DITCH YOUR FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE, TODAY.

You've probably heard it somewhere (but may have overlooked it - thinking that it couldn't be so). Bad news. Yes, it's true. Fluoride is a poison. As a matter of fact it’s a highly toxic waste from certain industrial processes, and it’s first use was as a rat poison. But since it was cheap and huge amounts were sitting around in vats, someone had to come up with some novel use for it. And some genius said: “Let’s sell it as a mouth hygiene product”. After WWII, having run a few dubiously “scientific” experiments, there was the highly publicized news that fluoride treatments decreased cavities.  At first it was just a suggestion, and many people continued with their usual tooth care methods. But shortly thereafter, came the "last word" in tooth care: “Fluoride must be in your toothpaste. Otherwise, you'll lose our teeth”. Today, we even see toothpaste for children with fluoride – despite overwhelming evidence that little ones can poison themselves with it. (Of course, many people continue to have cavities and lose their teeth. They are told that they didn't follow the rules right - poor brushing technique, too few trips to the dentist, too much sugar, etc. )

So, how bad is the situation? Well, toothpaste with fluoride contains 1,000 parts per million of fluoride - or even more. That amount of fluoride will kill a small child if he/she decides to eat most of an entire tube. More shocking is the fact that no reputable laboratory study has ever shown that fluoride helps to prevent tooth decay. It’s not particularly good for your gums, either.

So, why have we been regularly buying and bringing this poison home for so long? Because, now, 99% of the toothpaste sold in the US has fluoride in it. And publicity about its merits has been pounded in at us through a non-stop publicity campaign - that along with the total complicity of the American Dental Association. It appears that US dentists want customers who return for all kinds of procedures (big profits) much more  than they want dental disease prevention.

(Oh, and by the way, over the years, fluoride treatments have also gotten into the municipal water systems in most of the country, too. And that great public health debacle has only been addressed and stopped by a minority of US communities. (Worldwide, the word about how harmful fluoridated water is out. Today, 11 countries - China, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, The Netherlands, Japan, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Hungary - have outlawed it.)

So what to do for cavity prevention?

OK. That stuff is really bad for you and worse for children. But you may not be sure of your options for good mouth hygiene. Well, the first thing is to brush the teeth at least twice a day – with an adequate technique - with whatever product you choose and to floss as needed. And while you might not find it in the BIG BOX stores, there are several brands of effective non-fluoride tooth paste in health food stores and available online.

Other non-fluoride teeth cleaning options that have been around for hundreds of years. Tooth paste was only popularized after WWI. Before that. people used tooth power. The principal ingredient in most tooth powder was/is baking soda. It’s a popular natural ingredient that helps deodorize the mouth and whitens teeth. You can just stick your toothbrush in the baking soda if you like. (I don’t like it to use it because the taste is too strong for me.)

Hydrogen peroxide is another option that’s used in some natural dental products. You can make your own mouthwash by mixing hydrogen peroxide and water.

Essential oils, such as tea tree oil, mint, and cinnamon, are good tasting flavorings in natural commercial and homemade toothpaste.  You can find some recipes for homemade toothpaste by searching online.

Now, I hope you're convinced that fluoride is both dangerous and ineffective at preventing tooth decay. And that you have options. Just say: “NO” to it and find the non-fluoride teeth cleaning routine that best suits you. And let other people know about your decision and why. Everyone should learn about how bad fluoride is, so that they can demand that it be removed from all toothpaste (and from water supplies, too, of course).

Note: I simply brush with a little salt water  (1/2 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt) swishing it around in my mouth before and after brushing - and dipping my brush in the mixture as needed.  I rinse my mouth out with simple water when I finish. That seems to clean my teeth pretty well and my entire mouth feels fresh. Of course, I've yet to convince my husband to do the same, so I'll soon be buying some non-fluoride toothpaste for him. I'll probably use it once a day and continue doing the salt water routine for the second brushing.