Fluoride = Poison?

I have always heard rumors of the negative effects of flouride in drinking water, toothpaste, etc… I recently replaced every product in our bathroom with the miessence line, including toothpaste. Even while purchasing it I was thinking, “Huh, I wonder what’s so bad about toothpaste?” So I googled “flouride.” Wow. [sidetrack – is “googled” in the dictionary yet?]

I browsed several sites, most of them very much opposed to flouride. One of the negative sites, “What’s the Deal With Fluoride?” was very interesting, especially the heated comments at the end. The big point that most of these sites seemed to be driving home was that flouride was essentially a toxic waste product, and to avoid paying a hefty price to properly dispose of it, big companies convinced us that it prevents tooth decay in order to dump it in our water supply. Sounds frightening, if it’s true. But then again, it also sounds like a scare tactic.

<tangent> I personally believe that when it comes to trusting corporate America, don’t. When it comes down to choosing money or the what’s best for consumers, most people will choose money. And in the end consumers are responsible for their own choices. (Although it certainly doesn’t make evil corporate America right, and they need to be held accountable for their actions). Companies must woo consumers to get their business. If we all did our research and refused to support the companies that performed animal testing, then they would either have to flat out lie or stop testing on animals. The organic movement is a great example, because it’s easy for a company to bend the rules a little and slap a “green” label on their product. It’s like a car manufacturer sticking the V6 tag on a four banger in order to mark up the price. </tangent>

Anyway… I tend to look at things from a personal perspective – screw what people are saying about if it’s an evil corporate plot or whatever, what is the best choice for me to make now? Since I’m trying to live organic, I felt like I needed to research where flouride even comes from.

“The chemical element fluorine forms fluorides when it is combined with other chemical elements. Fluorine is found principally in a mineral called fluorspar which is also sometimes known as fluorite.” A mineral… ok cool. I like minerals. So it makes sense that it occurs naturally in the earth’s crust… leaving trace amounts in plants, water, etc. So we already get it without our water being treated.

I would make a list of all these negative points but someone already did. If even a couple of his points are true it seems best to avoid the stuff. After all this research though, I think fluoride treatment in the water is pointless.  If you want to use it, you buy toothpaste with fluoride in it. Your choice. I don’t agree with the government forcing anything on anyone.Whether it works or not, in the end there is no substitute for simply taking care of your teeth.

I, for one, will buy non-fluoride toothpaste.