Yesterday we took a look at the mercury used in "silver" fillings, and today we want to share some info about another chemical commonly used in dental practice: fluoride. 

Fluoride is actually a negatively charged ion of the naturally occurring element fluorine.

Many people are aware that fluoride is added to municipal water, is present in some toothpastes, and is applied to teeth in dental offices to allegedly prevent tooth decay, but evidence continues to mount that the risks of this neurotoxin outweigh the purported benefits.

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Need to knows about fluoride:

1. Tooth decay is not caused by a lack of fluoride. In fact, fluoride is not an essential nutrient, is not made by the body, and does not need to be consumed at all. It has been shown that while topical application of fluoride may strengthen teeth, swallowing it does not. Swallowing too much of it can actually cause dental fluorosis, or discoloration & pitting of the teeth. 

2. Fluoride is an endocrine disruptor that effects hormone production and response, especially in the pancreas & thyroid, parathyroid, and pineal glands. Hormones are the chemical messengers of the body, and without appropriate amounts of functional hormones, normal processes cannot run efficiently. 

3. Fluoride accumulates in the body, specifically in the skeleton and pineal glands. Fluoride in the pineal gland disrupts melatonin production and may lead to earlier onset of puberty. 

4. Fluoride can damage the skeleton and can cause arthritis-like symptoms. People with kidney disease are especially susceptible to skeletal damage because their impaired organs cannot properly filter fluoride. 

5. Fluoride can decrease fertility in both men and women. 

6. Fluoride may damage the brain. At least 33 studies show an association between fluoride exposure and lowered IQ in children. Even the EPA admits there is “substantial evidence of developmental neurotoxicity" with fluoride exposure. Here's a link to the studies.

7. While fluoride treatments at the dentist and fluoridated toothpaste pose real danger to human health, the biggest threat for fluoride exposure comes from tap and bottled water. 70% of municipal water is treated with fluoride, and people drink this & shower in it, plus it gets drained & flushed away to contaminate the environment. This is a very important topic with a number of factors to it that we will go into in more depth in an upcoming post. 

Potential solutions to limit fluoride exposure or damage:

1. Obviously, stop using fluoridated products.

2. Protect your oral health! Proper oral hygiene, proper diet, & oil pulling are all accessible lifestyle changes you can adopt to take care of your mouth, and eliminate or minimize the need for a dentist.

3. One of the best, if not the best, remedies to fluoride exposure is nascent iodine. This is a required nutrient, and nascent iodine is one of the most important supplements you can take for a myriad of reasons. Iodine is absolutely vital to human health, and just one of it's incredible properties is its ability to detox heavy metals and halogens including fluoride!! If you want to know more about the really profound nature of this element, check out this site: http://www.intothegardenofeden.com/iodine1.html

We hope this will inspire you to do additional research and work towards the best possible health for yourself! 

For additional resources on the topic please check out some of these links:

http://fluoridealert.org/articles/50-reasons/
http://fluoride.mercola.com/
http://www.mbschachter.com/dangers_of_fluoride_and_fluorida.htm

www.intothegardenofeden.com