Around 4.2 trillion gallons of water are seen in the United States each year, but approximately 90% is immediately evaporated or goes to the ocean (McCuen, 1986). In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act after a national debate over the amount of organic chemicals such as chloroform and benzene in drinking water within the United States (McCuen, 1986).One of the other ground water contaminants is fluorine. There is not much fluorine in its elemental state due to its high level of radioactivity and exists in the form of fluorides within minerals and water (WHO, 2004). Fluoride was introduced in water during the last half of the twentieth century and was one of two newer developments that deal with drinking water (Barzilay, 1999). Fluoride is used for protection against cavities and other dental caries and bonds to the enamel on teeth (Barzilay, 1999). Fluoridation is a beneficial achievement for public health and beginning experiments with it established fluoride as effective and as a cost efficient method of helping public health. This cost effective method of fluoridation only costs citizens, on average, anywhere from 30 cents to 2 dollars a year (Walker, 1978). However, only a small amount of the fluoridated water pumped out each year reaches people’s mouths; because, most of the water ends up being used to do personal business like washing dishes. A fluoride concentration of 1 milligram per liter is the perfect amount of fluoride to prevent tooth decay although some of the side effects that fluoride has on people can be dangerous if consumed in too high of concentrations.
Is Your Water Fluoridated?
In the late twentieth century over 60% of the US population had been using fluoridated water. Approximatel...
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...lower and where the climate is generally humid and wet, the concentration of fluoride in water is generally higher. Fluoride, when consumed correctly can pose as a health benefit, but if it is not then it can cause severe health issues and even death.
Works Cited
Barzilay, J. I. (1999). The water we drink. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
Langwith, J. (2010). Water. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.
McCuen, G. E. (1986). Protecting water quality. Hudson, Wisconsin: GEM Publications.
Walker, R. (1978). Water supply, treatment, and distribution. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
WHO. (2000). Chapter 6.5 Fluorides, World Health Organization (WHO), Regional Office of Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.
WHO. (2004). Fluoride in drinking water. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/fluoride.pdf
Stilwell WF, E. N., Stainton PVE. (1957). Commission of Inquiry on the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies. Wellington.
We often say how lucky we are to live in a place where we have access to safe water at any time but what if that was questioned? What if our water isn’t safe; it’s just that now we can’t see the dangers? Throughout the world 25 first world countries fluoridate some amount of their water artificially; almost half of these countries have the majority of their population drinking this chemically enhanced liquid every single day. In the UK 11% of us only have access to fluoridated water [70% in Ireland], and in the USA its 60%. After a quick browse on Google, the information about fluoride that can be learned from the NHS is mainly about teeth and tooth decay as fluoride is put in our toothpaste due to its claimed abilities to help tooth enamel fight attack [nothing has ever alluded to supporting this claim]. What can’t be seen at
All water sources, whether fresh or salt, have varying levels of fluoride (Awofeso, 2012). Around 1945 it was discovered that communities with higher rates of naturally occurring fluoride had lower rates of tooth decay (Dean, 1938) which resulted in the addition of artificial fluoride to public water supplies. The incidence of tooth decay fell drastically in fluoridated communities as a result, leading to widespread adoption of public water fluoridation as a public health strategy.
Fluoride is being overused in the United States and there needs to be a stop to it. With all the problems it is causing, the limit being used should be something everyone should worry about. Many think fluoride is good for you because it whitens your teeth, and dentist offer it every time you go there, but clearly it is not. Fluoride does help with a lot of things like mottling of teeth and whitening teeth, but health problems are occurring, and it needs to come to a stop. Department of Health and Human Services have recommended a level of 0.7 milligrams per liter as a optimal for fluoride in drinking water throughout the United States. (State of Washington) Clearly, they are using more than normal that is it starting to cause a lot of health problems. To finalize, fluoride is being overused in the US, and there needs to be a stop to
Both Barnett’s claim that bottled water is not better than tap water (139-141) and Gleick’s claim that specialized water is not better than tap water (118-120) demonstrate that companies’ claims are unreasonable. Furthermore, consumers assume bottled water is better than tap water because they have the impression that tap water is dangerous because of the tap water incident in “2003 [where] 400,000 people [got] sick” from drinking tap water. One may wonder whether companies use this incident to remind consumers how dangerous tap water is with the way Gleick presents bottled water companies even after the tap water is taken care of. Because Gleick portrays the deception of advertisement from bottled water businesses, he makes it clear that Barnett hints that they are taking advantage of the case by informing consumers that their water is safer than tap water in an indirect, subtle way. However, Barnett ensures readers that tap water are safe to drink again after the incident by proving that both bottled water and tap water are equally safe to drink with a study she provides: The testing from Florida Trend (magazine brand) concludes that Publix brand bottled water and tap water both contains “0.020milligrams per liter [of] THMs (trihalomethanes)”, a “common byproduct…linked to increased risk of cancer” (139-140). Although other bottled water brands may not have
In order to fully understand fluoride, and it's benefits, one must first have an adequate understanding of what the element fluorine is. According to Merriam-Webster, fluorine is a nonmetallic halogen element that is isolated as a pale yellowish flammable irritating toxic diatomic gas. And fluoride is basically the ionic form of the element, fluorine. It's essential role is to help the development of healthy teeth and bones. Fluoride is a trace mineral, meaning that our diet needs it in small amounts. According to the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance), the adequate intake of fluoride for men is 4 mg per day, while women can ingest 3 mg per day, and children 4-8 years of age can consume 2.2 mg per day. We can get fluoride from many reliable sources. Some food sources include, fish, legumes and whole grains. But, nothing seems to scream fluoride quite like municipal water supply,
In conclusion, its recommended that patients brush two-three times a day two minutes long to insure that most of the bacteria is removed from the teeth,gums, and tongue also. Flossing after every meal should also be done regularly because of left foods that get stuck between the teeth. There are many kinds of toothpaste, but not all contain fluorine. Its important that you chose on that does have fluorine because it rebuild tooth enamel and strengthen the tooth too.
Seventy percent of the US population now receives fluoridated drinking water, an industrial grade level chemical most commonly associated with the prevention of tooth decay, and in Virginia especially, 95.7% of all public water is fluoridated (CDC). I present this numbers to your concern because for something that is almost in all public drinking water, it is not informed to the average Virginia citizen, but that is not the primary issue I am addressing you for. My main matter of concern is that more recent studies performed by scientist in the US and abroad are now finally advocating decade old cautions back then just acknowledged as unsubstantial research or even myths on how rather potentially hazardous the fluoridation of water is for
People around the world wake up each morning and brush their teeth with toothpaste, not knowing what's in it. Fluoride is being used in thing’s that shouldn't be, like water. Water is H2O that people around the drink constantly. Some drink more than others, like athlete’s, manual laborer’s, diabetic’s, and people with kidney disease which are exposed to more fluoride than other’s (12 Reasons). All the other water treatment chemicals are added to improve the water for safe drinking, but fluoride does not. How are we supposed to control how much fluoride goes into our bodies’? It’s impossible to control the dose each person receives because each person drinks different amounts of water. Portland Oregon made a agreeable decision to reject the plan to fluoridate drinking water supplies because fluoride is a hazardous, cancer-causing chemical that should not be added to water supplies that serve an entire city.
Expoure to elemental mercury is mostly due to indoor spills, medical waste, and left over mercury from school labs, which is due to humans not pro...
Fluoride in drinking water has been a hot topic in the past decade. Some communities are all for it and some are completely against it. With such a range of opinions on the matter some organizations have took it upon themselves to present the pros and cons of the fluoride to the public so they can make informed decisions. Often times these surveys are bias to one side or the other, so I shall be giving information on both sides of the issue, the future outlook, and my personal opinion in order to help inform you to decide on your own.
areas were lower than expected based on rates found in non-fluoridated areas (Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Fluoride). This study ultimately does not prove a connection between fluoride and osteosarcoma, it merely consists of trends with unknown causes. Other studies done on the topic do not find a connection between fluoride intake and osteosarcoma. The U.S. Public Health Service, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the International and American Associations for Dental Research, have all reviewed data or done studies on fluoride and cancer and they all came to the conclusion that there is no evidence to suggest that fluoride causes cancer (“Does Fluoride Cause
Since the implementation of artificially introducing fluoride into water, a great amount of resistance has taken place. Many people claim that fluoridating community water sources can cause not only dental fluorosis, but a multitude of adverse systemic conditions. This perception has led to many political battles on the subject. The problems associated with fluoride ingestion tend to present when concentrations are higher that generally accepted. In communities with natural high fluoride concentrations, adverse effects have range from dental and skeletal fluorosis to decreased birth rates, increased kidney stones, impaired thyroid function, and lower intelligence (Chen, 2013, p. 1). These tend to be the concerns of the opposition to community fluoridation of water supplies. However, these concerns may not be scientifically sound.
Water Fluoridation is a controversial topic that holds a wide range of views . Fluoride is an element that strengthens the tooth enamel and therefore reduces the risk of caries. Caries is a scientific word for tooth decay, a process involving bacteria in dental plaque metabolising the carbohydrates in the food to produce acid that demineralises the tooth, and eventually leading to cavity formation, which requires complex and quite painful treatment such as fillings and extractions . If tooth decay can be prevented, the cost of NHS dealing with patients would be reduced. At present only certain areas of the UK are fluoridated including parts of the West Midlands, Newcastle and Southampton. This means that only 10% of the population have fluoridated water, but why is that the case? Many people are against the idea of having fluoridated water because fluoride is poisonous to humans and needs to be controlled. However, the optimum levels of fluoride are only 1 part per million of water – low enough not to cause any side effects. The idea of water fluoridation to some people seems like a mass medication for the whole population, and in theory it shouldn’t be carried out in practice, as every individual requires different and personalised treatment to meet their dental needs. Moreover, too much fluoride can cause fluorosis in developing teeth (sometimes called ‘mottled teeth’), which are white stains that appear on
Fluoride to strengthen tooth enamel and remineralize enamel in the early stages of tooth decay.