Is the Fluoride in your Water good for you?
Water Fluoridation is the addition of Fluoride to public water supplies which is very common in Australia. The map to the right shows the percentage of residents who are served by public water supplies who receive fluoridated water. It has recently been the subject of much controversy especially here in Australia. This has led to many many groups being set up all over the world, particularly in Australia and the United States that are arguing the case against fluoridated water. In particular Fluoride Australia exerted enough pressure for several councils in Queensland stopping fluoridating their water.
Why is fluoride added to water in Australia?
Water fluoridation has been used for decades to improve dental health and prevent decay. The science behind fluoridation is very simple, by binding to tooth enamel the fluoride makes your teeth more resistant to acids and bacteria. Exactly how fluoride helps to protect your teeth and its effectiveness is actually not completely clear. The arguments for Water Fluoridation are laid out by the ADA on their website here.
Does water fluoridation it work?
Many consider water fluoridation to be one of the greatest public health achievements of our time. A group of natural compounds found in water or added to water in treatment plants, helping to prevent cavities and the eventual decay and loss of teeth. It does this by helping to protect and even rebuild the enamel, or hard covering, on your teeth. When sugars and bacteria wash over your teeth, they decay the enamel, which can lead to cavities.
There’s solid evidence that fluoridating the water is a good thing for your teeth. The CDC in Amaerica found that fluoridated water helps reduce tooth decay over a person’s lifetime by 25 percent.
Where does the confusion about Water Fluoridation come from?
In recent years, several review papers are now beginning to suggest that dental decay does not increase when communities stop fluoridation. In fact the largest dental survey ever conducted in the US (by the National Institute of Dental Research [NIDR] and involving more than 39,000 children) found virtually no difference in the incidence of tooth decay between children living in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas This has led to a re-examining of fluoride as a chemical and its toxicity which has uncovered many mistaken beliefs about fluoride. For example, it was long believed that Fluoride would leave your body within 3.5 hours, however when a community in Alaska was poisoned with fluoride due to a malfunction in the fluoridation-equipment system, blood fluoride levels did not return to normal within 24 hours, as would be expected. In fact, 19 days after the poisoning, the average level of fluoride in exposed individuals was still nearly three times the level of the few non-poisoned individuals residing in the same community.
So what are the supposed Health Risks of Fluoride in Drinking Water?
High levels of Fluoride effect many parts of the body. Including your:
Brain
A study conducted on students in China showed that exposure to ‘high’ levels of fluoride in childhood was associated with a reduction in IQ of about 7 points.However the conclusion was this research is “not applicable to the safety of artificial water fluoridation because the adverse effects on IQ was found with fluoride levels that were much higher than typically found in artificially fluoridated water”.
Bones
Toxic levels of fluoride have been associated with a weakening of bones and an increase in hip and wrist fractures. However fluoridated water is also associated with decreased levels of fractures overall,. It is also worth noting that this study concluded that these findings were “suggestive but inadequate for drawing firm conclusions about the risk or safety of exposures at [2 mg/L]”
Consumption of fluoride at levels beyond those used in fluoridated water for a long period of time causes skeletal fluorosis. In some areas, particularly the Asian subcontinent, skeletal fluorosis is endemic. It is known to cause irritable-bowel symptoms and joint pain.
Thyroid
Fluoride was used as an anthi-thyroid-drug in the early half of the 20th century to slow down thyroid function in hyperthyroid patients. The dose needed was 2 to 5mg per day over a period of months. This is within the amount you could be consuming in your water supply. However there have also been many studies showing no link between fluoride and thyroid disease.
Teeth
Fluorosis causes teeth to become white-spotted, yellow, brown or pitted. Fluorosis is caused by chronic fluoride toxicity. Due to rising cases in the US a study compared data from two national surveys, 1985-87 and 1999-2004, found that rates of dental fluorosis were 23% and 41%, among adolescents aged 12 to 15. Similarly, the prevalence of very mild fluorosis (17.2% and 28.5%), mild fluorosis (4.1% and 8.6%) and moderate and severe fluorosis combined (1.3% and 3.6%) have increased.
All these negative effects, with the exception of fluoride, are at high levels of Fluoride concentration, much higher than should be found in your water supply.
So is fluoridated water bad for you?
To be perfectly honest, it is difficult to say. There are obvious benefits for your teeth and a large portion of the evidence against fluoride is solely against huge concentrations of fluoride, way outside the amounts found in regular water. However with the build-up over time in your system and new medical studies showing stronger links between thyroid and kidney problems. These health concerns are especially prevalent in children, the elderly and the sick. There are certain cases where doctors recommend removing fluoride from your water either in-treatment or as a preventative measure.
How do I remove fluoride from my water?
The only proven practice for removing fluoride from your water system is through reverse osmosis. The fluoride will not pass through the semi-permeable layer or filter and so is removed, along with almost every other impurity. For more information on Reverse Osmosis systems go to our Reverse Osmosis Page.
