In order to prevent further dental problems, the Department of Human Health Services and the Environmental Protection Agency released a joint announcement (January 7, 2011) stating the recommended level of fluoride in the U.S. drinking water supplies should be lowered. These two governmental agencies recommended that municipal water supplies should contain 0.7mg of fluoride per liter of water which replaces the current recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2mg/liter.
Why the change? The U.S. government was concerned about the large number of children suffering from fluorosis. Excess fluoride consumption during childhood (the tooth forming years) can cause the teeth to become pitted and stained due to excess fluoride. Estimates are that at least 30% of U.S. children are suffering from fluorosis. There is no treatment for fluorosis as dentists must use crowns or bonding agents to cosmetically fix the problem. I have seen many young people with signs of fluorosis.
If the U.S. government was concerned about our health, it would remove fluoride from our water supply. Ingesting fluoride through our water supply has never been shown to prevent cavities. In fact, most Western countries have removed fluoride from their water supply. The World Health Organization has shown that there is no difference in cavity formation in countries that fluoridate their water supply as compared to countries that do not fluoridate.
There is no known medical or dental benefit to ingesting fluoride in the diet. In fact, there are zero studies that show ingesting fluoride has any large benefit at preventing cavities. However, there are many studies that show fluoridated communities have higher hip fractures, more cancer and elevated thyroid disorders. If the U.S. government was looking out for us, the citizens, it would undertake the proper studies to ascertain the safety and efficacy of fluoride.
The form of fluoride added to our water supply is a byproduct of industrial manufacturing. It is a toxic form of fluoride. It should be handled as a toxic item and not be placed into our water supply.
Fluoride is a very toxic substance that has been shown to cause problems with the thyroid gland and increase oxidant stress on the body. Fluoride interferes with the body’s usage of iodine. In fact, supplementing with iodine can help the body remove fluoride. Fluoride has been shown to poison over 200 different enzymes in the body. This does not sound like a substance that I would like added to the water supply. It doesn’t make biochemical sense, hormonal sense, or common sense to add a known carcinogen and toxin (i.e, fluoride) to our water supply.
My experience has shown that patients with chronic illness improve their condition when they remove fluoride from their diet. Finally, all patients suffering with thyroid problems should remove fluoride their diet.
Dr. Brownstein,
Of your patients who have been drinking unfiltered fluoridated water for many years, have you found a range of time which it takes for them to bring their fluoride levels excreted in urine, using the Iodine Loading Test, to within a “normal” range while taking 50 mg. of Iodine/Iodide ?
I drank unfiltered fluoridated water for the first 20 years of my life, and it took nearly 2 years to get my fluoride excretion to normal, and my iodine excretion level >90%, all the while ingesting 50 mg. Iodine/Iodide daily. We are spearheading a movement to remove fluoride from our water supply in Marquette, and I know you have done thousands of Iodine Loading Tests with your patients. If you could please share your findings, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all you do to educate the public on critical health issues. We are grateful for all of your work!
Valerie Olson
Wellness Centre of Marquette
HI Val,
Tell my UP friends “hello!”
Fluoride (Fl) is the most electronegative halide–therefore the most reactive. The body knows that and tries to hide it away with most being stored in the bones. Unless we do bone biopsies, I am not sure if we can truly know how much Fl is in the body.
As for the loading test and Fl, you are correct–it takes a few years for Fl levels to fall. The reason it takes so long for iodine levels to increase is due to the toxic load of both Fl and bromide that we have in our bodies.
DrB
John,
I had one patient complain of a similar problem. I sent her to the dentist who said she had porous teeth. He had her scrub her teeth with gritty toothpaste afer she took the iodine. This solved the problem. Also, patients with porous teeth should not take liquid iodine; they should take capsules only.
I have been taking 50 mg of Iodine/iodide per day for several months in an attempt to bring my 24 hour urine iodine loading test to normal. I began to notice that my teeth were turning brown, the color of the iodine tablet, more so in the center of the front teeth than the edges. I stopped using the iodine for two months and the color returned 75% back to normal. Then I started the iodine again and a month later the teeth turned brown. So I decided to continue the iodine, but this time add in 400mg extra calcium in a tablet. The calcium has allowed my teeth to return to about 80% of there normal color.
I’m wondering if flourosis can be reversed by repleating the body with iodine???
-John