Fluoride Abundant in Foods, Beverages, Dental Products; Fluoridation Unnecessary

Total fluoride intake should be determined before prescribing more, reported former New York State Department of Health Dental Director, J. Kumar, He wrote: “Because of the availability of fluoride from multiple sources, practitioners should prescribe other forms of fluoride therapy based on an understanding of patients’ total exposure to fluoride and the need for it,” (NYS Dental Journal February 1998). Few dentists, if any including him, heed that advice.

The American Dental Association concurs: "It also is critical that the dentist assess a child’s total fluoride exposure from all sources (beverages, food, toothpaste, supplements, topical applications and so forth..." (Journal of the American Dental Association 2014)

Never is fluoride intake tallied when communities are pressured to continue or start fluoridation. Legislators should know much fluoride children already ingest before feeding them more via their water supply. 

The daily upper limits (UL) for fluoride are listed below, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements (Taking more than the UL can be harmful and not recommended) 

Life Stage	Upper Limit
Birth to 6 months	0.7 mg
Infants 7–12 months	0.9 mg
Children 1–3 years	1.3 mg

Fluoride sources are many:

Absent from labels, fluoride is in virtually all foods and beverages, including, soda, baby foods and all infant formulas, It’s high in tea (up to 6 mg/L, according to the US National Institutes of Health), ocean fish and soy products. And, because of fluoride-containing pesticide residues, all grapes and its products (raisins, juice, wine, jellies, jams) have a significant fluoride content.

EPA allows extremely high amounts of fluoride pesticide residues on foods  See "Fluoride tolerances approved by US EPA as of July 15, 2005"

Fluoride is even in chocolate and french fries, sea salt, and  Himalayan salt. 

Foods made with mechanically separated (boned) chicken, such as canned meats, hot dogs, and infant foods, also add fluoride to the diet (J Agric Food Chem Sept 2001) "A single serving of chicken sticks alone would provide about half of a child's upper limit of safety for fluoride," the researchers report.

Fluoride ingested daily from toothpaste ranges from 1/4 to 1/3 milligram (National Institutes of Health) “Gels used by dentists are typically applied one to four times a year and can lead to ingestions of 1.3 to 31.2 mg fluoride each time.” 

"Following Silver Diamine Fluoride  application, the serum fluoride concentrations ranged from 6 to 36ng/mL(0.006 to 0.036 ppm)"

Fluoride is in 20% of medicines, food packaging and inhaled from air pollution 

Other sources come from feed regimens of animal products, animal products; food storage containers (Teflon-coated containers); and food packaging (migration of perfluorochemicals into food).

Paper cups lined with water-proofing chemicals give off fluoride ions, when exposed to hot liquids. And Paper straws contain fluorinated compounds. 

Some calcium supplements contain fluoride

"eggshells also contain trace amounts of minerals that promote bone health, such as strontium, fluoride, magnesium, and selenium...their powdered form is used in dietary supplements"

Fluoride in other sources, according to "A Concise Overview Of Fluoride Contamination And Its Adverse Effects On Human Health And Plant Biochemistry," (European Chemical Bulletin 2020)

Various spices, including Almond, Garlic, Ginger, Coriander, Cumin Seeds, Turmeric, and Black Salt, are known to contain fluoride. The fluoride concentrations in these spices are as follows: Coriander at 2.3%, Cumin Seeds at 1.8%, Ginger at 2.0%, and Garlic at 5.0% (Mahapatra, 2007).

Additionally, nuts and oilseeds such as almond, coconut, mustard oil, and groundnut exhibit elevated levels of fluoride. The fluoride concentrations in these items are 4.0% for Almond, 4.4% for Coconut, 5.7% for Mustard Seeds, and 5.1% for Groundnut (Mahapatra, 2007)

How much is too much? 

According to the National Academy of Sciences, “without causing unwanted side effects including moderate dental fluorosis,” (yellow splotched teeth), the adequate daily intake of fluoride, from all sources, should not exceed: (But does) 

 -- 0.01 mg/day for 0 – 6-month-olds (which is in every infant formula – concentrated or not) 

-- 0.5 mg/day for 7 through 12 months 

-- 0.7 mg/day for 1 – 3-year-olds 

-- 1.1 mg/day for 4 – 8 year olds 

This is what moderate dental fluorosis looks like, according to the US Centers for Disease Control 

The US Department of Health and Human Services (1991) estimated that total fluoride exposure in fluoridated communities ranges from 1.6 to 6.6 mg/day 

Further, parents need to know that fluoride supplements have “not been found by FDA to be safe and effective.” 

No evidence proves anyone is or ever was fluoride-deficient. Fluoride isn’t a nutrient or essential for decay-free teeth – meaning that fluoride-free diets do not cause cavities. Fluoride is a drug with side effects. In fact, 70% of US kids are fluoride overdosed and afflicted with dental fluorosis – white spotted, yellow, brown and/or pitted teeth which created a lucrative market for cosmetic dentistry because fluoride is everywhere. But tooth decay is still epidemic 

The EPA regulates water fluoride levels to protect against fluoride-caused bone damage. So It's important to know that fluoride concentration in drinking water does not equate to an individual's daily dose. Fluoridation should never begin without fore knowledge of the community's fluoride intake from all sources.

Foods originating from Mexico have higher concentrations of fluoride than those found in US foods

According to "Fluoride contamination, consequences and removal techniques in water: a review," in the journal Environmental Science: Advances (Issue 5, 2022),

"The sources of fluoride in the environment include industrial plants, aluminum smelters producing glass brick, hydrofluoric acid, tile works and phosphate fertilizer plastic factories, textile dyeing, and industries that consume high sulfur non-coking coal for thermal power. Currently, high-tech companies developing semiconductors and integrated circuits produce significant fluoride-containing industrial wastewater. Cigarettes, which contain an average of 236 ppm fluoride, play a significant role in human fluoride consumption. Teflon-coated cookware may potentially increase the fluoride absorption in humans. The fluoride concentrations in Teflon-coated cookware is as high as almost 3 ppm, whereas it is lower in aluminum cookware. Also, the fluoride concentrations are high in stainless steel and Pyrex ware, although to a lower extent. In normal and high quantities, fluoride in water may cause aluminum to leach from cooking utensils and copper from pipework.

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