Daniel Fernandez
What if you found out that the water in your house was poisoning you and your family? How would you feel knowing that the water your family uses everyday might slowly be killing them? Many people believe that the government is secretly poisoning communities across the country by putting fluoride in our tap water. Others believe that fluoride is a safe product that benefits us. Most scientists and researchers are split on whether fluoride is harmful or not. The United States has been fluoridating communities’ water supplies since the early 1940’s (livescience.com, 2013). In this essay we will be looking to see if fluoride should be in our water supply or not.
The government says that we need fluoride, but fluoride is not an essential nutrient for humans. Fluoride is the only chemical added into our water for the purpose of medical treatment. It is supposed to prevent tooth decay, but studies show that tooth decay hasn’t decreased significantly since fluoride was added (fluoridealert.org, 2012). Fluoridated countries do not have less tooth decay than non-fluoridated countries. Many U.S
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Fluoride in the Pineal gland disrupts the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin levels drop in the Pineal gland when it is in disarray. Melatonin is a hormone that is produced in the Pineal gland it helps the body’s circadian rhythm and regulates when teens go through puberty. Young women are going through puberty earlier and earlier. Some believe that a low melatonin level from fluoride in the pineal gland is the culprit. Fluoride causes young women to go through puberty earlier than natural and that can have some serious effects on their health (fluoridealert.org, 2012). A couple of consequences due to early puberty in females is short stature and in some studies an increased risk of breast cancer (webmd.com,
The NRC reported in 2007 that fluoride was considered an element essential to life. Fluoride plays an important role in the body’s ability to perform metabolic and biochemical reactions that help prevent tooth decay and help bone formation. Essentially the government says that the fluoridation of water is more helpful than harmful for people as it is a good use of tax dollars as it treats upper class and lower class citizens equally in dental prevention.
Fluoridation of group drinking water is a main consideration in charge of the decrease in dental caries (tooth rot) . The historical backdrop of water fluoridation is a great case of clinical perception prompting epidemiologic examination and group based general wellbeing intercession. Albeit other fluoride-containing items are accessible, water fluoridation remains the most fair and practical strategy for conveying fluoride to all individuals from most groups, paying little respect to age, instructive achievement, or wage level.
Higgs explains in her essay that the use of fluoride has been used in water for some time now and that it is used to help prevent tooth decay as stated in her citations. She further explains that when brushing ones teeth and swallows an “x” amount of toothpaste that that one should called poison control, so why would one be able to drink it? About sixty percent of homes contain fluoride-added water and an average person is suppose to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day, while the amount of fluoride in each glass contains more than twice the amount (to be consumed) of fluoride allowed in toothpaste (Higgs par.2), and if one had too much
According to World Health Organization data obtained from a study on 12 year old’s levels of tooth decay, fluoride has had very little effect, if any at all, on tooth decay. Countries such as Japan, Italy, and Iceland, who are non-fluoridated countries, actually have about the same level of tooth decay decrease as countries that have fluoridated water. Fluoride is considered a drug, according to the FDA, which means that it is a medical treatment. Medical treatments are not to be given unless the patient agrees to the treatment, therefore, placing fluoride into the public water supply violates informed consent seeing as how citizens are not given the opportunity to vote on the matter. Even if people could vote on the situation, not all people are going to agree with and since it is considered a drug, it
Fluoridation of drinking water addresses the health issue of tooth decay and the related dental problems associated with it.1 Fluoride is associated with this health issue since fluoride has been recognized as an important nutrient for healthy teeth.1
If you are a parent who wants to help keep your child's teeth healthy, then you likely know that they need to get enough fluoride. While fluoride toothpastes provide your child's teeth with some fluoride, systemic fluoride is also important, as it is doesn't just coat teeth, but instead keeps teeth healthy from the inside out. Most children's main source of systemic fluoride is the water they drink. However, you may not know how systemic fluoride is enough, and even how much your child is getting. Here is a guide to finding out how much fluoride from tap water your child is getting and how much is enough.
In those case the person have to control the levels of fluorides because in most cases the levels are greater than FDA/CDC recommend but most people don't treat their water to lower the amount of fluoridation. In the case cities water systems fluoridation is monitored and adjusted to meet certain standards, low enough not to cause harm yet high enough to aid in preventing tooth decay. Tooth decay is a big health problem if not controlled. Which one the the water supply systems did you read about that was causing the health
I have been assigned the role of the leader of Fluoride Action Network. The Fluoride Action Network is a non-profit organization and an international coalition seeking to broaden public awareness about the toxicity of fluoride compounds and the health impacts of current fluoride exposures. The organization’s mission is to “provide comprehensive and up-to-date information regarding all aspects of fluoride” and to “remain vigilant monitoring government agency actions that may impact public’s exposure to fluoride.”1
Health experts generally recommend consuming eight to ten cups of water a day. The amount may vary based on body size, physical activity, and exposure to hot weather. More consumers are tending to drink bottled water for the convenience and supposed purity. Some even substitute these expensive bottles of water instead of fluoridated tap water. A recent study shows that Americans consumed more than five billion gallons of bottled water in 2000, more than double the amount from the previous decade. However, if this bottled water is your main source of drinking water, you could be missing the decay and caries preventing benefits of fluoride. As discussed earlier, many manufacturers completely remove or reduce the amount of fluoride in their bottles of water. Water fluoridation is a community health measure that is widely researched, documented, and accepted for its role in preventing tooth decay. In areas where natural fluoride occurs in tap water below optimal levels, many communities add it to the tap water to make certain that residents receive the benefits of
Visiting a dentist, in most cases, is not exactly an event that someone looks forward to. Oral hygiene is important in making sure that no problems arise for teeth, however, and the issue of unhealthy teeth has been combatted by advertisements, and more recently, the additive of fluoride into tap water. Fluoride has been important in the process of improving the dental health of Americans; after the addition of fluoride into tap water, tooth decay decreased drastically among Americans and most significantly among young children. It’s argued, however, that fluoride is dangerous, not required, and a violation of someone 's rights by being added to water. In reality, fluoride is a safe and effective way to prevent tooth decay by being added
Fluoridation of drinking water serving communities of more than 5000 people is now the law. The anti-fluoridation advocates, continue to as they have done in the past, fight fluoridation tooth and nail. This is an ongoing conflict.
As explained, “Hyperactivity and cognitive deficits are generally linked with hippocampal damage, and in fact, the hippocampus is considered to be the central processor which integrates inputs from the environment, memory, and motivational stimuli to produce behavioral decisions and modify memory… Overall, the behavioral changes from fluoride exposure are consistent with interrupted hippocampal development. Whether the hippocampus is indeed the brain region most susceptible to fluoride is a possibility deserving consideration in future studies”
According to the author Sally- Ann Botchey, in 1956 the first fluoridated tooth paste was released in Cincinnati, Ohio with the trade mark name, Crest. The release of this product benefitted countries immensely. “In countries that do not fluoridate drinking water, such as Denmark and Italy, fluoridated toothpastes account for more than 90% of the sales of toothpaste products” (Botchey, 48). Author Andrew W. Campbell supports fluoridated toothpaste as the most successful form of fluoridation based off the conclusions stated in the National Research Council’s 2006 study on fluoride and the following statement made by the Dental Clinics of North America. “Current evidence strongly suggests that fluorides work primarily by topical means through direct action on the teeth and dental plaque. Thus ingestion of fluoride is not essential for caries prevention” (Campbell, 9). Concluding his argument he states that “it is becoming increasingly clear, fluoridating public water supplies is outdated and unnecessary...” (Campbell,
Fluoride Free Nz is one of those organisations who are against fluoridating water supplies in New Zealand. As some are aware, the fluoride added to our water source is hydrofluoric acid which is a by product of aluminum, steel, cement and phosphate, and is manufactured to make things such as plastics and toothpaste. From these byproducts, diseases such as, Cancers, Skeletal Fluorosis and Dental Fluorosis are more likely to occur. There have also been studies that children's IQ’s lower over time. A concern for many New Zealand residents is the fact that the intake of Silicofluoride cannot be a controlled dosage, due to not knowing how much an individual will drink daily. Of course, the more intake of fluoride means less is going to be released from the body. In adults, around 40-50% of the non excreted fluoride remains in the body. Large quantities accumulate in the bone tissue and pineal gland, affecting movement of an individual. Children excrete even less, with around 80% remaining in their bones. Knowing this, more New Zealanders are opting to remove fluoride from the water
Many people opposing this view think of it as a harsh chemical but really it’s naturally present in groundwater and oceans. Even though we are adding more fluoride to the water, water fluoridation “is the adjustment of fluoride to a recommended level for preventing tooth decay.” and fluoride is “similar to fortifying other foods and beverages, like fortifying salt with iodine, milk with vitamin D, orange juice with calcium and bread with folic acid.”