The Fluoride Debate

TITLE: THE FLUORIDE DEBATE

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INTRO: TODAY, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT FLUORIDE. SHOULD IT BE ADDED TO OUR DRINKING WATER?

INTRO MUSIC: (ARTIST) PALA: (SONG)ANDROMEDA. 

BREAK MUSIC:(ARTIST) WORK BRUNCH: (SONG) IN THE CLOUDS

OUTRO MUSIC: (ARTIST) ALSEVER LAKE:(SONG)  NOBODY KNOWS

MAIN BODY:

MIRIAM -WEBSTER DICTIONARY’S MEANING OF THE WORD POISON: 

A: A SUBSTANCE THAT, THROUGH ITS CHEMICAL ACTION, USUALLY KILLS, INJURES, OR IMPAIRS AN ORGANISM

B: SOMETHING DESTRUCTIVE OR HARMFUL

LET’S START WITH A TIMELINE OF FLUORIDE USE AND CONTROVERSY. 

THE 1930S: RESEARCH ON FLUORIDE'S ROLE IN DENTAL HEALTH BEGAN, PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON THE BENEFITS OF FLUORIDE IN PREVENTING TOOTH DECAY. STUDIES CONDUCTED IN COMMUNITIES WITH NATURALLY OCCURRING FLUORIDE IN THEIR WATER SUPPLIES SHOWED A LOWER PREVALENCE OF DENTAL CAVITIES.

THE 1940S: COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION, THE PROCESS OF ADJUSTING FLUORIDE LEVELS IN PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES TO PREVENT DENTAL CAVITIES, STARTED GAINING ATTENTION AS A PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURE. GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, BECAME THE FIRST CITY TO IMPLEMENT WATER FLUORIDATION IN 1945.

THE 1950S: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WATER FLUORIDATION GAINED MOMENTUM IN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES. THE AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION (ADA) AND OTHER HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS ENDORSED WATER FLUORIDATION AS A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR PREVENTING TOOTH DECAY.

THE 1950S-1960S: AS WATER FLUORIDATION BECAME MORE WIDESPREAD, CONCERNS REGARDING POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS STARTED TO ARISE. RESEARCHERS AND ACTIVISTS BEGAN QUESTIONING THE SAFETY OF FLUORIDE, PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO POTENTIAL SYSTEMIC EFFECTS BEYOND DENTAL HEALTH.

THE 1970S: SCIENTIFIC DEBATES INTENSIFIED, FOCUSING ON THE POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS OF FLUORIDE EXPOSURE. CONCERNS WERE RAISED ABOUT THE IMPACT OF FLUORIDE ON VARIOUS HEALTH ASPECTS, INCLUDING SKELETAL FLUOROSIS (EXCESSIVE FLUORIDE CAUSING BONE ABNORMALITIES) AND POTENTIAL EFFECTS ON THE THYROID GLAND AND OTHER SYSTEMS.

THE 1980S-1990S: THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (NRC) IN THE UNITED STATES PUBLISHED REPORTS IN 1983 AND 1993 ADDRESSING THE POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS OF FLUORIDE. THESE REPORTS ACKNOWLEDGED THE BENEFITS OF FLUORIDE IN PREVENTING DENTAL CAVITIES BUT ALSO HIGHLIGHTED THE NEED FOR FURTHER RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND POTENTIAL RISKS AND ESTABLISH OPTIMAL FLUORIDE LEVELS.

2000S-PRESENT: RESEARCH ON FLUORIDE'S POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS, INCLUDING IMPACTS ON NEURODEVELOPMENT, ENDOCRINE FUNCTION, AND OTHER SYSTEMS, HAS CONTINUED. NUMEROUS STUDIES, REVIEWS, AND META-ANALYSES HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED TO ASSESS THE EVIDENCE AND ADDRESS ONGOING CONCERNS.

HELLO LISTENERS. IF YOU ARE ENJOYING THIS INFORMATION, PERHAPS YOU’LL ALSO ENJOY MY BOOK, PROBIOTIC ORAL HEALTH. IT COVERS PROBIOTICS USED FOR ALL SORTS OF ORAL ISSUES, FROM BAD BREATH TO CAVITIES TO PERIODONTAL DISEASE. IT IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM IN KINDLE AND PRINT FORMATS.

FLUORIDEALERT.ORG REPORTS 97% OF THE COUNTRIES IN EUROPE DO NOT FLUORIDATE THEIR WATER, AND THEY HAVE BEEN SEEING DECLINING RATES OF CAVITIES OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS. MANY OF THESE COUNTRIES RESPOND REGARDING DRINKING WATER FLUORIDATION AS A PHARMACEUTICAL, MEDICAL, OR CHEMICAL APPROACH. AUSTRIA STATES: “TOXIC FLUORIDES HAVE NEVER BEEN ADDED TO THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES IN AUSTRIA.” SWEDEN STATES: “DRINKING WATER FLUORIDATION IS NOT ALLOWED IN SWEDEN…NEW SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENTATION OR CHANGES IN A DENTAL HEALTH SITUATION THAT COULD ALTER THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE COMMISSION HAVE NOT BEEN SHOWN.”

AND YET, VARIOUS HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) AND THE AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION (ADA), CONSIDER FLUORIDE TO BE SAFE AND EFFECTIVE WHEN USED WITHIN RECOMMENDED LIMITS. THEY ADVOCATE FOR COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION AND THE USE OF FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE AND DENTAL TREATMENTS TO PREVENT TOOTH DECAY BASED ON A STUDY FROM THE 1930S. HOWEVER, THESE ORGANIZATIONS ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THE NEED FOR ONGOING RESEARCH AND MONITORING OF FLUORIDE EXPOSURE AND ITS POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS.

IN THE MEANTIME, RESEARCH IS DOCUMENTING, EVEN AT LOW DOSES, FLUORIDE EXPOSURE CAN DISRUPT CALCIUM METABOLISM, LEADING TO PARATHYROID HORMONE LEVELS AND BONE HEALTH ALTERATIONS, AND POTENTIAL EFFECTS ON REPRODUCTIVE HORMONES, SUCH AS ESTROGEN AND TESTOSTERONE, DOCUMENTING THAT FLUORIDE WILL CONCENTRATE IN THE SOFT TISSUES (ORGANS) EVEN AT LEVELS LOWER THAN THE LOWEST LIMIT IMPOSED BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION OF 1.5MG/L. AND STUDIES HAVE REPORTED ALTERATIONS IN THYROID HORMONE LEVELS AND AN INCREASED HYPOTHYROIDISM RISK (LOW-FUNCTIONING THYROID).

LET’S REVISIT THE DEFINITION OF POISON:

A: A SUBSTANCE THAT, THROUGH ITS CHEMICAL ACTION, USUALLY KILLS, INJURES, OR IMPAIRS AN ORGANISM

B: SOMETHING DESTRUCTIVE OR HARMFUL

Summary:

FLUORIDE USE IS CONTROVERSIAL, AND MANY HEATED DISCUSSIONS ARE FOUND IN TOWN HALL MEETINGS, NEWSPAPERS, AND RESEARCH. THERE IS EVEN A CASE IN COURT NOW WHERE THE EPA IS BEING SUED. WHAT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED IS THAT FLUORIDE DOES BIND TO BONE AND SOFT TISSUES AND CAUSES BRITTLE BONES AND CALCIFICATION IN ARTERIES. ITS ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES MAKE IT AN ANTIBIOTIC THAT KILLS BAD AND GOOD MICROBES. EVEN AT LOW CONCENTRATIONS, IT CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON SLEEP. AND, AT HIGH CONCENTRATIONS, IT IS POISONOUS. 

ARE THE BENEFITS WORTH IT? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

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