Tooth Decay Is Bad, But Is Fluoride Even Worse?

Is fighting tooth decay the only effect fluoride has on our health? Or is there more to the story? Is irreversible damage to our neurological and skeletal structures occurring without our knowledge?

In this article we will dive in to some recently released studies answering these questions!

In 2015, I graduated from college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. Nursing school taught me so many wonderful things.

I especially enjoyed my class dedicated to research; however, it did get me into trouble. Perhaps someday I’ll share that story.

So, I was graduating, pregnant with my first baby, and moving to Alabama to join my husband where he was in flight school to become a helicopter pilot for the Army.

Several life changes happening at once, however, my journey in learning continued when I started questioning and researching what was in my toothpaste.

Doesn’t Fluoride Help Strengthen Your Teeth?

The short answer to this is no. Let me explain how we get there. When you visit your dentist, he or she will explain that your teeth are porous. Possibly a few claims will be made:

1. Using fluoride fills the tiny microscopic holes and in return strengthens, or remineralizes, the enamel on your teeth.
2. It hardens or makes the tooth/bone more dense.
3. It is a safe and effective way to prevent tooth decay.

Let’s address these claims. Many studies and findings support the claim that fluoride will fill the holes of the enamel, and as a result make the bone more dense leading to less tooth decay.

While that is partly true, it is not telling the whole story.

Tooth density is not a direct correlation of strength or resistance to bacteria.

Sure, the bacteria and decay may not be able to tunnel into the enamel as easily, but it doesn’t eliminate bacteria from penetrating the enamel altogether.

Dentists would argue that because it is possible that fluoride could slow tooth decay that it is beneficial to use it.

However, they aren’t looking at this from a holistic approach and how it effects the entire body.

Furthermore, fluoride doesn’t eliminate the root cause of tooth decay. It just sweeps the problem under the rug which creates a metaphoric “tripping hazard” in your overall health.

My family and I have personally had great results combating tooth decay under the care of my holistic dentist. Without the intervention of fluoride, they use other healthy and safe methods which will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

I certainly advise that after reading this, you dig into the studies and information provided and make an informed decision for your health.

Find a good dentist that treats you and your family with respect and gives informed consent to you about your care.

Resources are throughout this article!

Fluoride has an intense relationship to the calcium in our teeth and bones.

So, in reference to the bond, yes, it is strong. So strong that it is pretty much irreversible, and nearly impossible to separate from your bone.

While it is true that fluoride can harden and increase density in the teeth and bones there is more to be said.

It simultaneously decreases the flexibility and the ability to absorb impact in skeletal structures.

This results in ridged, brittle bones and teeth (skeletal fluorosis) that are easier to crack or shatter.

The design of our skeletal system is perfect and when we try to “fix” a problem we are inadvertently creating problems.

Is it possible that this is why so many people, especially the elderly, suffer from fractures in bones and teeth after a lifetime of fluoride exposure?

Furthermore, if you get a microcrack in your teeth, it can lead to cavities. Applying more fluoride creates more brittleness, leading to more cracks, allowing opportunistic bacteria to burrow in. The cycle repeats.

I wonder…

After moving to South Korea, I was pregnant with my second child. I was very sick with that pregnancy as well and had hyperemesis (excessive vomiting that often times requires hospitalization).

During my second trimester, I lost half of my molar.

It just broke off.

Some could speculate that it was due to all the vomiting occurring during my first and second pregnancies.

However, I often wonder if it was partially caused by all the fluoride treatments and exposure I had as a kid, in the military, and from my toothpaste. We’ll never know, but it is something to think about.

The scientific community acknowledges that exposure to high levels of fluoride will alter the bone structure and increase brittleness leading to an increase risk of fractures. (source)

Let’s move to the next section to see how much is too much exposure.

What Are The Effects Of Fluoride On Children?

According to this study, fluoride has a direct effect on our children’s IQ.

This study was conducted in May of 2022 and suppressed from the public until March 2023. The results aren’t good.

The data showed that there is an association to children’s IQ and their exposure to fluoride.

So, as fluoride exposure goes up, IQ goes down in the developing brains and vice versa.

This means that fluoride is damaging the developing minds of our next generation at a neurological level, and that fluoride can pass the blood brain barrier.

Let’s take a look at how much fluoride we are exposing our kids and ourselves to just through dental hygiene alone.

Source of Exposure	Parts Per Million (ppm)
Fluoride Toothpastes	1,000 to 1,500 ppm
Fluoride Mouthrinses	230 ppm
Fluoride Gels (Self-Applied)	5,000 ppm
Fluoride Gels (Professionally Applied)	12,300 ppm
Fluoride Varnishes	22,600 ppm

A study stated that the concentration of fluoride in water is regulated to be 0.7–1.2 ppm. The chart above shows that all of these interventions alone far exceed the allowable amount regulated in our water systems.

Even with the instruction that you shouldn’t swallow toothpaste or mouthwash one has to question; how much is being absorbed just by it being in the mouth?

Our mouths are incredibly vascular and one of the ways I have given medicines in the past was sublingual (under the tongue).

Giving medicine sublingual is the third quickest way to administer medications into the bloodstream, after IV and the rectum.

So spitting out these products that are heavily concentrated with fluoride isn’t enough for me to think that absorption hasn’t taken place into a person’s bloodstream.

Toothpaste is medicine.

A strip of toothpaste on a toothbrush contains 0.75 – 1.5mg of fluoride. The maximum amount of most prescription fluoride supplements is between 0.25-1mg.

You can’t buy fluoride supplements over the counter, they have to be prescribed, yet our toothpastes contain more than a prescription.

If a child swallows a pea-size amount of toothpaste, the label advises calling the poison control center. In dental offices, fluoride treatments are 1000 times more concentrated than toothpaste.

Why would we place this in our mouths, let alone the mouths of our children?

Poison Control has a say.

Furthermore, according to Poison Control, toothpaste is considered a medicine and should be treated and stored as such.

Ironically, kid’s toothpaste is flavored to taste like candy.

Yet, a tube of kid’s toothpaste contains enough fluoride to kill a child if they ingest part or all depending on their weight. Let’s take a look at this next chart below.

Minimum Lethal Dose of Fluoride Contained in One Tube of “Colgate for Kids” Toothpaste
Age of Child	Average Weight*	Dose of fluoride which could kill a child	Percent of “Colgate for Kids” toothpaste which, if swallowed, could kill child**
2 years	~12 kg	60 mg	42% of tube
3 years	~15 kg	75 mg	53% of tube
4 years	~16 kg	80 mg	56% of tube
5 years	~ 18 kg	90 mg	63% of tube
6 years	~20 kg	100 mg	70% of tube
7 years	~22 kg	110 mg	77% of tube
8 years	~25 kg	125 mg	87% of tube
9 years	~28 kg	140 mg	98% of tube
* Average weight data obtained here ** The fluoride concentration in Colgate for Kids toothpaste is 1,100 ppm. At 130 grams of paste in the average tube, this equals 143 milligrams of fluoride.

Readers of Traditional Home Living receive 10% off all products when using discount code THL10 at perfectsupplements.com Thank you for being here!

What Are The Side Effects Of Fluoride?

1. Cancer
2. Skeletal fluorosis (brittle bones)
3. Dental fluorosis (white spots on the teeth)
4. Neurological impairment
5. Behavioral problems
6. Impaired memory
7. ADHD
8. Lower IQ
9. Depression
10. Arthritis
11. Pain and stiffness in the joints

Let’s hear from some of the experts

Dr. David Kennedy, a pioneering biological dentist, has a documentary called Crippling Waters. He stated that fluoride accumulates in calcium rich tissues such as bones, ligaments, cartilage joints, and teeth. Fluoride rich bones grow spikes on the outside of the bones causing the smooth muscle to catch on the bone – in turn causing tremendous pain.

Dr. Paul Conner, a professor of chemistry, S.L.U., stated that when fluoride side effects present themselves in the body it starts with pain and stiffness in the joints.

Dr. Phyllis Mullenix, a Neurotoxicist, did a study on rats exposing them to fluoride to see how it would affect the brain and central nervous system. This study was done over 6-20 weeks. The study revealed that it caused memory problems, behavior problems, and lowered IQ.

High levels of fluoride trigger oxidative stress (free radicals), cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis (cellular death). (Source)

Our children are taking the brunt of this damage. During the growth of their skeletal and neurological systems, exposure to fluoride is damaging their development.

Is There A Better Alternative To Fluoride?

Yes! Let’s dive in. You and your family have had fluoride treatments and use toothpaste that has fluoride all while drinking tap water that is treated with fluoride… Now, what can you do?

Here is what we did:

1. Find a Holistic Dentist.

• A holistic dentist will not use fluoride in their practice and will treat you with effective alternatives.
• A good resource to finding holistic practices near you is through this website.
• If you don’t have a holistic dentist near you, ask your dentist to skip all the fluoride interventions during your next visit.

2. Get rid of your fluorinated toothpaste.

• This is an easy fix to start with. Replacing your toothpaste with a non-fluoride toothpaste is a great start.
• However, I suggest replacing toothpaste all together. We use tooth oil and tooth powder. The tooth oil has strong properties to kill the harmful bacteria in the mouth while promoting healthy flora, and the tooth powder re-mineralizes your tooth enamel.
• If you’d like to know more about what we use and how it has helped our family stop tooth decay and reverse it, check out this link.

3. Clean your water.

• Fluoride in the water is uncontrolled dosing. That being said, there is not a one-size fits all dosing in any realm, so fluoride in the water is unsafe and difficult to regulate.
• We love and recommend APEC reverse osmosis filtration. While my husband was in the military, we used this filtration system. We moved with it to Alabama, South Korea, and Colorado. Using a reverse osmosis system will filter out the smallest of molecules, even bacteria and viruses.
• Add trace minerals back. When you use a reverse osmosis filtration system, it does its job so well that it removes the vital minerals that are necessary in our water to start with. So to get the required elements back in your water add Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother) or trace minerals.

4. Detox.

• Avoid processed foods and modern wheat that feed bacterial tooth decay.
• Additionally, we switched to einkorn flour and prepare 85-90% of our meals from scratch at home.
• If you’d like to know more about einkorn and the health benefits, click here to read more.

You can only change what is within your control, and there is no better time than now to get started!

There is hope in making a positive change for you and your children for a healthier body and mind. Trying to jump in and do everything at once will overwhelm you and can cause anxiety.

Try making one positive change at a time.

I suggest starting with the toothpaste. That is something you use daily and is easy to switch. That change alone will significantly reduce your exposure to this poisonous toxin.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 6:19‭-‬20

That was a lot of information! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and I will try my best to answer or point you in the right direction!

References

Studies:

1. FLUORIDE & IQ: 76 STUDIES
2. 2017 Basshash Study: This study found that with increased fluoride, IQ dropped 5-6 points.
3. 2019 Green Study: Increasing fluoride 1mg/day caused IQ to drop 3.7 points in boys and girls.
4. 2019 Riddell Study: Areas with fluoride caused young children to have lower IQ points up to 4 points
5. 2019 Till Study: This study found that with fluoride levels of 1mg/L in tap water, ADHD diagnosis was 6.1 times higher.

Book: The Fluoride Deception by Christopher Bryson

Documentary: POISON ON TAP (FRAMING THE WORLD)

Website: Health First Dental

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