Flouride Follies

If you were a dentist in the tiny town of Bartlett, Texas (and there is only one), you would quickly notice two things about your patients.

Almost no one in Bartlett has cavities. And many people have a rocky, brownish stain that looks like they chew chewing tobacco-even if they brush and rinse three times a day.

The unusual state of dental health in this Central Texas outpost is due to an unusually high concentration of naturally occurring fluoride in the community's water wells.

Fluoride prevents cavities by combining with calcium in the enamel of teeth. Fluoride and calcium combine to form a crystal called fluoroapetite.

This crystal is very resistant to the acids released from bacteria in the mouth. And fluoride also kills bacteria directly by interfering with their enzymes.

But does fluoride actually prevent cavities? And if it interferes with bacterial enzymes, does it also interfere with human enzymes?

There actually is some evidence that a fluoride rinse might prevent cavities from forming during the time a teenager wears braces. Rinses of this sort are intended strictly for short-term use.

Fluoridated drinking water may also have a slight benefit in preventing cavities in children. In the most recently published study of public fluoridation, 80% of children who drank fluoridated drinking water got cavities compared with 87% who didn't. This is not a dramatic benefit, and it may not be worth the cost:

• Approximately 3% of children who drink fluoridated water develop brown mottling of the teeth.

• In one survey, children exposed to fluoridated drinking water had IQ scores 6 to 12 points lower than children who drank non-fluoridated drinking water.

• And fluoride has been implicated as a contributing factor in at least 113 disease conditions.

The first sign of fluoride poisoning is mottling of the teeth-but why wait for the worst. Just say no to the fluoride follies. Use dental care products that are fluoride-free.