Does topical fluoride really protect tooth enamel? Study suggests NO

Sunday, March 06, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: fluoride, tooth enamel, health news

(NaturalNews) A popular mantra in American dentistry claims that topical fluoride treatments help to protect teeth from cavities by forming a protective shield on the enamel of teeth. However, a new study published in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Langmuir has found that the "protective layer" created by fluoride is actually 100 times thinner than previously believed, which may render it practically useless as a cavity-preventing intervention.

Frank Muller, PhD, and his colleagues from Saarland University in Germany discovered that the fluorapatite layer formed by fluoride on teeth is only six nanometers thick. To put this into perspective, the width of an average human hair is roughly 10,000 layers thick. So everyday activities like chewing food, say scientists, are enough to disintegrate this thin fluoride layer in a matter of seconds.

The finding, which researchers say still needs to be validated by follow-up studies, challenges decades of thought concerning the supposed protective benefits of fluoride on teeth. It also adds to the growing body of evidence showing that fluoride is both useless as a teeth protector and a detriment to public health.

Numerous recent studies have challenged the safety of fluoride, including a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives which found that toxic fluorides contribute to decreased cognitive function in children. A similar study out of China found that fluoride lowers IQ levels of children (https://www.naturalnews.com/030819_fluoride_b...).

Ironically, no legitimate study has ever found that fluoridated water actually contributes to overall improved dental health. The idea is nothing more than a modern medical myth backed by pseudoscience. Many unfluoridated areas, including most European nations, for instance, have the same or even lower cavity rates than fluoridated areas.

To learn the truth about fluoride and where the chemicals added to municipal water supplies across the US actually come from, check out the new Fluoride Deception video on NaturalNews.TV:
http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=42652E035A...

Sources for this story include:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-...