Can Fluoride be Harmful?

There are a lot of people that think that fluoride can be dangerous. They believe that fluoride can be harmful to your health and are opposed to using fluoride in any way. Fluoride is usually found on toothpaste and on drinking water. Recently, claims have been made by activists that fluoride causes health risks and they have been opposed to the use of fluoride in drinking water. Many of them are opposed to chemicals based on principle and their research has a weak foundation. Most of what they argue is based on misconceptions and myths; sometimes they resort to using scare tactics to try to prove their point.

Is fluoride a dangerous chemical?

Fluoride is a natural chemical compound that helps to prevent tooth decay. Even though it is a chemical; it is found naturally. Many of the substances that we use every day contain small quantities of fluoride. For instance, fluoride is found naturally in drinking water and food. Usually, when a community fluoridates its water, there’s no “adding” of fluoride at all; often what they do is reduce the level of fluoride in their drinking water in order to achieve the optimal level to improve dental health.

Most dentists will use a fluoride treatment to protect your teeth and most toothpastes contain fluoride to shield your teeth from cavities. Also a lot of our communities in the U.S. increase the levels of fluoride in the drinking water supply in order to improve oral health.

The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends the use of fluoride as an essential component of public health and as a way to prevent the damage caused by tooth decay. What this means is that fluoride can reduce the amount of cavities and as a result reduce the cost of long-term dental care.

How safe is fluoride?

The American Dental Association (ADA) has supported the use of fluoride in drinking water (and fluoride in toothpaste and other dental care products) for several years. Peer- reviewed scientific research done over many decades has demonstrated that fluoride is an essential component to improve the oral health of Americans during the past 50 years. What we can see from the reliable scientific research that we have available is that fluoride is safe and it has many benefits. Improving the health of our teeth far outweighs any risks of using fluoride.

Can Fluoride be dangerous for children?

Fluoride can cause dental fluorosis, a type of tooth discoloration. (That is one of the reasons why we try to teach kids NOT to swallow their toothpaste.) Parents of small children should not allow them to use too much fluoride; when young children swallow too much fluoride, it can create this type of dental discoloration. Get your children a specially-formulated children’s toothpaste which contains a lower quantity of fluoride. Fluorosis occurs very rarely and it usually only causes minor complications. There are a number of possible causes for fluorosis and according to the ADA; fluoride in drinking water has not been proven to be the cause of fluorosis. Once again, most dental health professionals agree that the benefits of fluoride far outweigh these very rare complications.

Would you like to get more information?

If you still have doubts or if you would like to have more information about the subject, The American Dental Association has a detailed article called Fluoridation Facts. In this wonderful article you will find all the research, questions and answers that are relevant to fluoride and dental health. This resource is a fair and unbiased look at the issues and the facts in case you have any concerns about fluoride and want to learn more.