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They don't put salt or caffeine in your tap water. If they're going to make you drink something daily for a lifetime without your informed consent, I expect so
by euccastro 16y ago
They don't put salt or caffeine in your tap water.
If they're going to make you drink something daily for a lifetime without your informed consent, I expect some reason better than cutting down a few bucks of dental care expenses.
The fluoride is in enough concentration to be effective in the brief time it passes through your mouth (that's the idea, isn't it? Or is it supposed to somehow work systemically after ingested?). A tube of toothpaste will last a few weeks. There is, in principle, reason for concern. To claim it's scientifically proven to be safe you need lifetime double-blind studies controlling for any pernicious effects, which they obviously didn't run before starting this. A shame, considering there's apparently plenty of people who would be happy as uncompensated guinea pigs.
- caf 16y agoDental caries can kill - that's how the guy that played Lorne on Angel died - so we're talking about more than "cutting down on a few bucks of dental care expenses".
- euccastro 16y agoDental caries can be prevented by flossing your teeth, then spitting (most of) the fluoride out. Or even better, by avoiding sugar and eating calcium rich vegetables.
- caf 16y agoCertainly, but that doesn't change the point that saying it's about "cutting down on a few bucks" is overly downplaying the potential benefit.
- euccastro 16y agoTFA doesn't even mention death by caries, only the savings. If avoiding those deaths was the reason, I guess lithium would have been used before fluoride. I don't know the stats, but I know of several people that committed suicide in my area and never heard of a single death by caries.