Why, then, are the citizens of the United States ingesting chemicals that can cause cancer, bone damage, and kidney disease? All supposedly in the name of dental health. Swallowing fluoride has numerous health risks and consequences attached to it, such as leading to health drawbacks within the bones. Of these include skeletal fluorosis, which occurs when the liver cannot process fluoride, leaving the victim with weak bones, as well as the calcification of cartilage in joints known as arthritis. Fluoride has also been known to cause bone disease in dialysis patients and even cause osteosarcoma, or bone cancer. According to the US National Research Council, it also drastically lowers thyroid function and calcifies the pineal gland. Fluoride…show more content… The most common argument for why fluoride is still being used is that it actually has health benefits in helping with dental upkeep. However, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fluoride often has little to no benefit to teeth unless it is through topical content, such as toothpaste. Tooth decay also has not gone up in countries where water fluoridation has stopped, such as Canada, Germany, Cuba, and Finland. In fact, one of the largest side effects of water fluoridation is dental fluorosis, which is actually detrimental to the teeth. “In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 41% of American adolescents had dental fluorosis, with 8.6% having mild fluorosis and 3.6% having either moderate or severe dental fluorosis (Beltran-Aguilar 2010). As the 41% prevalence figure is a national average and includes children living in fluoridated and unfluoridated areas, the fluorosis rate in fluoridated communities will obviously be higher.” Therefore, not only is fluoride not assisting with dental care, but it is instead sometimes making people’s teeth worse. Overall, the health risks of fluoridation have certainly outweighed any sort of benefits. Which raises the question: why the government would continue to implement
