this post was submitted on 09 May 2024
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First let me be clear: I'm not a crazy conspiracy person (...on this) I just don't rely on a municipal well. As far as I know adding fluoride to the private well at my houses is not a thing, good or bad. I did drink municipal water for two years when I lived on campus in college.

That said, is fluoride a benefit to adults or just children?

When I was a kid I got fluoride treatments at the dentist, but then aged out. I've never had a cavity in forty years, but I'd like to keep it that way. Should I still be doing it?

Also no, I'm not using the internet as a substitute for a dentist, just my next dental appointment is in four months. TIA

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[–] bolexforsoup@lemmy.blahaj.zone 118 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)
[–] pb42184@lemmy.world 21 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Wow, that does sound political!

Again, I'm not at all talking about additives to municipal water. That's clearly good. Just since my houses don't have it I'm curious if there's a missed opportunity for better.

Seems like "yes but small" given already using fluoridated toothpaste

[–] bolexforsoup@lemmy.blahaj.zone 23 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

sadfsdfasfasf

[–] Cort@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago

You can always add a fluoride mouthwash to your routine if you're worried.

[–] dustyData@lemmy.world 32 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Everyone, even dogs benefit from fluoride in the water. It's not just children. Virtually all toothpaste contains it too. Some groundwater sources also contain it naturally, some even above the recommended max level from health associations. So I'd say, document yourself with official sources. Test your well levels, then decide. Be mindful that regular consumption of soft drinks, processed foods and even air conditioning nullifies the effects for cavities.

[–] QualifiedKitten@lemmy.world 31 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Be mindful that ... air conditioning nullifies the effects for cavities.

Got any sources for that? My admittedly very brief search just turned up a bunch of stuff about ventilation and COVID/aerosols.

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[–] pb42184@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Thanks. The fluoride in the water itself is not directly relevant because I just don't have it, but good evidence to raise the topic with my dentist as an adult. I definitely use fluoridated toothpaste.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago (4 children)

Yeah, if it's in toothpaste you're getting enough.

If you wanted to add fluoride like after you doing well treatment...

I honestly don't know if that's a good idea, because who knows how evenly it'll stay mixed correctly.

Like. You may end up getting a shit ton of fluoride when there's no rain and your wells low, then barely any when it fills up.

Fluoride toothpaste is likely your best bet for consistent doses.

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[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

Here in Germany, fluoride is ~~mandated by law~~ recommended to be added to table salt, so I assume it is good to have in general.

However, regular toothpaste as well as many mouthwashes contain fluoride. In particular, they can contain a much higher dosis, because you spit it back out, so if you're worried about your teeth, these are definitely the way to go.

[–] leds@feddit.dk 10 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Here in Germany, fluoride is mandated by law to be added to table salt, so I assume it is good to have in general.

Isn't that iodine?

[–] Toine@sh.itjust.works 11 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Both exists, and salt can have both. Fluor in the salt is quite specific to Germany and a few other countries though.

[–] leds@feddit.dk 3 points 7 months ago

Interesting! Thanks

[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago

Hmm, yeah, seems like only iodine is actually mandated by law. My table salt does have fluoride, but apparently that's an optional add-on.

I believe, I rarely see salt without fluoride in the shops, but that could be a regional thing (other regions might have more fluoride naturally in their tap water).

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[–] johny_joe_1975@discuss.online 15 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Yes, keep using toothpaste with flouride.

I tried toothpaste without flouride. It hurt my teeth after weeks (i.e: i also heavy drinking sweet drink like pepsi and snack at night, At night, I brush my teeth always before sleep or after snack.).

[–] Habahnow@sh.itjust.works 5 points 7 months ago

I did as well. Same symptoms and on my next dentist visit, the dentist had noticed my sensitivity. Back to flouride tooth paste. I switched mainly because I wanted a tooth paste that was in a refillable container or used less plastic. Alas, I have to pick my health as a priority over helping the environment.

[–] johny_joe_1975@discuss.online 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I have never have a flouride treatment. I don't know what is it until you mention.

[–] Bizarroland@kbin.social 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Next time you get your teeth cleaned at the dentist, which you should be doing every 6 months or so, ask them to give you a fluoride treatment. They literally just brush this minty sweet stuff onto your teeth and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes.

The fluoride will leech into your teeth and help reinforce any weak spots to decrease the likelihood of developing cavities.

I mean, if you're a conspiracy theorist then in theory it will calcify your third eye as well, but I have no way of verifying that claim, or even proving that the third eye exists other than the pineal gland in your brain, and I've never heard of anyone's pineal gland being calcified.

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[–] hperrin@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yes, the benefit doesn’t vary by age. Flouridated water prevents cavities throughout your life.

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[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I grew up in a house with well water, no fluoride. I've had a million cavities, and my dentist suggested that was a contributing factor, although certainly diet and genetics are too.

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Also, wish I had a link to the article, but I was reading about how whether you "have" a cavity depends on your dentist's interpretation of the x-rays and their philosophy about treatment. Some dentists will see a light area and say "let's fill that before it gets worse" and others will note it and see how things develop. It was actually pretty alarming because sounds like professional standards for dentistry are looser than some other areas of medicine, and the description rang true for some of the dentists I've seen.

[–] pb42184@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

This is definitely a thing. I mentioned no cavities, but I have had some "slight decalcification we might want to address before it gets worse" that then got better on their own.

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Yeah, I would much prefer if someone framed it that way than "you have decay, let's schedule an appointment for a filling"

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[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 5 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Grew up in a well water house, we were prescribed fluoride pills.

First cavity came at 36

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[–] pb42184@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I think that's why my dentist gave me fluoride treatments as a child. Have you gotten any as an adult?

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I think I had one treatment as an adult. But a dental hygienist recommended rinsing every night with the purple Listerine that has fluoride in it, which... hasn't hurt? I think it's doing the trick and I haven't had more cavities since, but of course couldn't say for sure if that's why.

[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 months ago

Interesting, I get a fluoride treatment at the dentist every time. It’s just part of the thing, why I can’t eat for 45 minutes after.

[–] Waldowal@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The scientific concensus is certainly 'Yes', but my own personal experience backs that up. I struggled with cavities well into my 30s, especially while at college where I mostly drank distilled water I bought in jugs at the grocery store (the local water supply had frequent issues I was trying to avoid). At some point, my dentist put me on a high-fluoride toothpaste, and the cavities basically stopped. The extra fluoride seems to have a definitive effect for me.

[–] dan1101@lemm.ee 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Too late now but I don't think you're supposed to drink distilled water. It lacks the minerals your teeth and body need.

[–] Devi@kbin.social 8 points 7 months ago (6 children)

It's worse than that, RODI water as it is just pure H2O it's desperate to bond to anything it can so it grabs minerals from your body as it passes through.

[–] The_v@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago (2 children)

You don't drink it straight, you make coffee with it. That extra grabby power passing through coffee grounds makes a noticeable difference.

[–] Pronell@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Are you telling me there's a way for me to become more of a coffee snob?!

Edit: Google says it's not this way and makes for weak coffee.

[–] Please_Do_Not@lemm.ee 3 points 7 months ago

Check out 3rd Wave Water, you can take coffee snobbery to heights you've never imagined...

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[–] Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I've never heard of floride treating a well. But wouldn't it be better to add floride after the filter etc, for more consistent dosage?

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[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

This is the wrong question.

You should be asking, "While flouride helps other people, does it hurt me or is it all-good?"

Because, really, that's the only part that matters.

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[–] feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Do you even know how much fluoride is in your water? Sometimes it's naturally high, that's how they figured out it was good for your teeth.

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[–] sxan@midwest.social 4 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I moved to Germany in my late 20’s and lived there for 2 years. I went with perfect teeth; I returned with several cavities. My brushing habits did not change, and while you could blame my cavities on several factors (the food was different; I drank way more beer; I got two years older), I've always attributed it to the fact that Germany does not fluoridate their municipal water - and everyone drinks bottled water anyway. At least, the crowd I ran with did. It's been years, but as I remember, you didn't get water at restaurants unless you asked, and then if you did, you got bottled water. In any case, I went from drinking fluoridated water regularly to zero flouride except what was in the toothpaste. And, honestly, I don't remember paying much attention to which toothpaste I bought, and many don't have flouride in them.

So, yeah. It's just one anecdote, and there could have been many other factors, but it convinced me about the importance of flouride. Now we drink municipal water (US), but it's going through a whole-house triple filtration system and I don't know how much flouride we're getting. So in addition to the usual tooth care (brushing, flossing) I also rinse with a flouride mouth rinse, and I've been doing OK dentally.

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[–] CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago
[–] ShellMonkey@lemmy.socdojo.com 3 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Chances are unless you're actively trying to avoid it the toothpaste you use has it already. I'm not aware of any particular benefits or detriments to having it in the water supply versus the more direct application route.

[–] Pilferjinx@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Think poor and homeless. It's to catch the ones that fall through the cracks. It's not much, but it's something.

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[–] Loki@feddit.de 3 points 7 months ago

There's a Sawbones episode on fluoride and its effects on teeth (and why it's good for you), if you like to be educated and entertained at the same time, I highly recommend listening to it! Great podcast.

And yes, fluoride is good for adult teeth, too.

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