Fluoride and the brain

Fluoride is very similar to aluminum in that it’s used very frequently despite its potentially harmful effects. Luckily, fluoride’s harmful effects are more well-known, but unfortunately, fluoride is used significantly more.

Why Fluoride

The vast majority of Americans use toothpaste with fluoride as the active ingredient to clean their teeth and prevent cavities. According to Gemini (couldn’t find a specific number on Google), well over 90% of Americans regularly use fluoride toothpaste. In 2020, 72.7% of the population that received water from community water systems received fluoridated water.

The reason why almost all dentists recommend fluoride toothpaste and many state/local governments add fluoride to the water supply is that it’s good at protecting your teeth. By inhibiting demineralization of enamel and plaque bacteria and promoting remineralization, fluoride can greatly help prevent cavities. There are a lot of harmful side effects, but arguably, these authority figures are making a relatively good choice because the effects of bad oral hygiene are comparable to that of the side effects of fluoride mentioned, possibly even worse, so at a population level view, fluoride toothpaste might have brought more good than harm.

However, this is for a population level. Fluoride for someone who could use a fluoride-free alternative (such as nano-hydroxyapatite) and brush and eat well so they don’t get cavities or periodontal disease, will only bring harms.

Harms of Fluoride

When you brush your teeth for two minutes twice a day, a portion of toothpaste will sit at the bottom of your mouth due to gravity and absorb directly into your bloodstream through the bottom of your tongue and your gums. Toothpaste. along with exposure to fluoridated water numerous times everyday, is problematic.

One study in JAMA Pediatrics found that prenatal fluoride exposure had a strong effect on IQ in children. A 1 mg/L increase in the mother’s urinary fluoride is associated with a 4.5 IQ drop. Other studies have found a similar significant negative association between fluoride exposure and IQ. One study found that there was a 7 IQ point difference between children in high-fluoride areas and low-fluoride areas.

While these studies are all correlative, take note that fluoride has consistently shown to be neurotoxic. Fluoride exposure in adult mice is linked to impaired memory, anxiety-like behavior, and depression-like behavior. I’m guessing some people will say, “I use fluoride. My memory is fine. I don’t have anxiety and I don’t have depression. In fact, I think my mind is better than most people!” The issue with that logical response is that these mental problems are relative and if you have these for a while, it will be the baseline, so you WILL feel normal and that fluoride hasn’t really done anything. It’s also difficult to determine a conclusion if you’re comparing yourself to OTHER people who use fluoride.

There’s also issues with other organs. A study of 7935 general practices in the UK found that the odds of hypothyroidism were 1.37 times higher in areas with water fluoride levels 0.3-0.7 mg/L than less than 0.3 mg/L. Fluoride also accumulates strongly in the pineal gland, leading to reduced melatonin production and early puberty.

Many European countries have rejected water fluoridation, and Japan has made nano-hydroxyapatite (which is better at mineralization) the gold standard instead of fluoride. Feel free to do whatever you want.