Fluoride misconceptions and fluoride rinse

Fluoride Misconceptions
A number of people with “soft teeth” worry that their problems have been caused by a lack of fluoride in their drinking water. These people often complain that their water supplies have been neglected by those responsible for public health. They mistakenly assume that fluoride benefits teeth as a vitamin might benefit health. On the other hand, some people fear fluoride so much that they refuse to even rinse with it. A number of people, unfortunately, will even go as far as to permit tooth damage—to the point of needing a filling, crown, or extraction—rather than put any kind of fluoride in their mouths. I straddle the fluoride argument. I see benefits from a good fluoride mouth rinse and fluoride in toothpaste, but I am not an advocate for adding it to our drinking water. Water without fluoride will never be the cause of weak or soft teeth. As you have learned, mouth acidity creates tooth softening that leads to cavities and dental problems. I have weighed any negative facts about fluoride with the positive outcomes it can produce. I have looked at the teeth of those who will not use fluoride in any form and compared them with those who follow my oral care recommendations. The differences in dental health are quite remarkable. Some people fear that fluoride may be absorbed through the skin during rinsing. There is no evidence to substantiate these worries, and I believe that any minuscule risk would be dwarfed by the numerous health benefits that strong and unfilled teeth offer us. Suppose you have damaged your teeth in some way, for example by drinking soda. Under healthy mouth conditions, the rebuilding of tooth enamel will occur naturally, but if fluoride is involved in the process, these repairs occur more quickly, and the new enamel will be stronger. Fluoride plays its part by stimulating teeth to rebuild themselves after they have become damaged. Fluoride works as an instigator or catalyst to speed up the process of natural tooth remineralization that repairs weak teeth. Remember, it was the soda that caused the damage to the tooth, not a lack of fluoride.

Sodium Fluoride
When people say fluoride has been added to their water, they really mean that a fluoride compound has been added. Mouth rinses and toothpastes contain various kinds of fluoride. For example, Crest Regular paste contains sodium fluoride, whereas the newer Crest Pro-Health contains stannous fluoride, a compound derived from tin. (Stannous fluoride was popular in the 1960s because it was shown to reduce gum inflammation. The problem with stannous fluoride, however, is that it creates unattractive black or brown staining on teeth.) The addition of minerals to fluoride rinses does not increase its effectiveness for people with normal saliva, but the extra ingredients usually make it more expensive than other fluoride rinses. I recommend only sodium fluoride, which has been studied for decades and is the most stable and safe. And it will not stain teeth, a problem that can occur with other kinds of fluoride, particularly stannous fluoride.

Fluoride Mouth Rinse
I am completely convinced about the positive effects seen in the teeth of those who regularly use a dilute sodium fluoride mouth rinse. A final rinse each night and a first rinse each morning appear to protect and beautify teeth for patients of all ages. Many people think fluoride will help only children’s teeth, and they are shocked to find that its protective effects are just as useful for the teeth of people in their eighties as they are for those in their teens. Perhaps, like me, you grind your teeth. Without extra-strong teeth, I would most certainly have damaged my teeth by now, possibly causing old fillings to loosen or pieces of enamel to chip away and break off. To give my teeth extra strength and resist tooth damage, I use a dilute fluoride rinse in my oral care routine every morning and every night. Years ago we believed that the benefits of fluoride were built into teeth before they erupted into the mouth. Today we know that fluoride mainly benefits teeth when it is in direct contact with the outside tooth surface. The benefit ends as soon as fluoride is washed away. To strengthen a tooth, fluoride needs to bathe the outside for as long as possible. Fluoride rebuilds teeth by helping to move minerals from saliva into areas of weak or damaged tooth enamel. The longer the contact time between fluoride and the tooth, the more minerals will go into the enamel to harden teeth. Any tooth enamel that repairs in the presence of fluoride has a particle of fluoride included in its structure. This small change to the chemistry of the enamel makes the tooth surface become stronger, smoother, and more acid resistant than before. From a patient’s point of view this makes the outside of a tooth extra strong and shiny and less able to be damaged by acidity in the future. I advise patients to avoid high-concentration fluoride products and look for lower-dilution products, such as ACT, with 0.05 percent fluoride, which, ironically, can be more effective instrengthening your teeth than gels and pastes that contain ten times the concentration of fluoride. A recent evidence-based review of topical fluoride products showed that very strong gels and foams (the kind used in dental offices for treating children’s teeth) may have little or no effect on strengthening the teeth of children who already have good teeth.8 My patients with the healthiest teeth usually rinse with ACT, which comes in mint, cinnamon, and bubble-gum flavors. A new ACT has been produced with “freshening” additives, but it contains ingredients that appear to alter its effectiveness. Large stores make their own formulation of the rinse as a generic product, but those rinses appear to be less effective than the original. Whatever kind of fluoride rinse you choose, I suggest you find one that does not include alcohol. Finding ACT in some parts of the United States and Europe has proven to be a problem, but Internet ordering can help. Weak and strong fluorides work differently. This may be one reason why a dilute fluoride may work to strengthen your child’s teeth more than a stronger one. A weak fluoride works as a catalyst, helping build minerals into teeth—as described earlier—whereas a strong fluoride gel works by inactivating bacterial enzymes, temporarily stopping the bacteria from
producing the acids that damage teeth. Interestingly, the volume or amount of fluoride that bathes your tooth is of no importance. A few drops of a fluoride mouth rinse will work just as well as a large mouthful. The manufacturers of mouth rinse would like you to use as much as possible, but the truth is, you can be economical with your rinse and still do a complete job. Try to keep fluoride in contact with your tooth surfaces for as long as possible; the longer the duration of contact, the stronger your tooth enamel will become. Adults (and children with adult teeth) will benefit from using a dilute 0.05 percent sodium fluoride rinse without alcohol the last thing before going to bed. If you rinse and spit out but do not wash your mouth or drink anything more, a thin residue will cover your teeth for many hours during the night. The residue helps minerals in saliva rebuild damaged tooth enamel to improve the condition of your teeth while you are sleeping. The treatment will be especially helpful for people with tooth damage caused by dry mouth, acid reflux, or trauma to teeth from a hard bite. The more often you rinse with fluoride, the more help you give your teeth; there does not seem to be any amount of time that is too short to provide some benefit. Rinsing several times a day will speed and improve results if you are trying to strengthen your teeth or repair damage. Fluoride as a liquid rinse enters the small crevices and grooves in teeth, even under and around braces or bridgework, to strengthen places that are often the most inaccessible to a toothbrush and at greatest risk for cavities. If a fluoride rinse is used regularly, it constantly rebuilds the strength of teeth and prevents weakness, sensitivity, and cavities from forming. Fluoride rinsing offers insurance against progressive damage to your teeth. If you dislike or fear dental treatments or are concerned about the health-related problems of filling materials, fluoride rinsing should be your lifelong friend!

Phillips DDS, Ellie (2010-01-01). Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye (pp. 99-100). Greenleaf Book Group LLC. Kindle Edition.

Understanding the Different Fluorides

There are two types of fluoride. Calcium Fluoride, which appears naturally in underground water supplies, is relatively benign. However, too much consumed daily can lead to bone or dental problems. Calcium is used to counter fluoride poisoning when it occurs. This redeeming factor indicates that the calcium in naturally formed calcium fluoride neutralizes much of fluoride's toxic effects.

On the other hand, the type of fluorides added to water supplies and other beverages and foods are waste products of the nuclear, aluminum, and now mostly the phosphate (fertilizer) industries. The EPA has classified these as toxins: fluorosilicate acid, sodium silicofluoride, and sodium fluoride.

For this article, the term Sodium Fluoride will include all three types. Sodium fluoride is used for rat poison and as a pesticide. According to a scientific study done several years ago, Comparative Toxicity of Fluorine Compounds, industrial waste sodium fluorides are 85 times more toxic than naturally occurring calcium fluoride.

Health Hazards of Sodium Fluoride

Generally, most fluoride entering the body is not easily eliminated. It tends to accumulate in the body's bones and teeth. Recently, it has been discovered to accumulate even more in the pineal gland, located in the middle of the brain.

This consequence of dental fluorosis, which seriously harms teeth, from daily fluoridation has been documented. Yet, the American Dental Association (AMA) continues beating a dead horse, promoting fluoride. There is a refusal to admit that instead of preventing tooth decay, fluoride causes even more dental harm.

The flood of sodium fluoride in water and food also creates other more serious health problems that are not widely publicized, even suppressed. Nevertheless, in addition to fluorosis, independent labs and reputable researchers have linked the following health issues with daily long term intake of sodium fluoride:

*Cancer
*Genetic DNA Damage
*Thyroid Disruption - affecting the complete endocrine system and leading to obesity
*Neurological - diminished IQ and inability to focus, lethargy and weariness.
*Alzheimer's Disease
*Melatonin Disruption, lowers immunity to cancer, accelerates aging, sleep disorders.
*Pineal Gland, calcification, which clogs this gland located in the middle of the brain.