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The end of the year is a traditional time for reflection, and if fluoride were able to reflect, it would have to admit that it had a no good, very bad year.
For one, a federal judge ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must review fluoride’s risk to children’s developing brains.
US District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.
Around the same time, new studies dropped, suggesting that fluoridated water seems to be doing less to prevent decay in kids. One of these was an updated review from Cochrane, widely considered to be one of the most reliable sources for medical science.
Just before that, a British study compared the dental records of children who lived in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities and found that exposure to fluoride meant just 3% fewer dental treatments. DMFT scores – a measure of Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth – were just 2% lower in the fluoride group. That’s it. And it’s not much.
To top it off, a recent analysis of US census data showed that kids who drank fluoridated water before the age of five were slightly more likely to struggle in adulthood – less likely to finish high school, join the military, or support themselves financially. Their physical health wasn’t as good, and a small number were found more likely to wind up in jail.
These differences, the author noted, obliterated about two-thirds of the benefits gained from a program like food stamps. “The net effect of fluoride is negative,” he wrote;
Even at levels previously thought to be safe, the tooth-strengthening effect of fluoride provides less benefit than fluoride’s corresponding negative impact on other determinants of health and economic self-sufficiency. While it is difficult to disentangle all the mechanisms at play, the observed decrease in high school graduation rates is consistent with negative cognitive effects.
Fortunately, fluoride isn’t an essential nutrient when it comes to tooth remineralization. In fact, your saliva is consistently delivering minerals to your tooth enamel to replace those lost to acid or wear. Calcium and phosphorus are the main ones, but trace minerals like zinc are also important. Certain vitamins are also needed to make sure your body processes these nutrients properly, with D3 and K2 being the most important. Simply eating a healthy, nutrient-dense diet – one centered on whole foods, with minimal added sugars and hyper-processed carbs – can get a lot of the job done (especially when combined with other core oral health habits).
The calcium and phosphorus come together to form hydroxyapatite, the main component of tooth enamel, which is formed in tiny crystalline structures that are tightly packed together. This structure is what makes enamel so strong and able to protect your teeth so well.
And increasingly, you can get it through toothpaste, including brands such as Risewell, Boka, Dr. Jen, and Wellnesse. Yes, they’re slightly more expensive than your average tube of Crest or Colgate, but they deliver what your teeth actually need without problem ingredients such as fluoride and SLS.
And science continues to show that it is highly effective.
Just recently, a new review of that science appeared in the Journal of Dentistry. Searching a few of the most important databases of biomedical research, its authors found 18 studies that compared the results of hydroxyapatite products against those of fluoridated products or placebos and measured the incidence of decay. Thirteen of these studies were also included in a meta-analysis.
As Dr. Bicuspid reported,
Clinical studies have consistently shown that HAP [hydroxyapatite] toothpaste can be as effective as fluoride in preventing dental caries. Early trials demonstrated a 35% to 56% reduction in caries among children using 5% HAP toothpaste compared to placebo. Later studies showed 10% HAP to be as effective as fluoride in slowing enamel caries in orthodontic patients, and HAP was more effective than fluoride for remineralizing white-spot lesions postorthodontics, according to the results.
The study authors thus concluded that
As a sole active ingredient, considered safe if swallowed, hydroxyapatite is an ideal substitute for fluoride in toothpaste and mouthwash tailored for young children, and new data as presented in this review, demonstrated that hydroxyapatite-based oral care products can be used by people of all ages.
Bye-bye, fluoride.
