What Is The Role Of Fluoride In The Body?

Almost 99% of fluoride in the body is found in bones, teeth, and calcified tissue like the pineal gland. The fluoride concentration in these mineralized tissues is about 10,000 times that in body fluids and other soft tissues.^[1][2]

Though most of the fluoride accumulates in these areas, is it needed and is it actually harmful? Well, the only noticeable effect of fluoride deficiency is the increased risk of tooth decay.^[3] Fluoride is added to drinking water, toothpaste, and food to reduce the risk of cavities, but is the truly necessary and even helpful?

The possible tooth protecting benefits fluoride provides does not outweigh the harm it presents.

“I believe that fluorine does, in a mild way, retard caries, but I also believe that the damage it does is far greater than any good it may appear to accomplish. It even makes the teeth so brittle and crumbly they can be treated only with difficulty, if at all.”^[4] 

It is also interesting to know that fluoridation affects populations differently.

“For 35 years it has been known that African-American children have twice the prevalence of dental fluorosis as white children and tends to be more severe.”^[4]

Fluoride Toxicity

The development of dental fluorosis is a good indication that fluoride toxicity has also attacked the bones and developed into skeletal fluorosis. Skeletal fluorosis symptoms include^[5]:

• Muscle weakness
• Chronic fatigue
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Brittle bones
• Stiff joints
• Pain in bones
• Calcification of tendons and ligaments
• Osteoporosis

High fluoride the levels in the body also negatively impact IQ. Studies have shown that fluoride concentration in the body is highest in the pineal gland. This concentration may be the likely reason for fluoride’s negative impact on IQ. This Harvard study^[6] found:

“children in high-fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ scores than those who lived in low-fluoride areas,” and “the results support the possibility of an adverse effect of high fluoride exposure on children’s neurodevelopment.”

Preventing Tooth Decay Without Fluoridated Water

All of this damage is being done to prevent cavities when studies show there is basically no difference between cavity reduction rates in western countries that fluoridate water and those that don’t.^[7] There has been a steady decline in tooth decay at the same rates among western fluoridated countries and western non-fluoridated countries. This indicates that water fluoridation adds little to no benefit, while being detrimental to health.

The steady decline in tooth decay is likely due to the use of fluoridated toothpaste in industrialized countries. The use of fluoridated toothpaste directs most of the fluoride to teeth, and restricts most of it from entering the body. Though fluoridated toothpaste is the likely reason for the decline in tooth decay, the high concentration of fluoride in toothpaste is toxic it often results in the development dental fluorosis and tooth brittleness.

Good oral hygiene can prevent tooth decay without the use of fluoridation. Acidity in the mouth attacks tooth enamel. Brushing teeth with baking soda after meals alkalizes the mouth the and reduces acidity. The addition of coconut oil to the baking soda offer bacterial and virus protection, while lubricating the teeth and gums.

These graphs from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) show the similar and steady decline of tooth decay in fluoridated and non-fluoridated western countries.

More Fluoride Information:

• Tamarind Fluoride Detox
• Iodine Removes Fluoride From The Body And Serves As A Fluoride Detox
• Link Between Fluoride And The Calcification Of The Pineal Gland
• Fluoride And The Pineal Gland
• Boron Fluoride Detox To Combat Skeletal Fluorosis And Decalcify The Pineal Gland