As a child, I was always envious of my younger sister’s stellar no cavity record, since she had only had fluoride treated water in her lifetime. I, on the other hand, endured yearly lectures on brushing and flossing and why couldn’t I be like my other sisters. Years later, another sister of mine roomed with a man whose sole purpose in life was to warn people of the dangers of fluoridated water. I would nod politely in response to his breakfast lectures, but secretly I would question how much of his rhetoric was just that, turned off by his obvious obsession with the matter. More recently, however, I traveled to Tanzania, where I witnessed first hand the damage inflicted upon young bones by excess fluorine found naturally in the water. Young patients at the hospital near Arusha would travel many miles with their parents for surgery to straighten their painfully bowed legs and a chance at a normal life.

Excess fluorine can cause anything from mottled teeth to increased risk of fracture, and may be linked to lower IQ’s, as well as increased risk of developing Alzheimers Disease.