What Is Fluoride?

Serious potential health risks of fluoride.

Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash

While creating the index for my book, Probiotic Oral Health, I wasn’t sure where to categorize the word Fluoride. Should it go in as “anti-cavity?” Should it go under “poison?” There are a lot of controversies around fluoride, including its source and what it does. I have heard stories about it being a leftover waste material from the nuclear power industry. I’ve also heard that the Nazis used it to make people more docile because it calcifies the pineal gland. Let’s look at it and see what we can find. We know that fluoride applications to municipal water sources started in the mid-1940s and have continued to this day. The main reason for the application was to reduce the incidence of cavities. Reports range from 40% to 60% reduction in cavities in all ages of people where fluoride was used.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally and is released from rocks into the soil, water, and air. Almost all water contains some fluoride, but usually not enough to prevent tooth decay. Fluoride can also be added to drinking water supplies as a public health measure for reducing cavities.” (CDC.gov, 2019) Since fluoride has a strong affinity to bone (hydroxyapatite), it actually binds to and builds bone. As teeth are bone, fluoride can build stronger bone, making it more difficult for cavities (dental caries) to form. The relation between cavity prevention and fluoride is why fluoride is added to municipal water supplies.

So, what are the standard doses of fluoride? “The adequate intake for fluoride is 0.7 mg daily for toddlers, rising to 3 mg daily for adult women and 4 mg daily for adult men. It remains unclear whether fluoride is truly essential, although fluoride may have some beneficial effects.”(Aoun et al., 2018) As fluoride becomes part of the bone, its uses have been in osteosis patients. “fluoride has been suggested as a therapy for osteoporosis since the 1960s, but despite producing denser bone, fracture risk is not reduced. Indeed, there is some evidence that nonvertebral fractures may be increased.” (Aoun et al., 2018) Aoun et al. briefly mention the mode of action of fluoride’s antibacterial properties. This confirms that fluoride is indeed an antibiotic.

Excess intake of fluoride can cause fluorosis. This causes bones to be hard but fragile from being too brittle, misshapen bones, and pitting. It can also cause the calcification of ligaments and muscles. Areas with naturally high fluoride levels in the drinking water undergo processing to remove much of the fluoride to prevent fluorosis.

Today, fluoride is added to drinking water, milk, and table salt. It can naturally be found in water and tea. It can also be found in deboned meats and from residual pesticides used on foods. (Why would it be in pesticides?)

Effects on the pineal gland

A concern with fluoride is that it causes calcification of the pineal gland. The pineal gland is where melatonin is produced. Melatonin assists with sleeping cycles. Therefore, if the gland is affected, melatonin levels will decrease, and sleep cycles will be interrupted.

“Calcium accumulates in the pineal gland in the apatite structure, similar to that found in bones and teeth [63,85,86], and as calcium carbonate (calcite) [87]. The process is initiated in childhood [88] and even in newborns [89,90], so some scientists see it as a physiological phenomenon [64]. It is, however, difficult to agree with such a conviction in the face of ample evidence showing the relationship between pineal calcification and various pathological states. This includes mental illnesses and disorders [91,92,93], neurodegenerative disorders [94,95], primary brain tumors [96], ischemic stroke [97], migraine [98], and sleep disorders [99]. The accumulation of calcium in the pineal gland is also related to aging processes [100]” (Chlubek et al., 2020)

Chlubek et al. continue, “It was not until the 1990s that it was discovered that the foci of calcification within the gland may be accompanied by extremely high concentrations of fluoride for soft tissue” (Chlubek et al., 2020). This research traces fluoride accumulation by soft tissues. These can be any “soft tissues” in the body, including the skin, muscles, arteries, the brain, etc. This is not only an issue for people of older age. Fluoride can affect people are younger ages, even at low doses. Malin et al. concluded, “Chronic low-level fluoride exposure may contribute to changes in sleep cycle regulation and sleep behaviors among older adolescents in the US.” (Malin et al., 2019)

These studies concluded that fluoride impacts neurological aspects of the body and is associated with the calcification of the pineal gland.

The Nazi rumor

There was a rumor that the Nazis used fluoride to make people more docile and sterile. Trying to find any concrete evidence is proving difficult. If any readers can supply actual proof, please share. Most of the medical experiments the Nazis conducted have been documented. There are papers summarizing the atrocities. I was unable to find any on fluoride.

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?

References

Aoun A, Darwiche F, Al Hayek S, Doumit J. The Fluoride Debate: The Pros and Cons of Fluoridation. Prev Nutr Food Sci. 2018 Sep;23(3):171-180. doi: 10.3746/pnf.2018.23.3.171. Epub 2018 Sep 30. PMID: 30386744; PMCID: PMC6195894. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6195894/

CDC.gov. About Fluoride. March 8, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/faqs/about-fluoride.html#:~:text=Fluoride%20is%20a%20mineral%20that,health%20measure%20for%20reducing%20cavities.

Chlubek D, Sikora M. Fluoride and Pineal Gland. Applied Sciences. 2020; 10(8):2885. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10082885.

Malin, A.J., Bose, S., Busgang, S.A. et al. Fluoride exposure and sleep patterns among older adolescents in the United States: a cross-sectional study of NHANES 2015–2016. Environ Health 18, 106 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-019-0546-7