fluoride

[Okie]

I have been looking at reports on this stuff. Do you think it is as bad as they say?

[tangent]

I keep hearing it makes you dumb - probably why the gvmt puts it in the water - can't have the sheeple thinking for themselves, can we...

someone recently pointed out that africans have the most beutiful white teeth - the reason? no floride. according to them, while it does harden teeth, that hardening traps the gunk in, near the surface, discoloring the teeth, while the teeth were ment to "breath", like skin, and, albiet slowly, discharge waste products into the mouth, like a pore. (bone is porus(sp?))

[Okie]

I am thinking of getting filters for the fridge, kitchen sink, and both showers to take out as much of the chemicals as possible. I wonder if there is one that will remove fluoride.

[Craig]

I dont want to get into the fluoride debate -it gives me a really bad headache - but I cannot help myself. But having worked in the 3rd world, generally speaking most of the indigenous people (African's included) having shocking teeth -obviously there is alot more to it than a fluoridated water supply - but I dont think thats a good example of why fluoride might not be required. There are articles in the scientific literature both for and against the use of fluoride - in my opinion those supporting its efficacy and safety are much stronger - but thats just my reading of the literature. Resorting to anecdote (which is always dangerous), at the hospital I work at, one of our catchment towns does not have a fluoridated water supply - twice a week there is a paediatric dental list - mostly for extractions in young children - the dentist that does the list calculated 80% of his patients are from the unfluoridated town.

cheers

Craig

[tangent]

interesting about the extraction rates... it would be interesting to know what's really going on with floride.

one alternative type of toothpaste that seems to work well is the kind with bloodroot, there are studies that indicate that this is effective in fighting ginvititus.