The element Fluorine exists in the form of a toxic gas, however, we interact with it mostly through compounds. The naturally occurring compound that is found in many of our water supplies is called calcium fluoride. All other compounds are man-made and do not occur anywhere in nature. So here are a few of the facts that I have discovered about this issue thus far and the video is below all the content.
The main reason fluoride compounds are put into the water supply are for both topical and systemic effects. Topical means you put it directly on your teeth, while systemic means that it is supposed to go through your body and end up in your bones and teeth to strengthen them. Too much can be detrimental, we know that the poison is in the dose:
“All substances are poisons: there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy.” Paracelsus (1493-1541). Society of Toxicology. Some Basic Principles of Toxicology: Teacher’s Notes. [Online 2003]
Here are the terms that are important to know in the debate:
- Calcium Fluoride (a naturally-occurring compound)
- Sodium Fluoride (a man-made compound)
- Silicofluorides (other man-made compounds known as hydrofluosilicic acid or sodium silicofluoride)
Now, what are sodium fluoride and silicofluorides? Let’s find out:
The chemicals used to fluoridate drinking water are derived from the manufacture of phosphate fertilizer. Captured in the industry’s wet scrubbing systems, these chemicals contain a number of contaminants (e.g. arsenic, lead) not found in pharmaceutical grade fluoride. Of greater interest is the fact that 2 recent peer-reviewed studies (Neurotoxicology, December 2000; International Journal of Environmental Studies, September 1999), have found an association between consumption of water containing hydrofluosilicic acid or sodium silicofluoride (the most commonly used fluoridation chemicals) and higher blood lead levels in children.
As of May 2007, approximately 67% of public water supplies in the United States are fluoridated. Of these water supplies, approximately 91% use hydrofluosilicic acid or sodium silicofluoride (together known as silicofluorides), while 9% use sodium fluoride. As with the silicofluorides, sodium fluoride is derived from the phosphate fertilizer industry. LINK
I often hear the phrase “sodium fluoride” thrown around as being the main questionable additive in our water supply. But we hear nothing of silicofluorides that make up 91% of the “fluoride” compounds that are added to public water supplies.
Maybe they are all the same thing, maybe they are not, I’m not a chemist but what gives me pause is that in a November 2000 letter from the EPA, they admitted that they have no information on the effects of silicofluorides on heath and behavior. You might want to read that again. The EPA has NO data on the effects of silicofluorides on our health and they are dumping into our water! We are drinking and bathing in this stuff every day!
I’m willing to accept that sodium fluoride, the same compound in our toothpaste, has some of the same beneficial effects as calcium fluoride when applied topically. However, I reject that there are any systemic effects from ingestion. Why? Because of what the CDC had to say about it:
“[L]aboratory and epidemiologic research suggests that fluoride prevents dental caries [cavities] predominately after eruption of the tooth into the mouth, and its actions primarily are topical for both adults and children” (CDC, 1999, MMWR 48: 933-940).
Here is Dr. John Featherstone who was published in the ADA Journal saying the same thing:
“The fluoride incorporated into the tooth developmentally — meaning systemically, in the normal tooth mineral — is insufficient to have a measurable effect on acid dissolution.” – Featherstone in JADA, July 2000
More information from David C. Kennedy:
“There is almost unanimous agreement in the scientific community today that if fluoride has an impact of tooth decay it is by topical mechanisms and not via systemic ingestion as was once believed. Dr. Featherstone in his July 2000 article about on fluoride and tooth decay reminded every dentist and reader of the American Dental Association Journal that the level of fluoride in saliva or incorporated into the enamel from ingesting fluoridated water is insufficient to have a measurable impact on tooth decay. The fact that fluoride has only a topical effect is recognized on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) web page. Like sun block. You put it on the skin’s surface and there is no point in drinking it.”
– Dr. David C. Kennedy is the Past President of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. His BA is in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology from the University of Kansas (1967) and his Doctorate of Dental Surgery is from the University of Missouri (1971).
Here’s another little tidbit of info:
In 1979 the FDA required the deletion of all government references previously classifying fluoride as “essential or probably essential” (Federal Register, March 16, 1979, pg. 16006).
The verdict? Drinking fluoride does NOTHING for your teeth at all, period.
We are told that if a pea-sized amount of toothpaste containing sodium fluoride is swallowed, we might want to call poison control; check the back of your toothpaste tube.
So how much fluoride is there in our drinking water? A dentist over at OralAnswers.com did an experiment to find out exactly how much fluoride there is in our water LINK.
He concluded that “You would only have to drink 300 ml of water (a little less than a 12 oz. can of soda) to get the same amount of fluoride you would get by swallowing a pea size amount of toothpaste.”
In one liter of fluoridated water, you’ll find 1 mg of fluoride. So here is the breakdown of the recommended daily intake of Fluoride per day:
- 4-8 years old = 1 Milligram per day
- 9+ = 2-4 Milligrams per day
- There is 1 Milligram in 1 liter of water
- A child under 8 should not drink more than a liter of water per day
Water is not the only place that you are getting a dose of fluoride though. If you use water to cook your food, it’s in there, when you take a shower or a bath, it’s in there too and is absorbed by your skin. Just wait until you read about the fluoride concentrations in the foods you eat. Here’s a document from the USDA that outlines the fluoride concentrations in a whole host of foods
It’s interesting to note that black tea has some of the highest concentrations mentioned, as high as 3.0+ parts per million! Public water is anywhere from 0.7 to 1.2 parts per million or ppm. 4 parts per million is the maximum that is recommended for consumption. But I wonder if you tallied up all the food and water you ingest and how much is absorbed into your body via brushing your teeth and showering if we would discover that we are all receiving a much higher dosage collectively than we think.
But our dentists and government tell us that fluoride is good for us and that it has helped lower tooth decay everywhere it has been implemented; that’s what they claim. However the World Health Organization did a study where they found that the rates of tooth decay worldwide have been declining whether or not the country is fluoridating their water – interesting.
So what’s the motive for fluoridating water supplies if it has no effect on cavities through ingestion?
“The substances are called silico fluoride and can be either a powder or liquid. Hydrofluosilic acid is the liquid form and is about 23% fluoride. The rest is the elixir from the scrubber that contains numerous toxic elements including heavy metals like lead, arsenic, even radionucleotides. http://www.nofluoride.com/chemical_analysis.htm. This waste cannot legally be disposed of in a river or the ocean the air or buried in the ground. It must by law be sent to the highest rated hazardous waste disposal landfill where it is detoxified with calcium (lime) and buried. This costs $150 a gallon and they sell it to cities to “fluoridate their water at as much as $2.00 per gallon. Considering there are billions of gallons disposed of this way it is not difficult to see the economic motivation behind the promotion of fluoridation.” – David C. Kennedy, DDS CV
You be the judge. Should we be forced to consume any amount of toxic compounds against our will or should the government be allowed to put anything it wants into the water supply if it deems it necessary?
