In Flupride s Fluoride early Fluoride, H. Centers for Disease Fluoride and Prevention Fluoride be Fljoride of 10 great Fluoride Flkoride Fluoride Fluorid the Fluoride century". In Flyoride Fluoride, the Cochrane Collaboration—a Insulin pump tubing independent network of researchers and health care professionals known for rigorous scientific reviews of public health policies—published an analysis of 20 key studies on water fluoridation. Kids under age 6 should not use rinses with fluoride because they may swallow it. Institute of Medicine has established Dietary Reference Intakes for fluoride: Adequate Intake values range from 0. Your doctor or dentist can help you decide if your child needs fluoride supplements.

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In the context of human health, fluoride is mainly used to improve dental health. You can sometimes find it in your local water supply and in many over-the-counter OTC products, including:. If you tend to get a lot of cavities, your dentist might suggest using a prescription mouth rinse with fluoride.

These rinses usually have a higher concentration of fluoride than OTC options do. When bacteria in your mouth break down sugar and carbs, they produce acids that eat away at the minerals in your tooth enamel.

This loss of minerals is called demineralization. Weakened tooth enamel leaves your teeth vulnerable to bacteria that cause cavities. Fluoride helps to remineralize your tooth enamel, which can prevent cavities and reverse early signs of tooth decay.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , the average number of missing or decaying teeth in year-old children in the United States dropped by 68 percent from the late s through the early s.

This followed the introduction to, and expansion of, fluoridated water in communities, and the addition of fluoride to toothpastes and other dental products. While fluoride is a naturally occurring compound, it can still cause side effects when consumed in large doses.

Dental fluorosis happens when you consume too much fluoride while your teeth are still forming under your gums. This results in white spots on the surface of your teeth. It tends to affect only children under the age of 8 who have permanent teeth still coming in.

Children are also more likely to swallow toothpaste, which contains significantly more fluoride than fluoridated water. Skeletal fluorosis is similar to dental fluorosis, but it involves bones instead of teeth.

Early symptoms include joint pain and stiffness. Over time, it can alter bone structure and cause the calcification of ligaments.

It tends to result from long-term exposure to high levels of fluoride, often in drinking water. Several things can cause excessive fluoride in water, including accidental contamination from fires or explosions.

Some areas, including large parts of Africa and Asia, also have large geologic deposits of fluoride, which can contaminate water supplies. In the case of a year-old American man with skeletal fluorosis, experts concluded it was likely due to swallowing toothpaste. Researchers from around the world have conducted hundreds of studies that look at the safety of adding low concentrations of fluoride to drinking water.

However, some people claim that fluoridated water causes a variety of health problems, including:. The research behind these claims is mixed. For example, a study found that childhood exposure to fluoridated water was linked to higher rates of bone cancer in males.

Studies looking at the link between fluoride and low IQ scores in children also have mixed results. A review of existing research concluded that there may be a link between the two, but noted that more large, high-quality studies are needed.

Not every city in the United States fluoridates its drinking water. The decision about whether or not to fluoridate is made by each city. However, the CDC has a tool you can use to check your local water supply if you live in certain states.

This tool will tell you whether your city fluoridates its water. Fluoride in trace amounts is essential for normal bone growth. It stimulates bone-building cells called osteoblasts and hormones such as insulin-like growth factor. In adults, however, the research does not support the use of fluoride supplements to prevent fractures or improve bone density such as for osteopenia or osteoporosis.

A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of postmenopausal women with osteopenia early bone loss followed for one year found that compared with the placebo, fluoride supplements of varying amounts showed no changes in bone mineral density.

Chronic excessive intakes of fluoride can lead to skeletal fluorosis, a condition that causes bone changes ranging from osteoporosis significant bone loss to osteosclerosis abnormal hardening of bone that occurs from an increase in bone-building osteoblast cells and increased risk of fractures.

Trace amounts of fluoride are found naturally in various foods, though people obtain most fluoride from fluoridated water and toothpastes.

Brewed black tea and coffee naturally contain fluoride as the plants absorb the mineral in soil. Shellfish may contain fluoride that collects in their shells and muscles. Questions have been posed about the continued need for and safety of community fluoridated water, with concerns about ingesting excessive fluoride and potential negative health effects.

Adding fuel to the fire, a top medical journal labeled fluoride as a human developmental neurotoxicant, placing it in the same category as toxic metals like lead and arsenic. A more contentious claim suggests that ingesting excess fluoride largely from community fluoridated water causes cognitive deficits and lowered intelligence in children.

A comprehensive review of epidemiological, animal, and laboratory studies found an association, but the authors noted various confounding factors present that may have contributed to cognitive deficits, including low birth weight, socioeconomic status, and exposure to other neurotoxic chemicals.

However, these high levels were considered toxic and a likely contributor to the deficits. Lower fluoride amounts of mg per liter in other animal studies are still much higher than that provided in community fluoridated water. Another criticism is that cross-sectional observational studies are not intended to make direct cause-and-effect conclusions.

Some scientists argue that IQs overall have increased since introducing community fluoridated water, although improved education and early intervention services are other likely contributors.

In adults, there is concern of the accumulation of excess fluoride in bones that may increase the risk of fractures. Research has shown mixed results, from a positive association, to no association, to even a protective effect of fluoride. A meta-analysis looking at 13 cohort studies did not find an association of exposure to fluoride from drinking water ranging from 7 to 44 years and an increased risk of hip fractures in older adults.

Bone formation also decreases with age, so less fluoride is absorbed and needed by bone tissue. In contrast, a cohort study published in looking at the association of fractures in postmenopausal women and fluoride as measured in urine and dietary intakes found higher rates of hip fractures when comparing the highest to lowest intakes of fluoride and urinary fluoride.

The mean dietary intake was about 2 mg daily that included drinking water fluoridated at about 1 mg per liter. There also remains a question of potential health risks with specific conditions, such as kidney disease in which people may not be able to excrete excess fluoride if exposed, increasing the risk of toxicity.

There is also a risk of fluoride causing chronic kidney disease CKD , as shown in studies of people exposed to excessive fluoride due to unusually high levels in the groundwater who develop CKD. Still, fluoride is required by the body in only trace amounts, and it is unclear of the effects of lifetime exposure to fluoride through community water and fluoride-supplemented dental products in specific situations such as CKD.

More research is needed to see the health effects of fluoride in people with CKD and if they may benefit from limiting the ingestion of fluoride. Water has been fluoridated in the U. and in other countries since the s, and research to date has not shown negative health consequences for the general population that outweigh its protective benefits.

Because of the known risk of severe health problems in children and adults associated with dental caries, national health organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , the American Academy of Pediatrics AAP and the American Dental Association ADA continue to support the safety, effectiveness, and cost effectiveness of community fluoridated water.

Fluoride is not considered an essential nutrient but plays an important role in dental and possibly bone health. A deficiency of fluoride can lead to dental caries and potentially bone problems. See the section on Fluoride and Health. Infants and children who ingest more fluoride than needed can cause dental fluorosis.

This condition only occurs as teeth are forming, producing permanent white spots or lines on teeth. In more severe cases, enamel may be lost and cause a brown staining of teeth; cases like these rarely occur in communities where community fluoridated water contains less than 2 mg per liter U.

It can be prevented by having children brush no more than twice a day with a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste, and to spit out fluoride toothpaste and mouthwashes rather than swallow. This is especially important for children younger than 6 years old, who are at increased risk of dental fluorosis, and for children younger than 2 years old, who are more likely to swallow toothpastes and mouthwashes.

A true fluoride toxicity is rare but may occur from excessive fluoride in water, whether occurring naturally or added, or accidental overconsumption of fluoride supplements.

This process of testing the water supply for fluoride and adjusting it to the right amount to prevent cavities is called community water fluoridation.

Because of its contribution to the dramatic decline in tooth decay over the past 75 years , CDC named community water fluoridation as 1 of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.

See where your state ranks in percent of the population that receives water with fluoride. Community water fluoridation has been shown to save money, both for families and the health care system.

The return on investment for community water fluoridation varies with size of the community, increasing as the community size increases. Community water fluoridation is cost-saving, even for small communities. Learn more about this goal. Learn more about fluoride and its role in oral health at the CDC podcast: Go With the Flow.

Effectiveness of fluoride in preventing caries in adults. J Dent Res. On the epidemiology of fluorine and dental caries. In: Gies WJ, ed. Fluorine in Dental Public Health. New York, NY: New York Institute of Clinical Oral Pathology.

Effect of fluoridated public water supply on dental caries prevalence. Public Health Rep.

Fluoride Fluoride kids develop Healthy mindset, strong Fluorlde. It also Fluoride prevent cavities tiny holes in the teeth. Fluoride Fluiride Fluoride a Fluorids found in water sources and soil. Fluoride is added to the water in the United States and other countries. It is also found in some toothpastes, mouth rinses, and vitamin supplements. Fluoride strengthens teeth enamel. The enamel is the hard outer covering of the teeth.