The answer is yes. Don’t believe everything you hear!
A patient of mine brought up a very interesting subject recently. (Thanks, Karen!) She listens to a radio program on the weekends hosted by a supposed health expert (turns out that he’s a chiropractor in Fairfax). During the program, he discusses various issues about health and well-being. The topic of one of his recent broadcasts was fluoride use. His contention was that not only is fluoride useless, it can actually cause injury. He claims that large organizations, such as the American Dental Association, are working hard on suppressing evidence and research that indicates that fluoride use can cause harm to humans.
To be perfectly blunt, these assertions are ridiculous. This guy is doing nothing more than playing on the fear of some people that have a poorly-understood malady, diagnosed or not. These people are impressionable to suggestions that there is some conspiracy involving government, corporations, and/or large organizations that are out to get them. Remember when, in the early 1960s, some cities were beginning to fluoridate their water supply? The public started a large outcry that this was a conspiracy. They thought the Soviet government was actually behind it because fluoride would lower the IQ level in the American population. Same type of argument here.
To sum it up, there is a preponderance of evidence that not only is fluoride (in appropriate concentrations) safe, but also effective in helping to prevent dental decay. I can cite study after study, going back some 60 years, that prove this. Please don’t listen to these charlatans, and please feel safe to drink fluoridated water, use fluoridated toothpaste, etc. It will help to prevent dental disease.
