Saturday, March 8, 2014

Fluoride: Super Hero or Super Villain??

I am pretty sure that most of us have been brushing our teeth for decades! I remember in 1st grade when the dental teams would come and give us all a lesson on brushing with GIANT teeth and a HUGE toothbrush! It was on of my favorite things in school. :D I loved the little tablets that you chewed up for a minute and swished around. When you spit it out and looked it showed all the places that you "missed" when you brushed. This was the coolest thing EVER!!

Now dentists have changed the "how to" brushing parts so many times I lost track. Brush from top to bottom on the upper teeth. Brush bottom upward on the lower teeth. Don't go side-to-side. Brush in circles, NOT up and down! How does a kid keep up??

Then their is the flavors of toothpaste :) My how they have changed since I was little. I remember Crest, AquaFresh and Colgate. Now, this is a sample of our choices:

The key was getting "fluoride". It was the superhero, zooming in to save kids' teeth all across the globe! It prevented decay, cavities and gingivitis!! These were as scary for parents as the boogey man was to us kids! You couldn't get enough and there was no such thing as too much! So they started putting fluoride in the water to "help" the kids who didn't brush.

It has been studied and found that there is too much of a good thing! Excessive fluoride is actually DAMAGING the very teeth it was supposed to save!

In 2010, a dentist and his team, Dr. Steven Levy, D.D.S. discovered "fluoride intakes during each of the first four years (of a child's life) were individually significantly related to fluorosis on maxillary central incisors, with the first year more important."(1) The study also showed "infant formulas reconstituted with higher fluoride water can provide 100 to 200 times more fluoride than breast milk, or cow's milk."(1) Children are using fluoridated toothpaste and drinking fluoridated water. Can you say, "OVERDOSE"??

There are serious health risks associated with fluoride. These include:

  • Reduced IQ levels
  • Cognitive damage
  • Impairs proper thyroid production
  • Debilitates the endocrine system (our hormone center)
  • Kidney disease
  • Bone cancer

I'm pretty sure that as parents, we have all read the baqck of the tube of toothpaste a few times...LOL Did you notice the part that says, WARNINGS Keep out of reach of children. That alone is enough to scare a parent! That's what the cleaning chemicals and medication say that! Then comes the scariest bit: If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact Poison Control Center right away.(2) REALLY?!?! We are supposed to put this in our children's mouths...at least TWICE a day?? I don't know about you, but I have had my fair share of little ones that LIKE toothpaste! They have tried to eat it like candy!!

Now, think about how much water you use in a day for your family.

  • Cooking
  • Drinks: Kool-Aid, Juice Concentrate, Water
  • Ice
How much fluoride are we actually giving them?? Doing what we are supposed to, are we causing them more harm??

My family has a personal well. We do not use city (fluoridated) water unless we are in town, such as friends or church activities. I am also switching us over to HOMEMADE TOOTHPASTE :D No one on this planet is going to force me to give my family anything (chemicals) that I do not want too! I have changed us over to chemical-FREE cleaning supplies, laundry supplies and bathing stuffs (soaps & shampoos). I feel like the SUPER HERO now!!

My next post will be about our new tooth cleaning system ;) *Stay tuned...

**It dawned on me while I was working outside today, that not everyone is quite so enthusiastic about DIY stuff. So I went ahead and looked up some already made "Natural" toothpastes for those that want the ease and no more hassle than ordering online! ;)

These are affiliate links. Ordering through them does NOT cost YOU any extra...EVER, but some jingles come our way! Thank you!!

Resources:

(1) 2010 Levy Study: http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/abstract/141/10/1190

(2) Crest Pro-Health toothpaste (tube)

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