Water fluoridation was first advanced in the US at the end of the second World War when the government had tons of fluoride – a nuclear waste byproduct – to get rid of. We have found ingenious ways to get rid of it – partly by introducing it into our water supply and toothpaste. Proponents argued that fluoride in water and toothpaste would help to protect teeth and prevent decay. Over the last few decades, fluoride has been added to public water supplies across the USA and UK.

While the benefits of fluoridation have been held to be unquestionable, accumulating evidence points to serious adverse health effects, including infant mortality, cancer, congenital defects and IQ. Today fluoride is an industrial waste byproduct of the aluminium and fertilizer industries and is known for poisoning the environment. We have a limitless supply of it.

I found a great article on Wikipedia with a wealth of information that links to proof and allegations for and against the compulsory floridation of our water supply and the use of fluoride in dentistry. I urge you to read it and make a decision for yourself.

See also: Oregonians Long Skeptical of Fluoridation
“Today, less than a quarter of Oregon residents drink fluoridated water. Only two other states have lower percentages of use. Despite the fervent efforts of dentists to persuade water districts and city councils to add the substance, the chemical additive is in decline. Portland is the largest city in the United States without fluoridated water.

Some states have passed laws mandating fluoride in all public drinking water systems. In Oregon, such an effort failed to make it out of a legislative committee in 2001 and hasn’t been attempted since. Still, dentists in some of the state’s cities remain undaunted…”

Guardian: Fluoride water ’causes cancer’
“New American research suggests that boys exposed to fluoride between the ages of five and 10 will suffer an increased rate of osteosarcoma – bone cancer – bet-ween the ages of 10 and 19.”

My personal feeling is fluoride is completely unnecessary and mounting studies have shown that it could have serious health risks, so why mess with it? Purify your water if you can afford to and buy natural toothpaste, and if your kid has beautiful teeth… please don’t let the dentist put fluoride all over them. It is absorbed into the body and stored in our bones.

Daily flouride tablets made my friend’s teeth look like this. Considering how pretty and young she was and how much care she took over her teeth, it was a real shame.

Centre for Dentistry: “Dental fluorosis is an irreversible condition caused by excessive ingestion of fluoride during the tooth forming years. It is the first visible sign that a child has been overexposed to fluoride. (images)

Fluoride causes dental fluorosis by damaging the enamel-forming cells, called ameloblasts. The damage to these cells results in a mineralization disorder of the teeth, whereby the porosity of the enamel is increased and the mineral content decreased.”