Dr. Brett Hill - Eat Think Move Chiropractic

For most Australians, when you are drinking your tap water, you are really taking medication. Yes that's right: our water has been medicated by the addition of fluoride. But that's OK because it's good for our teeth, right?

Well, perhaps not. Studies show that there is little or no difference in rates of tooth decay in communities where the water is fluoridated. In fact the dental costs are actually higher due to the dental flourosis which is a side-effect of this medication. It is interesting to note that in 2009, Tasmania - the first state to introduce fluoride into the drinking water (and with an 83% fluoridation rate, compared to Queensland's 54%) - also has the highest rates of tooth decay.

We are often shown graphs of the reduction in dental decay since the introduction of fluoride in the 1970s. What we are not told, however, is that this reduction has also occurred in countries that do not fluoridate their water. Or that in Finland and Germany the decay rates have remained stable or continued to decline after water fluoridation was removed. In fact many nations including France, Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland and the UK either do not fluoridate or have very low rates of water fluoridation.

Dental flourosis leads to black or brown stains, cracking, pitting and even mottling of dental enamel. Sounds kind of like what we were trying to prevent, right? The critical period of fluoride exposure for fluorosis is from 1 to 4 years of age which really highlights the key issue of mass medication. It doesn't take into account the differing needs of different members of the population. Not only do these kids not need fluoride at this age, but they are more susceptible to its adverse effects due to the relatively high intake compared to their relatively smaller body size. In fact in 2006 the American Dental Association warned parents not to use fluoridated water in their baby formulas.

Fluoride can be naturally present in water supplies in the form of calcium fluoride, however this is not the fluoride that is added to our water supply. Ninety per cent of what is added to our water is solicoflouride, which is up to 85 times more toxic than the naturally occurring form. These unnatural fluorides are also not easily eliminated from the body like the natural forms, meaning that the levels build up over time.

So why do we use unnatural fluorides then? The reason is that it is a cheap by product of phosphate fertiliser, aluminium and steel production and has the added bonus of ridding that industry of a dangerous toxin it would otherwise have to pay to safely dispose of. In fact the original, poorly designed studies that are still used to justify water fluoridation are widely believed to have had links to these very industries.

So just how bad is fluoride? Well, the problem is, we don't really know. There have not been enough high quality studies into the health effects of fluoridation to give a conclusive answer. There are however studies showing links between fluoridation and poor thyroid function, arthritis, bone cancer, lower IQ and osteoporosis. So given the limited benefits and the known risks, I would definitely avoid this mass medication campaign.

People also often don't realise that a simple carbon filter will not remove fluoride. So if you live in an area with a fluoridated water supply (fortunately I don't) you should either use a reverse osmosis water filter (which removes 65-95% of the fluoride) or distil all your water. And don't forget to treat the water you bathe and shower in and also the water you use to wash your fruits and veggies.