Drinking Water Fluoridation Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Fluoride is one of the most abundant natural elements on earth, and is found in U.S. drinking water. Fluoride is located in the earth’s crust as well as in the air and water. Fluoride is also a nutritional source for our body; it maintains our body’s proper development and growth. The addition of fluoride to drinking water has been shown to assist in maintaining oral health by preventing tooth decays, when it is at a level prescribed as safe.

Originally, researchers and scientists found that the people living near drinking water supplies with natural enhanced fluoride levels close to 1.0 part per million (ppm) had fewer visits to the dentist for cavities than those who did not. Normally, the level of naturally occurring fluoride is usually too low to benefit oral health. Fluoridation is the process that augments naturally occurring levels of fluoride in drinking water so that the element is effective in preventing tooth decay.

Usually when the level of natural fluoride in water is greater than 0.7 ppm, then that water is considered to be naturally fluoridated. Throughout the United States today, 67.3 percent of the population has access to fluoridated water, mostly through the water fluoridation process. Grand Rapids, Michigan, was the first city to have manually adjusted the water fluoride level to 1.0 ppm in 1945.

Fluoridation of drinking water not only reduces tooth decay, in some cases it prevents teeth from decaying at all. It works by combining with saliva in the mouth to form a protective coating on topmost layer of human teeth, known as tooth enamel. Fluoride not only can help prevent cavities while the teeth are still developing, but even after the teeth have been completely developed.

Though there are many who praise the benefits of fluoridation, others are opposed to the idea of altering the percentage of fluoride in drinking water. Experiments were done on rats at different ages and those who were given the same dosage of fluoride had different results, depending on their age. The results of the experiments showed that those who were exposed to the fluoride before birth were hyperactive throughout their lives while others suffered depression. Some of the experiment subjects were even found to have brain and kidney damage. The level of fluoride in the water given the rats was 1.0 ppm, the same level that is considered the beneficial for humans. The reactions from the rats were considered toxic effects and humans could possibly have similar reactions. Throughout the United States today, many associations dispute the health benefits and potential negative effects of fluoridation.

Bibliography:

Christopher Bryson and Theo Col Fluoride Deception (Seven Stories Press, 2004);
Fluoride Action Network, www.fluoridealert.org;
National Research Council, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards (National Academies Press, 2006).