Comment by didgeoridoo

7 months ago

This is completely incorrect. Fluoride is not a component of native enamel, nor is it recognized as an essential nutrient in any way.

Topically-applied fluoride converts hydroxyapatite in enamel into hydroxyfluorapatite, a harder substance that resists bacterial decay. It has no benefits for the rest of your body, and when intake becomes excessive it can interfere with skeletal development and cause brittle bones.

Fluoride belongs on your teeth, not in your stomach.

7 comments

didgeoridoo

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stubish  7 months ago

https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/about/about-dental-fluorosis... claims consumed fluoride is used when first growing teeth, which occurs beneath the gums and where no topical fluoride is applied. This also seems to be how fluorosis occurs, from excessive consumption of fluoride, with too much being digested and too much ending up in tooth enamel.

But further research points to https://www.adaq.org.au/Web/Web/Profession/Fluoridation_FAQs... , where item 4 indicates that, while true that fluoride is used when enamel is first formed, that it does little regarding cavities as the vast bulk of the work is done topically as you say, after the tooth erupts.

I can't find anything stating fluoride is required by children to form tooth enamel, or what happens when fluoride is topically applied but somehow not swallowed.

hinkley  7 months ago

Fluoride on teeth is a bit like making gorilla glass - infusing atoms into a surface with different bond strengths and lengths to make a material that’s more durable than the original.

  • didgeoridoo  7 months ago

    I guess you could think of both as “alloys”, but with ionic bonds instead of metallic bonds.

    I’m sure there are at least six ways this isn’t quite accurate, but it’s an interesting analogy at least.

idiotsecant  7 months ago

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Fluoride-HealthProfessiona...

You're the one who is incorrect here. We do, in fact, consume fluoride all the time in the food we eat and it has a role in bone and tooth health. The vast majority of people get more than enough in their regular diet (brewed tea has a fair amount) but there are probably extreme cases where a supplement might be required. Banning them is dumb and confidently posting about things you don't know for sure is worse.

  • didgeoridoo  7 months ago

    Confidently posting links without reading or understanding them is worst of all. Your source does not remotely contradict my point. This says that, while we harmlessly consume incidental fluorine from the environment all the time, there is no recommended or minimum intake. That’s because it is not an essential nutrient. Its only use mentioned here is the prevention of dental caries, and then only when applied topically.

    There is no such thing as “enough” consumed fluorine. Consuming fluorine bypasses your teeth, the only place it does any good. Enamel is not generated with fluorine in it; it must be applied afterward for anticavity benefits.