We have all been brought up thinking that fluoride is good for our teeth and it is almost impossible to find a dentist that will say anything bad about it. But there is a reason for this. Dental professionals are governed by a code of practice that prohibits them from saying anything bad about it.
So truth be told, is fluoride good or bad?
Firstly, there are various types of fluoride. Water from natural sources will most likely contain the naturally occuring element of fluoride, which is fine. It occurs in the matrix of minerals found in natural water, as nature intended! However, there are manmade forms of fluoride, and believe it or not, some of these forms are toxic by-products from the aluminium smelting industry, and are used for fluoridation of public water supplies. Sodium fluoride, calcium fluoride, hydroflurosilicic acid, sodium fluorosilicate and many others are toxic to our bodies (just from the names and sources, I think THAT would be most obvious!).
A quick look at the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) reveals the LD50 (Median Lethal dose at which 50% of subjects die) is 52mg/kg in rats which borders the level between Moderately Toxic and Highly Toxic (Ref: CCOHS) Click HERE to see the MSDS sheet.
Here is an excerpt from the MSDS linked above:
Special Remarks on other Toxic Effects on Humans (source: CLICK HERE):
Acute Potential Health Effects:
Skin: Causes skin irritation and possible burns, especially if skin is wet or moist.
Eyes: Causes eye irritation and burns. May cause chemical conjunctivitis and corneal damage.
Ingestion: Harmful if swallowed. Causes digestive (gastrointestinal) tract irritation and burns. May cause severe and permanent damage to the digestive. Ingestion of large amounts may cause salivation, thirst, nausea, vomiting, hypermotility, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. May affect behavior/ central nervous system/nervous system (headache, nervousness, dizziness, seizures, convulsions, tremor, muscle weakness, somnolence), respiration (respiratory depression, dyspnea), cardiovascular system (weak pulse, hypotension, dysrhythmias, cardiac arrest), liver, urinary system (polyuria, polydypsia) brain, metabolism (loss of appetite, hypcalcemia, hyperkalemia, hypomagnesia, ), teeth, bones, and blood (changes in red and white blood cell count, interference in blood coagulation)
Inhalation: Causes irritation and chemical burns of the respiratory tract with coughing, breathing difficulty and possibly nasal septum perforation and coma. May affect bones.
Chronic Potential Heath Effects: Chronic ingestion may cause fluorosis. Effects of fluorisis may include joint pain, weakness, limited joint mobility, brittle bones, ossifications on x–ray, thickening of long bone cortices, calcificaiton of ligaments, osteomalacia, osteosclerosis (skeletal (bone and teeth) abnormalties) and mottled tooth enamel. Other symptoms may include anemia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, kidney damage and weight loss/anorexia. Chronic inhalation may cause bronchitis to develop with cough, phlegm, and/or shortness of breath, liver (hepatic enzymes increased, jaundice).
But perhaps we don’t need too delve to deep into the science though – Lets see what the ‘experts’ say:
“What we do know is that fluoride is toxic – so toxic, in fact, that in 1984, the makers of Colgate, Procter & Gamble, reportedly admitted that a small tube of their toothpaste, theoretically at least, contains enough fluoride to kill a small child” Source: Independent
OK so no doubt that it is toxic then and we would want to avoid consuming it. But that is not all…..
Let’s focus on just this one issue. Fluoride prevents the all-important mineral MAGNESIUM from being utilised by the body (i.e. causes hypomagnesia, as stated in the above toxic effects on humans). As magnesium is involved in over 600 bodily functions, this can have a major impact on our health. From fluorosis to osteporosis, from calculus (calcium depositing) to anxiety, from digestive conditions to depression. Magnesium is a relaxant and antagonist to calcium. Without magnesium, we also suffer calcium deficiency as calcium needs magnesium to bind to it for the body to utilise it. Magnesium is a relaxant for body and mind, and when we are deplete we can suffer tension, stiffness and insomnia.
So What are the Sources of Fluoride?
1. Fluoridated Water Supplies
It has recently been announced (October 2021) that the water in England and Wales is going to be fluoridated. Below I have compiled different ways fluoride can be removed from your water and what you can do about it.
2. Dental Care
Fluoridated toothpastes and dental varnishes etc.
Fluoride toothpastes range from about 1000ppm (Parts Per Million) Fluoride to 1500ppm+. Prescription toothpaste contains approx. 5000ppm. This equates to over 1% Fluoride. Some dental varnishes have over 20000ppm Fluoride (5%).
Fluoride in this concentration represents a huge potential risk to individuals. Although toothpastes always have a warning “do not swallow” or similar on the box, it does not say what the risks are. Indeed often the only risk from fluoridated products that is acknowledged by the dental profession is the risk of dental fluorosis! By the time you have ingested enough fluoride to manifest itself on your teeth in the form of dental fluorosis, you can be pretty sure you have a toxic build up of fluoride in your system. As for the varnishes and other dental applications, all of these will eventually be swallowed as they wear off your teeth while you are eating so these pose a huge risk.
Natural Dental Health
The following article from the National Health Federation discusses the beneficial importance of Magnesium for a variety of health aspects, particularly dental and bone health. Please click HERE to be taken to the NHF website.
In particular, it mentions that most of us already have sufficient calcium in our diet and calcium supplementation is often unnecessary and in fact, may even be hazardous to health. More likely is that there is a deficiency of magnesium and that correcting this deficiency will allow calcium to be better utilised by the body,
Other beneficial vitamins and minerals for teeth and bone health include Vitamin D3, Boron and Vitamin K.
So why is it then that these beneficial vitamins and nutrients are practically ignored by the mainstream? Mmmm….
Removing Fluoride from your Water
So, if/when it comes to pass that fluoride is added to the UK water supply, we don’t have to move to the mountains, drink from the springs and bathe in the freshwater rivers (of course this would be the ideal solution, but it is not always possible to do this!)
So here are some ways we can remove fluoride:
Water Filtration
You need to be very careful which water filters you purchase as very few will actually remove fluoride. Here are some tips based upon extensive research I have undertaken:
Gravity-fed Filters
These are great and use what is known as ‘candles’ to filter the water. No power is needed and because the water is fed by gravity and allowed to naturally drip through the filter, there is minimal damage to the structure and energy of the water (it is, after all, a living fluid crystal).
The easiest to source in the UK is the British Berkefeld. They are very similar to the Berkey which is mostly available in the US. There are other types of gravity-fed filters but most appear to not filter fluoride.
The British Berkefeld filters are available in 2 or 4 candles (SS2 or SS4). The 4 candles last twice as long, but the benefit to having 4 is that the flow rate is doubled. This means you do not have to wait so long for your water to be filtered (gravity fed filters usually take a long time to filter!)
There are various candles available. The standard ones filter most of the contaminants in tap water, the ATC ones filter additional heavy metals and the fluoride ones also remove fluoride. There are compatible all-in-one fluoride candles (compatible with Berkey and Berkefeld) available called Wrekin filters, they are found on internet search or Ebay.
The Berkesfeld and Wrekin filter candles mentioned above are the most cost effective I have found. For a lovely looking glass alternative (which is a little more expensive), there are also the Osmio Clarity filters which use Coldstream Sentry candle filters. These candles remove 97.5% of sodium fluoride, 96.3% of fluorosilic acid and 94% of hexafluorosilicate.
Reverse Osmosis Filters
In my opinion, these are the ultimate. They are fitted under the sink and have a separate tap that is fitted over the sink. I had one of these for a few years before I sold my house. It has very long lasting filters and is fairly simple to fit if you are a bit handy. They come with full fitting instructions.
They remove almost everything from the water with minimal damage to water structure. The water is fresh tasting, and our TDS meter used to show about 4-6ppm (parts per million) when the filtered water was tested (this could be any solids, not necessarily harmful). I therefore used to remineralise it with a tiny pinch of Himalayan Salt before drinking or cooking, however if making tea or adding anything to it there is no need.
Distillation
I have also experienced distilling water. I did not like it as it was inconvenient, and it tasted awful. It also ‘kills’ the water and depletes it of everything. Personally, I would use the distiller only in emergencies for drinking and cooking. However, it does have its uses in making tinctures and remedies such as colloidal silver.
Make your own
You can filter water through sand, charcoal and zeolite granules. You need the zeolite to remove fluoride. There are many ideas on the internet.
Bathing & Showering
Don’t forget we can take in water by absorbing through our skin and breathing steam in showers.
A filter shower head may reduce fluoride but won’t remove it, so it is inevitable that we are going to take on some fluoride. But we can minimise this by having a cooler shower without creating steam and not staying under the water too long.
In the bath, we can add magnesium chloride flakes which are believed to bind to some contaminants in water, but even if it didn’t bond to fluoride, as the concentration of magnesium in the water will be so much higher than the fluoride content, and our bodies often are deficient in magnesium, this could at least interfere with fluoride absorption and possibly offset any effects. We will be doing further research into this and will update this article as we find new information.
Whole House Filtration
It is possible to fit a whole house filter. However, with no experience of these I am unable to advise. Therefore, you will need to do your own research into the feasibility of this approach.
What can we do?
On an individual level, we recommend writing to your MP addressing the concerns of fluoridation (here is a template you may wish to use: MP Fluoridation Letter). This template letter makes some extremely valid points including that fluoridation is forced medication which is against human rights. While we do not expect this to make any difference, we need to do this initially so any further action is warranted as we will have taken this action in the first instance.
Glamorgan SCT is writing a very similar letter to Parliament and the House of Commons on behalf of its beneficiaries (which you can view here: Glam Fluoridation Letter)
UPDATE MARCH 2022: The above was actioned November 2021. No replies despite chasing up too. We will now put a Freedom of Information request on to Welsh Water for the current analysis of the eater coming through our taps in South Wales.
The projected next step to the campaign depends on the response.
Some actions could be:
- to single out specific harmful ingredients and ask for safety studies,
- have our own analysis of water done,
- send further letters to Welsh Water, addressing the concerns
- threatening to withhold the water supply part of the water bill payments due to being force medicated via the water supply
- Invoice Welsh Water for installation of water filtration
We must stress that we are not advising you to withhold payment, at this stage it is a threat.
NOTE: If anyone intends to follow through with the threat to withhold payment from Welsh Water, either in part or in full, this must be a personal choice made by you as individuals.
This action will hit them more than a protest or petition, as it is hitting them where it will hurt – their pockets!
Access to water is a human right so while stopping paying our water rates is something we could do anyway, here we have an opportunity to use this method to our advantage, to give us a voice in a campaign for clean healthy water. By paying we are, in effect, agreeing to them adding fluoride to the water.
If/when the need arises, there are many different ways the Trust can intervene if required such as sending a conditional acceptance, we can counter-invoice them for the cost of having the fluoride removed from the water, we can claim medical exemption from receiving fluoride, to name a few.
If enough people do this, maybe they will get the message that we do NOT want this toxic chemical added to our water!