Are There Actually Health Benefits of Fluoride?

Earlier I wrote a quite large article on the negative aspects of fluoride on your health. I thought it was only fair to examine the possible health benefits fluoride might pose to the body. My family and I recently bought an acreage and built a house in the country. We have a personal well and were debating whether or not to fluoridate it. I began to do some research and came up with some troubling health information right off the bat. Just to make sure I wasn't only getting one side of the story, I decided to explore the positive health aspects of fluoride as well. This article explains the only fluoride health benefits I have found for the human body.

Tooth decay is greatly reduced by the use of fluoride. Most professionals agree that fluoridated water is the most cost-effective way to prevent decay. It allows families who cannot afford fluoridated toothpastes, supplements, and fluoride mouthwashes the same dental health benefits as those who can. There are many studies that show a decline in dental carries in communities with fluoridated drinking water.

Children's dental health definitely benefits from fluoride. In the some cases, fluoridated water has reduced dental carries in children by 60 percent. However, these astonishing dental health results were found in the 1940's. In the present day, the percent decline of dental carries is not as astonishing. This is because children without fluoridated water are still exposed to fluoride health benefits through the use of toothpaste, mouthwash, food, etc.

Scientists have been trying to prove for many years that fluoride can be a treatment for osteoporosis. However, no conclusive evidence has been shown. The FDA has concluded that fluoride is not effective in the reduction of vertebra fractures. I find this study quite humorous because in my previous article I discussed that communities with fluoridated water have a significant amount more osteoporosis cases than communities without fluoridated water. How can an element treat a disease it has helped to create?