Fluoride Essay -- essays research papers

FluorideFluoride is a mineral that occurs natur wholey in almost all foods and urinesupplies. The fluoride ion comes from the element fluorine. Fluorine, the 13thmost abundant element in the earths crust, is never encountered in its freestate in nature. It exists only in combination with other elements as a fluoridecompound. Fluoride is effective in preventing and reversing the proto(prenominal) signs oftooth decay. Researchers have channelizen that there are several ways through whichfluoride achieves its decay-preventive effects. It makes the tooth anatomical structurestronger, so teeth are more disgustful to acerbic attacks. acerbic is word formed when thebacteria in plaque break down sugars and carbohydrates from the diet. recurrentacid attacks break down the tooth, which causes cavities. Fluoride also acts torepair areas in which acid attacks have already begun. The remineralizationeffect of fluoride is important because it reverses the early decay demonstrate aswell as creating a tooth surface that is more resistant to decay. Community body of water fluoridation is the adjustment of the amount of the beneficial limnelement fluoride found in water to provide for the proper security system of teeth.Fluoridation has been widely utilized in this country since 1945. It does not strike adding anything to the water that is not already there, since virtuallyall sources of drinking water in the United States contain some fluoride.Fluoridation is a form of nutritional supplementation that is not unlike theaddition of vitamins to milk, breads and fruit drinks iodin to table salt andboth vitamins and minerals to breakfast cereals, grains and pastas. Theprotection of fluoridation reaches confederation members in their homes, at work andat school -- simply by drinking the water. The only requirements for theimplementation of fluoridation are the presence of a treatable centralized watersupply and approval by appropriate decision makers. Some people beli eve thatthere are effective alternatives to companionship water fluoridation as a in the commonplace eye(predicate)health cake for the prevention of tooth decay in the United States. The factof the matter is that fleck other community-based methods of systemic andtopical fluoride delivery (i.e. school-based fluoride mouthwash or oral contraceptiveprograms) have been developed over the five decades that water fluoridation hasbeen practiced, none is as effective as community water fluori... ...ny evidence to show that dental fluorosis is a precursor to any diseaseor dysfunction. temperate to moderate dental fluorosis is no more a pathological form than is having freckles. There has never been a single valid, peer-reviewed laboratory, clinical or epidemiologic study that showed that drinkingwater with fluoride at optimal levels caused cancer, heart disease, or any ofthe other multitude of diseases proclaimed by very lowly groups ofantifluoridationists to be caused by fluoridat ion. Because fluoride is soeffective, those fortunate enough to be provided with fluoridated water cancount on an up to 40- to 50-percent reduction in the turn of dental cavitiesthey would have experienced without fluoridation. Fluoridation is an extremelycost-effective public health measure because the technology is so simple and thefluoride so inexpensive. Studies mention that a $100,000 investment in waterfluoridation prevents 500,000 cavities. Moreover, for each horse invested influoridation, over $80 in dental treatment be are prevented, amounting to an801 benefit-to-cost ratio. Few disease prevention efforts, public or private,achieve that level of return on investment.