By Kate Leo
Water fluoridation has been a source of controversy ever since the United States Public Health Service recommended in 1962 that public water sources should include some fluoride. This all started when, in 1945, scientists discovered that people in areas with fluoride in their water had fewer cavities in their teeth.
Fluoride is found naturally in places like the soil, air, and water. The PHS recommends that water supply has about 0.7 mg/L of fluoride. This number is less than what was previously recommended because we now get fluoride from toothpaste and certain foods. There are studies that have shown that fluoride reduces cavities by 25% and therefore helps families save money across all people regardless of race, income level, and education. Although, it is proven that there is a reduction in risk for cavities with fluoride in water, there is a lot of controversy about whether or not ingestion causes harm.
Fluoride tends to gather in your body where sources of calcium are such as your bones and teeth. This build up can cause skeletal fluorosis, which leads to stiffness, pain, and weak bones. Dental fluorosis occurs in young children where it stops tooth enamel from forming naturally. Because of these conditions, the US Environmental Protection Agency has set limits based on what is allowed in drinking water. The link between drinking fluoride and cancer is based on correlation and not causation. A study of rats by the US National Toxicology Program found that there was a larger number of rats with osteosarcoma after they drank water with fluoride. Many think that osteosarcoma is a valid risk because it is a type of bone cancer, and like established earlier, fluoride builds up near bones. People speculate that fluoride causes cells in the growth plates to grow faster, ultimately causing cancer.
There are still a lot of questions surrounding this link, including if type of fluoride is important, the level of fluoride in water, your age, your risk for cancer, etc. In more recent years, the Harvard School of Public Health found that boys were more at risk for osteosarcoma than girls when exposed to fluoride. However, there still is not strong evidence that fluoride causes osteosarcoma or if there even is a link. The best thing that you can do is to be educated about limiting immense exposure and understanding the risk associated with fluoride.
Sources:
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/water-fluoridation-and-cancer-risk.html https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/index.html
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