Mom, you were right. No fluoride treatments for kids.

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I always wondered why my Mom refused to let me have fluoride dental treatments as a kid.  Now I know why.  Contrary to what most people have been told, fluoride is not good for teeth.

Fluorosis is a condition caused by excessive exposure to fluoride, in which the tooth enamel becomes discolored.  A new study in the Journal of American Dental Association found that fluoride intake in early childhood years is significantly associated with developing fluorosis.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention supports this view and warns against using fluorinated water in infant formulas.  According to their website:

“Recent evidence suggests that mixing powdered or liquid infant formula concentrate with fluoridated water on a regular basis may increase the chance of a child developing the faint, white markings of very mild or mild enamelfluorosis.

You can use fluoridated water for preparing infant formula. However, if your child is exclusively consuming infant formula reconstituted with fluoridated water, there may be an increased chance for mild dental fluorosis. To lessen this chance, parents can use low-fluoride bottled water some of the time to mix infant formula; these bottled waters are labeled as de-ionized, purified, demineralized, or distilled.”

Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Community Water Fluoridation.

 

Beyond infants, the CDC also mentions the risk of fluorosis for kids under age 8 from other fluorinated sources.

“In children younger than 8 years of age, combined fluoride exposure from all sources—water, food, toothpaste, mouth rinse, or other products—contributes to enamel fluorosis.”

Dental fluorosis is a result of excessive amounts of fluoride exposure from birth to about 8 years of age.  Fluorosis results in white and brown spots on your teeth; Those who support fluoridation say that these spots are just cosmetic.  Dr. Mercola, one of the leading experts in natural health, recently interviewed Dr. Paul Connett, a chemist specializing in environmental chemistry and the author of The Case Against Fluoride, about the dangers of fluoride.  Dr. Connett suggests that signs of dental fluorosis may indicate that the rest of your body, bones and other organs are also exposed to too much fluoride as well.

“We know that 32 percent of American children have been overexposed to fluoride because you have this telltale sign of dental fluorosis, which in its mildest form is little white specs. But when it gets more serious, it affects more of the surface of your teeth and it becomes colored; yellow, brown and orange mottling of the teeth …

The teeth are the window to the bones. If you’ve seen the damage to the teeth, what damage can you not see?”

Read more about Dr. Mercola’s interview with Dr. Paul Connett.

Dr. Mercola notes that there a number of studies showing the dangers of fluoride to your health including:

The absence of fluoride is not the cause of tooth decay.  Acids in your mouth, created from sugar that is metabolized by bacteria (Streptococcus mutans), is what generates tooth decay.  This acid production attacks your tooth enamel, and eventually the bacteria get into the dentine.  Dr. Mercola recommends that instead of using topical or ingested poison, try minimizing your intake of sugary foods, high fructose corn syrup and eating a healthy diet.

“Typically don’t find dental caries in more primitive societies that do not consume vast amounts of sugar like in the United States.”

Source: Dr. Mercola’s article, CDC and ADA Now Advise to Avoid Using Fluoride.