Fluoride’s Dark Side

        Fluoride is commonly known in the US to prevent tooth decay but because it is added into our water it effects children and individually with kidney disease.

Since 1945, the Water Department has been adding sodium fluoride to our water to try decrease tooth decay in the United States. No one has questioned if there was any negative effects from fluoridation until the late 1980’s when animal experiments and studies on human populations began. These studies have shown that fluoride disturbed many biological functions.

CHS earth science teacher Mrs. Pedersen says, “I do believe it can prevent tooth decay, however, there might be an over exposure to it in both our drinking water and our toothpastes that we use.” Kidneys excrete 50% of the consumed fluoride, but people with kidney disease, the kidney’s process to excrete becomes impaired which leads to buildup of fluoride within the body.

When fluoride is flowing through one’s blood stream, most of it is carried to the pineal gland. This gland controls our biological cycles and receives the best blood, oxygen, and proteins than any other gland in the body. The US National Research Council states fluoride’s effect on our pineal gland results in an earlier onset of puberty and effecting health in a variety of ways.

The thyroid gland is also affected by fluoride. Fluoride reduces the hormone level produced by the thyroid which causes hypothyroidism. Symptoms would include obesity, lethargy, depression, and heart disease.

Human clinical trials show that 18-34mg/day of fluoride for 1-4 years increases the risk of bone fracture. Fluoride is also shown to cause skeletal fluorosis. People are told that fluoride strengthens bones, but animal studies and human clinical trials indicate that there is rather a reduction in bone strength or no effect at all before signs of skeletal fluorosis.

The National Toxicology Program says that fluoride is a mutagenic compound which causes cancer. Government animal studies found that fluoride is linked to bone cancer and osteosarcoma, a serious type of cancer, but those studies were tested with larger amounts of fluoride than what is added in water. Individuals with kidney disease have higher risks because of the buildup in their body.

Sodium fluoride is a synthetic and inorganic compound with pH around 5. According to Professor Paul Connett, sodium fluoride consumed in high doses are more poisonous than lead and slightly more poisonous than arsenic. Within our food and water, Mrs. Pedersen says, “I don't feel we could consume a toxic amount in the course of the day.”