What is that stuff Floride?
The official definition of fluoride is, a compound of fluorine with another element or group, esp. a salt of the anion F − or an organic compound with fluorine bonded to an alkyl group. Some people disapprove of adding fluoride to drinking water because of the many side effects it can have if used in high dosages. For example the city of Colorado springs has naturally high amounts of fluoride in it’s drinking water, and many of the people who live there and drink the tap water on a regular basis develop dark stains on their teeth over time due to the high amounts of fluoride in the water.
Personally I believe that it’s a good idea to fluoride to drinking water because it can prevent cavities and tooth decay. My brother’s best friends are twins and they lived in Germany from the time they were 2 to the time they were 5 because of their dad’s work. In Germany there is no fluoride in the drinking water and even though many believe it to not be a problem it really is. These twins have both had 2 root canals a piece and many other tooth complications on their baby teeth alone! Because the ages 1-6 are a major time for tooth development and because during that time they didn’t have fluoride in their water there baby teeth grew in without the protection coating from the fluoride and their teeth aren’t very healthy. Now that they’re older their adult teeth are growing in and they aren’t healthy either. If they had had fluoride in their water when they were little the whole mess could have been avoided! So as you can tell having the right amount of Fluoride in your water can be very important!
There are many different compounds that have Fluoride in them and they are all slightly different. One of the most obvious of these compounds in sodium fluoride and that was used in the earliest of toothpastes. The reasons that toothpastes keep changing and advancing is because newer and better compounds that contain fluoride keep being discovered. The trick is to find the most easily made or gathered compound that is most effective in preventing tooth decay when used in small amounts and doesn’t create stains on teeth. The compound has to have a fluoride ion and it doesn’t matter what else was in it but as long as it had fluoride it would work! Some compounds are more common than others and the first ones that were known weren’t common so they couldn’t be produced in large amounts. Nowadays we have found other more frequently found compounds that can be used to produce toothpaste for a cheaper price and to the toothpaste manufacturers that is definitely their first choice.
The only problem I have in drinking water with fluoride in it is that it large amounts it can create brittleness of bones which will increase fracture rates and it can also cause staining in teeth. Personally I don’t think that it would be fun to break a bone but depending on the amount of fluoride in the water these problems can or can not be a threat. I think that I am willing to take the risk! Other than those two potential problems I fully support the use of fluoride in water and I feel that it has many more benefits than consequences.
No Comments »
Filed under: Fluoride
