Water Fluoridation Advantages

It was 1945 when the birth of water fluoridation transpired. Water fluoridation is when fluoride is added into public water supplies and it is used in the United States; however, it is not used in other areas in the world, such as the United Kingdom, the Philippines, China, and many other cities, countries and states. The presence of fluoride in water is a very controversial topic that people do not take the initiative to discuss. Some people favor the idea of having fluoridated water sources because of its benefits towards the strengthening an individual’s personal hygiene. On the other hand, some people oppose the idea of having fluoridated water sources because it is viewed and valued as a dangerous chemical that is hazardous to an individual's

“When sufficiently large amounts of fluoride are ingested as a single dose, a catastrophic chain of events rapidly develops” (Connet). However, although it is a chemical, when fluoride is included in any type of item, there must be a certain amount of fluoride that it consists of or includes in that item specifically. “PHS now recommends an optimal fluoride concentration of 0.7 milligrams/liter (mg/L)” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). This shows that although fluoride is known as a hazardous chemical, it is approved from the Public Health Service to only include a certain amount of fluoride because taking in large amounts of fluoride can lead to the need of medical treatment. Although it is argued from a consumer’s point of view that water fluoridation is dangerous and hazardous to those who practice and use it, if it truly were hazardous, there would be a massive outbreak with everyone and it also would not have been approved from the Public Health Service since not only does it just affect one person, but a whole group of people since these are community water sources. This shows that all of the people within an area that has fluoridated water would suffer various negative consequences because of the chemicals in fluoride; however, because it is in an approved small amounts of fluoride, it does not negatively impact the health of the people tremendously, but in a positive way since tooth decay is decreased while consuming a liquid that contains the nutrients of fluoride. “The naturally occurring levels of fluoride in fruits, vegetables, meat, grain, eggs, milk, and fresh water supplies are generally very low (less than 0.1 ppm” (Fan’s Grocery Store Guide).