HEALTH BENEFITS: The British Dental Association claims sodium fluoride tablets like this which are added to the water supply has helped to improve tooth decay by 40 to 60 per cent and it has to be at 0.7 to 1.2 ppm (parts per million) to benefit public health. This is far higher than the levels where fluoride naturally occurs.
WATER PURITY: This glass of water supplied by Bournemouth Water, which serves most of east Dorset has natural fluoridation levels. If you want to use fluoride-free toothpastes, you can use ones such as the one profiled here.
ARE fluoridation levels in the South West at safe levels in our water supply when they are not naturally occurring and have to be added?
Fluorine is an inorganic anion of fluorine and the chemical formula F. Its salts are important chemical reagents and industrial chemicals, mainly used in the production of hydrogen fluoride, for fluorocarbons.
Fluoride is naturally present in low concentration in drinking water and foods. Fresh water supplies generally contain 0.01 to 0.03 ppm (parts per million). However in some locations across the world, fluoride levels are dangerously high and can lead to serious health problems.
According to the British Dental Health Foundation, it lists the reasons as to why fluoride is a staple constituent of toothpaste.
“Fluoride can greatly help dental health by strengthening the tooth enamel, making it more resistant to tooth decay. It also reduces the amount of acid that the bacteria on your teeth produce.
“Children who have fluoride when their teeth are developing tend to have shallower grooves in their teeth, so plaque can be more easily removed. Plaque is a thin, sticky film of bacteria that constantly forms on your teeth.
“The addition of fluoride to water has been researched for over 60 years, and water fluoridation has been proven to reduce decay by 40 to 60 per cent.
On the same website, it also says having 0.7 to 1.2ppm is the best level to have fluorine in water to benefit dental health – note this is far higher than the natural levels listed above.
Where fluoride toothpastes are used by parents for small children, up and until the age of seven, they must use a pea-sized smear and brushing should be supervised. If an amount larger than a pea of fluoride-based toothpaste is accidentally swallowed by a child, medical attention has to be sought.
On a video, a Department of Health officials in 2009 is reported as saying that a medical review by the University of York of fluoridation levels in the UK water supply was deemed to be safe.
However the British Medical Association, the British Dental Association and the British Fluoridation Society have been accused by one of the research panel of misleading the public.
Professor Trevor A Sheldon is quoted in a letter as saying: “The review did not show water fluoridation to be safe. The quality of the research was too poor in addition to the high levels of fluorosis. The report recommended that more research was needed.”
Christopher Bryson, author of The Fluoride Deception, refers to an example of fluoride-based industrial waste ended in the Florida water supply at dangerously high levels: “Many dentists are unaware that the fluoride in public water supplies are pharmaceutical-grade products. It is in fact an industrial waste.
“The Florida phosphate industry in the 1950s was sued by farmers as it was killing their cattle and destroying their crops. Today it is prevented from having to dispose of its industrial effluent in a toxic waste dump by the way of shipping it in tanker trucks across the country and dumping it in our water supply.”
I also found reference to an American local report where the American Dental Association warned parents not to mix baby formula with fluoridated tap water for the first 12 months and also scientific research found that fluoride in modest doses given to laboratory animals led them to develop ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
According to the Drinking Water Inspectorate, before any fluoridation scheme can be put in place a Strategic Health Authority is obliged to complete a local consultation planning process.
It was also alleged that excessive fluoridation can lead to osteoporosis, skeletal and dental fluorosis, impairs the immune system and attacks the pineal gland.
I found this statement from Sembcorp, that represents Bournemouth Water from March this year. It reads: “In some areas of the UK fluoride is added to the drinking water to help prevent tooth decay. We do not add fluoride to any of our supplies. The natural background of our supplies is 0.1-0.2ppl.”
If anyone has concerns about the addition of fluoride to drinking water, there are brands of toothpaste that are fluoride-free and available and can be purchased here.
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