

[jefffisher]

flouride is definitely bad for you, it's not in the water where i live though and i use non flouride toothpaste so the only flouride i get is in tea but it's probably still too much.

 

[osaka35]

flouride is definitely bad for you, it's not in the water where i live though and i use non flouride toothpaste so the only flouride i get is in tea but it's probably still too much.

Why do you believe this to be true?

 

[fvig2001]

It's bad for young children. High fluoride content will give them fluorosis and it is a permanent disease on teeth(replaced teeth will still be affected).

 

[Foxi4]

God forbid kids have discoloured teeth, it'd be better if they had cavities.

 

[Subtle Demise]

Being in Michigan, I'm more worried about yet another contaminated water scare, this time it's quite a bit closer to home than Flint. Luckily though, there are no Wolverine leather tanning plants near here lol.

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Do household water filters even remove fluoride?

Only certain ones. Activated carbon filters do not.

 

[lordkaos]

God forbid kids have discoloured teeth, it'd be better if they had cavities.

only mild to moderate cases of fluorosis present just discoloration of the teeth, severe cases in kids present physical damage to the enamel of the permanent teeth increasing the probability of developing cavities, fluoride helps in the remineralization of the teeth but only in normal amounts in toothpaste and other hygienic products, not at systemic level like drinking water high in fluoride.