Fluoride: Hero or Villain?

About once every two years or so, someone imagines they’ve discovered a new risk of fluoridating water supplies. Then, the article is generally circulated quite well, (...if it bleeds, it leads...), and the whole of dentistry suddenly finds themselves defending the safety and efficacy of fluoride. Realize, tooth decay is good for those of us in the dental business. And obviously, something that makes “cavities” less likely is not good for our business. So why do you think dentists are so supportive of an element that very effectively reduces the need for our services? Are you curious yet? Let me give you an example from my office.

Several years ago, a wonderful family, personal friends of ours with four kids, were seeing me as their dental provider. The mother of the family who is very health-conscious was introduced to the convincing, but erroneous notion that Fluoride was damaging our organs, and causing all manner of damage to her kids’ bodies and minds. She dedicated herself to eliminating all identifiable sources of fluoride.

Avoiding fluoride is not an easy thing to do. It requires great dedication to avoid an element that occurs in nature! She was successful in her efforts; so much so, that in the span of 6 months, all her kids had multiple significant cavities, after having gone long spans with almost none. My friend, the mom, had made me aware of what she was doing prior to the results, but even I was shocked at the overall deterioration and just how quickly things blew up. Their dental bill was substantial, and fluoride was viewed much differently. Since they stopped avoiding fluoride exposure, I haven’t found a single problem.

If you’re curious to know more about how fluoride affects our teeth, or want to read more about it's safety, journey over to SVDG's page dedicated to exploring the facts on Fluoride, which is posted on our website here.