Too Much Fluoride in Water Can Harm Your Teeth

Dental issues in the later half of the 20th century in America were serious. Upwards of 90% of those aged 12-17 during the 1960s had at least 1 cavity in a permanent tooth. Adults fared much worse, with 18 affected teeth during that same period. The United States first added fluoride to water in Michigan during the 1940s. By the 1960s, more than 50 million people were part of the water fluoridation program. When we look at news about water contamination affecting whole communities, the idea that we intentionally put chemicals in water can sound nefarious.

Except the concept isn’t all that strange. Fluoride is a naturally occurring element in seawater, fresh water, and food. Brewed teas, for example, can have 10 times more fluoride than raw tomatoes, which is already higher than many other products.

The American Dental Association once wrote: “Dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease with more than 16 million children suffering from untreated tooth decay in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Oral disease causes children to miss 51 million school hours and their parents to lose 25 million work hours annually. Additionally, oral disease disproportionately affects children from low-income families, and these children have almost twice the number of decayed teeth that have not been treated by a dentist as compared to others in the general population.”

How Fluoride Has Helped and Hurt

The use of fluoride in water is reported to have resulted in the reduction of average dental cavities from 6.2 to 2.6 in children and 18 to 10 in adults between the 1960s and the early 2000s. With that knowledge in mind, why have we seen images of people with spotted or brown teeth directly resulting from fluoride consumption?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported the effects of fluoride ingestion in a study, finding that “developing teeth can result in a range of visually detectable changes in the tooth enamel called dental fluorosis.” Adding, “the period of possible risk for fluorosis in the permanent teeth (excluding the third molars) extends from birth through 8 years when the pre-eruptive maturation of tooth enamel is complete. The risk for and severity of dental fluorosis depends on the amount, timing, frequency, and duration of the exposure.”

Further studies showed that cases of dental fluorosis increased after the 1980s. From 1999 to 2004, a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that 23% of people who responded had mild dental fluorosis, 2% of cases were moderate, and fewer than 1% were severe.

Reigning in Excessive Fluoride Consumption

When the first water systems put fluoride, concentrations ranged from 0.8 to 1.2 mg/L. In 2010, the CDC recommended reducing fluoride concentration to 0.7 mg/L to combat the increase in fluorosis. The rise in fluoride consumption is the result of improved dental care. Products like toothpaste and mouthwash, which are used to improve the health of teeth and contain higher fluoride levels, are generally safe because people are meant to spit and rinse their mouths with fresh water instead of swallowing.

There are recommended limits in place to protect our health. The EPA states that we should not be exposed to more than 4.0 mg/L of fluoride daily. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization considers moderate-level chronic exposure to be anything above 1.5 mg/liter.

“Chronic high-level exposure to fluoride can lead to skeletal fluorosis. In skeletal fluorosis, fluoride accumulates in the bone progressively over many years. The early symptoms of skeletal fluorosis include stiffness and pain in the joints. In severe cases, the bone structure may change, and ligaments may calcify, with resulting impairment of muscles and pain. Acute high-level exposure to fluoride causes immediate effects of abdominal pain, excessive saliva, nausea, and vomiting. Seizures and muscle spasms may also occur.”

The WHO concludes that “the prevalence of dental and skeletal fluorosis is not entirely clear. It is believed that fluorosis affects millions of people around the world, but as regards dental fluorosis, the very mild or mild forms are the most frequent.”

Around the world, roughly 372 million people receive artificially-fluoridated water across 24 countries. Another 57.4 million consume ‘optimal levels’ of fluoride from naturally occurring sources. Arguments for and against water fluoridation continue, with many remaining to question its benefits, given how good modern dental care has become. While early beliefs might have held that fluoride was a communist plot, studies continue to examine possible health and safety issues with no clear consensus between preventing tooth decay and toxic effects that cause fluorosis in teeth and bones.

Can I Reduce My Fluoride Consumption?

Yes! Specialized water filtration systems are designed to reduce fluoride levels in your drinking water. Check out our blog, How to Rid Flouride From Water, for product recommendations for fluoride reduction. Have questions or need assistance? Contact us at 866-438-3458 or email us at [email protected].