Why I use toothpaste sans fluoride
I got an add on MySpace from Conspiracy Clothes, which makes t-shirts with messages the government doesn’t want you to know. One of them is about the dangers of fluoride, which I knew about, but the references outline way more problems than I knew.
My last dentist and hygienists insisted to me that fluoride does some good. Well it certainly doesn’t do any good in water. Given what the sources above say about its effects, it can’t be doing any good in toothpaste, either. (My first dentist refused to do a white filling in one of my cavities when I was about 11, caused by a glued-in retainer in the top, and instead put in amalgam against my wishes. He said it was too hard to reach. I have since had it all removed.)
5 years ago I switched from whatever usual fluoridated toothpaste I used (Crest was the last one, I think), to Sensodyne that doesn’t have fluoride. (I have to use toothpaste for sensitive teeth thanks to my TMJ.) I got in the habit of NOT brushing my teeth before school because it dried out my mouth; this stuff doesn’t. It also doesn’t feel like sandpaper. Anyway, the point is… I haven’t seen some drastic increase in tooth decay since. I’ve had a couple cavities filled, but they appeared maybe a year and a half ago, way at the back (so it was my fault) in my remaining wisdom teeth, which were removed just before Christmas. My next check-up was in May, and I had no cavities. Absolutely nothing has changed in my habits or diet since before I switched. As far as I know, water here isn’t fluoridated.
A hygienist tried to tell me that kids in Ontario, where the water is fluoridated, have lower rates of decay. BS. “Contrary to public opinion, medical studies show that fluoride has little to no long term positive effects on tooth decay. In addition, its ‘benefits’ are only topical (i.e. brushing teeth) not systemic (swallowed). Except for the little that would touch the teeth while drinking, it is totally worthless to put fluoride in the water.”
If you really want to talk about people with lower rates of tooth decay, read this.