Everyday things that are different in Portland (schools, live)

[Minervah]

Gosh. I grew up with fluoridated water, have great teeth and my kidneys are functioning just fine. Same with the rest of my family and friends in Chicago.

I had no idea that it was considered so dangerous by some.

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Gosh. I grew up with fluoridated water, have great teeth and my kidneys are functioning just fine. Same with the rest of my family and friends in Chicago.

Same here.

Originally Posted by Minervah

I had no idea that it was considered so dangerous by some.

I can remember when the far right feared it because they thought it was part of a commie plot.

Now organic food eating liberals fear it along with other dangerous concoctions from the laboratories of evil corporate scientists:

Why the 'Prius Driving, Composting' Set Fears Vaccines - ScienceInsider

And to think that these are the people who ridicule the scientific beliefs of religious fundamentalists.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by davemess10

This sounds like another "well the rest of the country is doing it and seems just fine, but we're still skeptical" Portland fear/paranoia.

I can think of a few more:
1. pumping your own gas
2. Not having studded tires
3. Salting the roads
4. Sales Tax

Plus it is not without consent. Water departments don't secretly sneak it in. If you don't like it in their water, just buy or filter your own.

This whole fluoride debate feels similar to the autism/vaccination debacle that now is causing measles outbreaks in the US.

I think sales tax is a great idea, and I personally prefer pumping my own gas. Studded tires are bad for pavement longevity and salting roads causes runoff and ecological damage.

No, you're right that water departments don't sneak in the fluoride, but people who live in a city where the water is fluoridated don't have the option to say, "No, thank you, I'd prefer that my only available source of water be fluoride-free." Normal water filters (such as Pur and Brita) don't remove fluoride from the water, and buying water is expensive and probably sourced from a municipal water supply that is fluoridated also, and distilled water can have other kinds of contaminants in it.

That kind of diminishes your options there...

Also there is a rising prevalence of fluorosis in American children--overexposure to fluoride which adversely affects the teeth permanently--although obviously some fluoride levels in water are naturally high.

[Minervah]

I can see the concern regarding overexposure. When I was a kid growing up in the 50's the fluoride was in the water but not in toothpaste, mouthwash, tablets or other products. There was just one source; the drinking water.

So in Portland it's more of a choice. If you choose to have flouride in your life there are other sources instead of getting it in the water.

[Isotope-C14]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

"salting roads causes runoff and ecological damage."

Oh yeah? How exactly does Calcium Chloride do this? I'm very intrigued, I mean, all that ecological damage from CaCl2...

[sketel]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Gosh. I grew up with fluoridated water, have great teeth and my kidneys are functioning just fine. Same with the rest of my family and friends in Chicago.

I had no idea that it was considered so dangerous by some.

Same could be said for DDT, my Dad used to play in it as a kid and hasn't had any ill effects but I steer my kids clear of doing the same when we are in Nicaragua where they still use it. Why risk it?

Fluoride hasn't been proven to cause kidney problems in humans, just rabbits and rats. The main concern is with people that already have kidney problems. Fluoridated water can actually kill a person if it is used in a dialysis machine. I prefer not to ingest it just in case. Topical treatment works just fine. We have that option so why risk ingesting it?

[davemess10]

Originally Posted by sketel

Also, when you reach age 16, your teeth are as hard as they will ever get regardless of how much fluoride you take. Why expose the over 16 population to a substance that has no benefit to them but might actually be harming their kidneys?

Parents can make sure their kids get enough fluoride weather or not it is in the water.

So pretty much every dentist in the country is wrong, and should not be giving people over 16 years of age fluoride treatments? From my own experience alone, switching to a prescription, high fluoride toothpaste has drastically reduced the amount of cavities I get.

[sketel]

My dentist quit giving me fluoride treatments when I was 16 because he said your teeth are as hard as they will get when you reach age 16. I've read that in medical literature as well, I thought all dentists agreed on that one but I guess I was wrong.

BTW, I grew up without flouride in the water and I don't use fluoride toothpaste and I've never had a cavity.

[sketel]

Not to beat a dead horse, but it had been quite a few years since I have read about the fluoride subject so I did a quick fact check at the American Dental Association site and apparently I had things a little bass ackwards.

The official stance is that if you reach your teens without any problems with tooth decay, you are considered low risk and so most dentists will quit giving you treatments, it has nothing to do with your teeth being as hard as they will ever be.

[davemess10]

Originally Posted by sketel

Not to beat a dead horse, but it had been quite a few years since I have read about the fluoride subject so I did a quick fact check at the American Dental Association site and apparently I had things a little bass ackwards.

The official stance is that if you reach your teens without any problems with tooth decay, you are considered low risk and so most dentists will quit giving you treatments, it has nothing to do with your teeth being as hard as they will ever be.

Exactly, so you (with your no cavities) are the lucky recipient of good genes (good pH in your saliva and less cavity-prone shapes of your teeth). It doesn't really have that much to do with your use of fluoride or not.

Now for those of us with bad genes, we want the fluoridated water.