I prefer my water without a dose of forced medication.
Discussion
But how will you prevent cavities Mrs. DDS?
Fluoride or hydroxyapatite directly on my teeth rather than ingesting it.
I'm pretty sure you can stop putting it directly on your teeth as well. I mean, I know you're a dentist and all. But yeah.
Hydroxyapatite toothpaste has made fluoride unnecessary for those who want to avoid it. My husband and I practiced near a large chiropractic school for 27 years and saw horrendous outcomes from these students who suddenly went fluoride free. If you eat carbohydrates regularly, are decay prone and/ or have a lot of dental restorations, you need either fluoride or hydroxyapatite applied topically daily.
Cool. I'm in no place to disagree. But can you point to a study that confirms this?
That hydroxyapatite is equally effective or that topical fluoride reduces decay?
I even used a topical silver fluoride in our practice and that reversed decay on contact. Usually took two applications.
My family has never used fluoride or the other additive you mentioned. Our water source doesn't have it (luckily) and we avoid it in our toothpastes.
We are a fairly typical American family otherwise, so we don't have the best diet, though we do avoid some of the more egregious sugar-based items like sodas, etc. We certainly eat too many carbs.
Anyway, we don't have tooth problems. This is purely anecdotal of course.
On a side note, many of my sons friends do have tooth decay issues despite using fluoride toothpastes. The dentists in my area even recommend fluoride pills for those of us within the fluoride free water district. We don't take it, but many do.
I'm not saying that fluoride doesn't work. But I am pretty skeptical based on my experience.
Genetics do impact decay. Some ethnicities have higher rates of decay and gum disease due to their common oral bacterial composition.
You are simply lucky. Studies and history are clear that fluoride reduces the rate of caries. Fluoridated water programs worked at reducing decay because they began before fluoride toothpaste were widely used. That being said, I do not believe it should be ingested. It even says so on your toothpaste.
I'd love to see some of thise studies. Last time I searched for them, the only ones I could find were 50+ years old and unconvincing.
Thanks for engaging with me. I'll look this over. We definitely agree that fluoride is a personal choice and forced medication is dystopia at best. Happy to be following you, Dr.
Right wing extremism (to not want forced medication) 😜
