[M_bara]

This is something life changing for some of us. I grew up in an area where water has a lot of fluoride and we didn’t get to know until I was 16.. side effect is I have very brittle teeth.. I’ve shattered a couple due to bad rice (had a small stone in it), lentils, sliver of bone … Now, the kicker is Colgate et al have been marketing fluoride toothpaste to the same region to people facing fluorosis knowingly - profits above all else. so if this treatment comes through, I’ll be lining up!

[lgleason]

I thought the fluoride was supposed to be good for teeth, I guess too much has the opposite effect. TIL

[coffeebeqn]

You’re not supposed to swallow it. It builds up in the body (in teeth mainly?)

[iamflimflam1]

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/fluoride/

Millions of people in England receive fluoridated water. This means fluoride has been added to bring it up to around 1mg of fluoride per litre of water, which is a level found to reduce tooth decay levels.

Now I know there is a running joke around the English having bad teeth. But I imagine if millions of people were having issues we’d know about it.

[marcosdumay]

Too much of most things is bad.

[dingosity]

I always thought we started fluoridation of water so the Soviets couldn't figure out how much uranium (and later plutonium) we were producing. UF6 is a bi-product of uranium enrichment and it's fairly straight-forward to estimate how much we're producing by taking water samples at the mouths of various rivers. But if everyone is brushing their teeth with fluoride, then it's a lot harder to accurately measure how much is due to enrichment.

This is very clearly a conspiracy theory, but water fluoridation is one of those topics that seems to attract them.

[jebby]

Fluoride is good for your teeth. Not sure what you're talking about, but it's scientifically inaccurate. Also, fluorosis is a cosmetic issue, it doesn't weaken your teeth. And it happens when you're growing your permanent teeth when your parents forget to teach you to not swallow your toothpaste. It wouldn't affect you now.

If your water is over-fluorinated, you have far bigger problems that stem from your local government.

[Retric]

You’re wrong on both counts. The geology of many areas cause excess fluoride in well water without any government intervention, which can then become worse when using fluorinated toothpaste. It’s rarely a significant issue in the US, but gets far in some countries.

“These sources include drinking water with fluoride, fluoride toothpaste—especially if swallowed by young children” Ie: swallowing makes it worse but the point of fluoride in toothpaste is to be absorbed, so some will get absolutely even in those who already have issues.

https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/faqs/dental_fluorosis/index....

[tredre3]

> And it happens when you're growing your permanent teeth when your parents forget to teach you

He said it happened as he grew up. Wikipedia says almost half of Americans have at least mild fluorisis, there's no need to blame the parents when an environmental/governmental cause is so readily established...

> Also, fluorosis is a cosmetic issue

That's what I thought too but Wikipedia also disagrees on this count:

The pits, bands, and loss of areas of enamel seen in severe fluorosis are the result of damage to the severely hypomineralized, brittle and fragile enamel which occurs after they erupt into the mouth.

[yarg]

Fluorosis is not a cosmetic issue - it can be severe enough that it impacts the strength of the skeleton.

Even if that was not the case, you'd need to prove that it's better than hydroxyapatite when applied topically, which (assuming effective) delivery will obviously not be the case.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3295994/

[jyxent]

Anybody who lives in a rural area with a well could have higher levels of natural occuring fluoride in their water too.