Water Fluoridation Must Stop

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Fluoride compounds have been added to water supplies since as early as the 1950s because claims were made to support fluoride's use as a cavity preventer. However, studies conducted even decades before have shown that fluoride is an extremely hazardous substance that should be completely avoided. These views or claims about fluoride are just too contradictory, both cannot be true. Fluoride has hidden dangers that not enough people know about and should be removed from the water supplies despite false reports that it is actually beneficial, and the practice of water fluoridation should be completely eliminated.

First a little bit about fluoride needs to be known. These are the unarguable facts about fluoride. Fluoride is the negative ion of the fluorine atom. Fluorine is a nonmetal and is also a halogen. Halogens are the most reactive nonmetals and fluorine is the most reactive halogen. This is because fluorine has an extremely high electro-negativity, this means it has a very strong attraction to electrons and it needs to gain one to become stable. When it gains it's one electron it becomes the negative ion called fluoride. Its reactivity makes it compete with other atoms in chemical reactions, it also forms strong bonds that change the shape of molecules that it binds to. Sodium Fluoride which is added to toothpaste and water supplies is a bi-product of the aluminum industry and other industries and is very expensive to dispose of.

Fluoride has been added to many communities' water supplies over the years, for the main purpose of cavity prevention. According to Oral Health in America: “Randomized controlled trials, which may be conducted under ideal circumstances” produced favorable results. (Oral) These tria...

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...on far outweighs any evidence for it, and has proven much more reliable.

Works Cited

Murphy, Dean. The Devil's Poison How fluoride is killing you. Vitoria, BC, Canada: Trafford Publishing 2008. (Book)

Oral health in America. "Community and Other Approaches to Promote Oral Health and Prevent Oral Disease." (Internet source)

Kirshen, Ira. "Fluoridation nation." Maclean's 20 July 2009: 4. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 3 May 2010 (News paper: online database)

Colquhoun, John. "Why I Changed My Mind About Water Fluoridation." 1997. n.page. On-Line. Internet. 2 May 2010. Available: http://www.fluoride-journal.com/98-31-2/312103.htm (Internet source)

Connett, Paul. "The Absurdities of Water Fluoridation." 28 Nov. 2002. n.page. On-Line. Internet. 2 May 2010. Available: http://www.fluoridealert.org/absurdity.htm (Internet source)

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