First let me be clear: I’m not a crazy conspiracy person (…on this) I just don’t rely on a municipal well. As far as I know adding fluoride to the private well at my houses is not a thing, good or bad. I did drink municipal water for two years when I lived on campus in college.

That said, is fluoride a benefit to adults or just children?

When I was a kid I got fluoride treatments at the dentist, but then aged out. I’ve never had a cavity in forty years, but I’d like to keep it that way. Should I still be doing it?

Also no, I’m not using the internet as a substitute for a dentist, just my next dental appointment is in four months. TIA

  • Waldowal
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    71 year ago

    The scientific concensus is certainly ‘Yes’, but my own personal experience backs that up. I struggled with cavities well into my 30s, especially while at college where I mostly drank distilled water I bought in jugs at the grocery store (the local water supply had frequent issues I was trying to avoid). At some point, my dentist put me on a high-fluoride toothpaste, and the cavities basically stopped. The extra fluoride seems to have a definitive effect for me.

    • @dan1101@lemm.ee
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      81 year ago

      Too late now but I don’t think you’re supposed to drink distilled water. It lacks the minerals your teeth and body need.

      • Devi
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        81 year ago

        It’s worse than that, RODI water as it is just pure H2O it’s desperate to bond to anything it can so it grabs minerals from your body as it passes through.

        • Bizarroland
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          11 year ago

          It sounds like it would be good to drink a glass or so every week just to help prevent kidney stones right? Or am I Way off the Mark here. I feel like I’m way off the Mark here, but somebody please confirm if I am not off the mark okay?

          • Devi
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            11 year ago

            No, it pulls everything out of your system and causes deficiencies. It shouldn’t be drunk at all.

            • Bizarroland
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              21 year ago

              There’s a limit to what it can pull though, right? If you have excess minerals in your body, it seems it would help eliminate them, kind of like chelation, right?

              • Devi
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                11 year ago

                Kind of, but you don’t get to choose what it pulls, so unless you have an excess of every mineral then it’s going to make you deficient in something and then other things may not be affected at all.

        • @The_v@lemmy.world
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          31 year ago

          You don’t drink it straight, you make coffee with it. That extra grabby power passing through coffee grounds makes a noticeable difference.

          • @Pronell@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Are you telling me there’s a way for me to become more of a coffee snob?!

            Edit: Google says it’s not this way and makes for weak coffee.

            • @The_v@lemmy.world
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              21 year ago

              Unpublished Data from when I worked summers in a lab for grad students disagrees with Google.

              We tested distilled, RO, DI versus tap water. We were going to see about the double-distilled water but the supervising professor caught us. Apparently “That shit was too expensive for your shenanigans!”

          • Devi
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            11 year ago

            Yes, sticking stuff in it makes it work, you can even get mineralising powders that put the minerals back in so say you don’t trust or like your tap water you can filter everything out and put the stuff you do like in

  • @jagungal@lemmy.world
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    21 year ago

    For a municipal supply it’s worth the effort, it improves oral health for a whole community at the cost of some fluoride and a dosimeter. For a private supply it’s not worth it. Fluoridated toothpaste and mouthwash will give you a good dose of fluoride.

  • @mindlight@lemmynsfw.com
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    1 year ago

    Swede here. I’m a bit confused by the whole flouride thing in the US.

    We don’t add flouride in the water. At least not in amounts needed to get better tooth health.

    Almost everyone users toothpaste with fluoride. The concentration is 1000ppm in toothpaste for children (below 6 years of age) and 1450ppm in toothpaste for children (6 years and older) and grown-ups.

    We also used to have mandatory sessions with the “fluoride lady” in school. We all had to bring our toothbrush to school and got to dip it in a fluoride solution (mouthwash I presume) and brush our teeth while the fluoride lady pointed at a large scale model of teeth and gums. All kids were a little bit afraid of the fluoride ladies. I’m not sure if it’s still mandatory today, but I think a lot of schools (1st to 3rd grade maybe?) still has this on the schedule once a year.

    Sweden has got a history of focus on tooth health since we have cheap healthcare (was free 50 years ago. Times are harder now so we pay $10-$13 per night at a hospital. Life is so hard! 😉) and bad tooth health is the cause of a lot of other health issues. Which in the end would cost our state medical insurance a lot more than fixing tooth health.

    For the one with waaaaat too much time on their hands, Sweden has done some pretty dark shit in the name of “for the greater good”. Google a documentary about the Vipeholm experiments if you want to know more about one of the reasons to how the world knows so much about tooth decay.

  • @Loki@feddit.de
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    41 year ago

    There’s a Sawbones episode on fluoride and its effects on teeth (and why it’s good for you), if you like to be educated and entertained at the same time, I highly recommend listening to it! Great podcast.

    And yes, fluoride is good for adult teeth, too.

  • guyrocket
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    41 year ago

    I’m about to install a reverse osmosis water filter because I want less PFOS (and other crap) in me. I understand this will also get rid of most of the fluoride.

    I assume we’ll be fine because we brush or use fluoride mouthwash daily. But I’d like to hear if anyone thinks otherwise. I’m not opposed to fluoride in water, just wondering how much downside there is to not having it in my water when we do use fluoride otherwise.

    • @rbesfe@lemmy.ca
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      11 year ago

      Unless you live next to a PTFE manufacturing plant, you are not at risk of PFOS exposure.

  • Fluoride is great in toothpaste. Kills the germs and sterilises the gums.

    I fought our Council to stop fluoride being added to our water here in Southampton in the UK about 10 years ago. I asked questions about whether gastrointestinal doctors had been consulted and what the effects were on the rest of the body, the bones etc. Nobody could answer. At the time I found that worrying. I am pro-vaccination, pro-science. I pointed out the severe lack of dentists that even kids dont any longer have access to at the time (it has since become far worse). Without actual dentists people lose the influence they provide as well as the treatment.

    Chlorine chemistry is added to water to treat the water. Fluorine is added to treat the person. And to me that sounded like medication with no opt out (other than moving home). People should have a right to chose what they dont want to put in their bodies, even if it is technically slightly harmful in the long term (even nutrients). Science is learning that over sterilisation of other parts of the body (eg the skin) can affect the health. What we need is far, far more data on those that do have these water additions to see what happens to the populations health.

    • @Lyrl@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Fluoride does not kill or sterilize anything. It reacts with enamel (hydroxyapetate) to convert it to a stronger version (hydroxyfluorapatite).

      People who want their enamel to be softer and wear through are welcome to drink bottled water.

      • I am already paying for water - through my water bill. I have a right to as clear a water as possible. And fluoride is technically a sterilising agent - fluorine and chlorine are right next to each other in the periodic table.

  • @corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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    91 year ago

    This is the wrong question.

    You should be asking, “While flouride helps other people, does it hurt me or is it all-good?”

    Because, really, that’s the only part that matters.

    • @pb42184@lemmy.worldOP
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      21 year ago

      Not really. Since it isn’t in my well no matter what I do, the effects of fluoride in water aren’t relevant to my question.

      But the consensus in the comments is that fluoride in my toothpaste and maybe mouthwash is sufficient, and having fluoride treatments as a child but not as an adult makes sense.

  • @feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Do you even know how much fluoride is in your water? Sometimes it’s naturally high, that’s how they figured out it was good for your teeth.

  • @dustyData@lemmy.world
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    371 year ago

    Everyone, even dogs benefit from fluoride in the water. It’s not just children. Virtually all toothpaste contains it too. Some groundwater sources also contain it naturally, some even above the recommended max level from health associations. So I’d say, document yourself with official sources. Test your well levels, then decide. Be mindful that regular consumption of soft drinks, processed foods and even air conditioning nullifies the effects for cavities.

    • @QualifiedKitten@lemmy.world
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      311 year ago

      Be mindful that … air conditioning nullifies the effects for cavities.

      Got any sources for that? My admittedly very brief search just turned up a bunch of stuff about ventilation and COVID/aerosols.

        • I understand that air conditioning removes some moisture from the air, but just how much of an effect does it actually have on oral moisture? I was hoping to find some sort of studies with actual measurements of some sort.

    • @pb42184@lemmy.worldOP
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      31 year ago

      Thanks. The fluoride in the water itself is not directly relevant because I just don’t have it, but good evidence to raise the topic with my dentist as an adult. I definitely use fluoridated toothpaste.

      • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        91 year ago

        Yeah, if it’s in toothpaste you’re getting enough.

        If you wanted to add fluoride like after you doing well treatment…

        I honestly don’t know if that’s a good idea, because who knows how evenly it’ll stay mixed correctly.

        Like. You may end up getting a shit ton of fluoride when there’s no rain and your wells low, then barely any when it fills up.

        Fluoride toothpaste is likely your best bet for consistent doses.

        • @pb42184@lemmy.worldOP
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          11 year ago

          Makes sense. Even if its a thing I’d probably not keep up on it. My house filters have gotten embarrassingly full in my time

          • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            21 year ago

            Yeah, I tell people I’m on well/septic even in a city because when this house was built it was before urban sprawl…

            And everyone immediately says how great it is that I don’t have to pay water/sewer.

            But like, I got to pump the septic, I got to service the well, I got to maintain the well pump and pressure tank, my garden hose has no pressure, have to keep up with water softener using a bunch of salt…

            I’m probably not even saving money. And it’s a lot of hassle.

            But it would be 10s of thousands of dollars to get it hooked up, and who knows if my 80 year old plumbing can sustain city water pressure.

            Not to mention if my electric goes out, so does my water.

            I’d 100% prefer city water, $20 a month ain’t shit.

            • @pb42184@lemmy.worldOP
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              11 year ago

              Yeah, the money isn’t a thing for me. My houses are in parts of NY that just don’t have municipal wells, so there’s no reason to feel one way or the other about it. It just is what it is.

  • @johny_joe_1975@discuss.online
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    161 year ago

    Yes, keep using toothpaste with flouride.

    I tried toothpaste without flouride. It hurt my teeth after weeks (i.e: i also heavy drinking sweet drink like pepsi and snack at night, At night, I brush my teeth always before sleep or after snack.).

    • @stoly@lemmy.world
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      21 year ago

      I went for years without fluoride. I preferred the flavor and how my mouth felt with the more “natural” ones. Now I switch back and forth, but still avoid Colgate, crest, etc.

    • @Habahnow@sh.itjust.works
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      51 year ago

      I did as well. Same symptoms and on my next dentist visit, the dentist had noticed my sensitivity. Back to flouride tooth paste. I switched mainly because I wanted a tooth paste that was in a refillable container or used less plastic. Alas, I have to pick my health as a priority over helping the environment.

      • Bizarroland
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        1 year ago

        Next time you get your teeth cleaned at the dentist, which you should be doing every 6 months or so, ask them to give you a fluoride treatment. They literally just brush this minty sweet stuff onto your teeth and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes.

        The fluoride will leech into your teeth and help reinforce any weak spots to decrease the likelihood of developing cavities.

        I mean, if you’re a conspiracy theorist then in theory it will calcify your third eye as well, but I have no way of verifying that claim, or even proving that the third eye exists other than the pineal gland in your brain, and I’ve never heard of anyone’s pineal gland being calcified.

        • @thisisdee@lemmy.world
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          21 year ago

          Ah so fluoride treatment is what I thought it was. Here in Australia we still get it with every teeth cleaning. Granted dental is an add on with private insurance so not everyone has access to it I believe.

    • @pb42184@lemmy.worldOP
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      21 year ago

      Thanks

      Fluoridated water just isn’t an option for me but I can ask my dentist about options beyond fluoridated toothpaste and mouthwash.