Let’s talk about fluoride!

First of all, we have to differentiate between fluorine and fluoride!

Fluoride is a natural trace element and is found everywhere in our environment, e.g. in water and in many foods. Fluorine, on the other hand, is a poisonous and strong-smelling gas. The similarity of the two names often leads to uncertainty and misunderstandings.

You are sure to know a similar example from your everyday life: sodium chloride is the chemical name for common table salt and is a vital component of our diet. Chlorine, on the other hand, is a poisonous gas which, in a weakened form, is used to disinfect swimming pools, but is also unfortunately used in chemical weapons.

Fluoride can also be dangerous and toxic if taken in too large quantities. In small quantities, however, it is extremely important for our dental health!

Now let’s take a step back:

The enamel is the hardest material in our body and consists of a perfect and microfine lattice of crystal (hydroxyapatite) with embedded inorganic minerals, e.g. magnesium, sodium, potassium. This incredibly complex and fascinating structure is very sensitive to the effects of acids, the minerals are slowly dissolved, the crystal structure becomes porous and thus an ideal hiding place for bacteria, whose metabolic products further hollow out the tooth. This is how tooth decay occurs.

Fluorides can counteract this tooth destruction process.

Bound fluorine, i.e. fluoride, can be found in almost every toothpaste. In dentistry, three fluorides in particular have played an important role to date: sodium monofluorophosphate, amine fluoride and tin fluoride. Snow Pearl toothpaste contains an innovative and groundbreaking new fluoride formula: calcium sodium fluorophosphosilicate. I will write about the excellent properties of this fluoride compound further below.

Since 1850, it has been known for certain that enamel containing fluoride is more acid-resistant, and it was subsequently assumed that fluoride intake could prevent tooth decay.

As soon as we eat something, the food is not only broken down by our teeth, but also moistened with saliva. In addition, the mouth is a small biotope with millions of bacteria, most of which are necessary there, including for digestion. However, certain bacteria are less useful, including the so-called “streptococci mutans”. These bacteria live on all types of sugar, including fructose, glucose and others. They absorb it, “digest” it, and produce acid that lowers the pH value in the oral cavity.

Calcium and phosphate minerals are dissolved out of the enamel crystal, the crystal structure becomes more porous and thus less stable. Such a development is called demineralization, i.e. the removal of minerals.

The minerals contained in saliva can counteract this to a certain extent and fill the gaps in the crystal. This makes the tooth enamel dense and firm again. This type of recovery of minerals is called remineralization.

Ideally, there is a balance between demineralization and remineralization. However, if acid is produced very often or the acid level cannot drop because snacks (especially sweet ones) have been eaten between meals, demineralization predominates, the tooth enamel does not get enough calcium phosphates back from the saliva – and the holes become larger and larger. This is how tooth decay begins.

What fluorides do

Fluorides can help protect teeth in several ways:

Fluorides support remineralization. They have been proven to help incorporate calcium phosphates into the tooth enamel more quickly. The advantage: The time for bacteria to exploit the weak spots in the enamel is shortened and the risk of tooth decay is therefore reduced.

Fluorides themselves are also stored in the tooth enamel, just like calcium phosphates. Advantage: If demineralization begins again due to acid, fluorides are immediately on hand to accelerate remineralization.

Fluorides that get onto the teeth via toothpaste or corresponding gel form a kind of protective film around the teeth, a kind of covering layer made of calcium fluoride. Advantage: If acid is produced, it is already neutralized by this covering layer, the minerals in the tooth enamel remain in place and the tooth enamel remains solid.

Fluorides also penetrate the bacteria and disrupt their metabolism. Advantage: The production of acid, which is dangerous to the teeth, is inhibited and the proliferation of bacteria is reduced, resulting in less plaque.

Fluoride should actually be stored in the teeth like a reservoir. Since nature does not provide sufficient amounts of this, fluoride can also be added from the outside. The ideal time for this is in childhood, when the teeth have not yet broken through. As long as teeth are forming in the jawbone, fluoride from food can be incorporated into the tooth enamel via the bloodstream. The advantage: a stable microstructure is created in the tooth right from the start, the lattice becomes firmer, the minerals become harder to dissolve and the tooth is therefore more resistant to damage by acid. However, it is important not to exceed the dosage here, as otherwise tooth formation can also be disrupted. For this reason, fluoride tablets are practically no longer recommended today.
Not only dental scientists, but also consumer advocates such as Stiftung Warentest confirm: fluoride makes sense. The increasing popularity of fluoride-containing toothpastes, for example, has led to a very significant reduction in tooth decay in children and young people.

Where are fluorides contained?

Fluoride in mineral water

Fluoride compounds occur everywhere in nature and therefore also naturally in mineral water. Mineral water is therefore not “artificially” fluoridated. However, it is not mandatory to state the fluoride content on the label. If it does not appear, you can ask the relevant company.

The water only has to be labeled “fluoridated” if it contains 1.5 mg of fluoride per liter.

From 5 mg/l, mineral water is considered to have such a high fluoride content that it must carry a corresponding warning.

Up to 0.7 mg of fluoride per liter, water can be advertised as “suitable for preparing baby food”. Of course, the other limit values ​​(for sodium, nitrate, nitrite, sulfate, etc.) must also be observed.

Water is considered low in fluoride if it contains less than 0.3 mg of fluoride.

For information: seawater contains around 1 mg of fluoride per liter.

However, most mineral waters have values ​​of less than 0.5 mg of fluoride per liter. Evian, for example, contains only 0.02 mg, Gerolsteiner 0.21 mg, Vittel 0.14 mg, Volvic 0.2 mg, Adelholzener up to 0.15 mg, RheinfelsQuelle 0.45 mg, Apollinaris already 0.68 mg and Selters 0.86 mg.

If you are interested in the fluoride content of your tap water, it is best to ask your water supplier. In most cases, the fluoride content should be less than 0.3 mg per liter.

Fluoride in food

The above information now leads to the following:

A protective effect against tooth decay can be achieved with just 0.05 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, which would be around 3.5 mg of fluoride for a 70-kilogram person.

Some sources also recommend a maximum of 3.8 mg of fluoride per day for men and a maximum of 3.1 mg for women (1).

The following values ​​apply to children and adolescents (1):

0 to under 4 months: 0.25 mg

4 to under 12 months: 0.5 mg

1 to 4 years: 0.7 mg

4 to 10 years: 1.1 mg

10 to 13 years: 2.0 mg

13 to 19 years: 2.9 mg (girls), 3.2 mg (boys)

These doses are far from high enough to cause harm.

So if you drink 2 liters of low-fluoride water per day, you will consume about 0.6 mg of fluoride (maximum). However, if you drink a lot of black or green tea, remember that this (in addition to the fluoride content of the water used to prepare it) provides around 1 mg of fluoride per litre (although this value can vary enormously depending on the type of tea). Fruit and herbal teas can also be high in fluoride, but this should not amount to more than 0.3 mg for 2 cups a day (depending of course on the amount of dried herbs/fruit used).

Walnuts are also among the foods rich in fluoride, with around 0.68 mg per 100 g. In general, however, it is animal products (meat and fish) in particular that are rich in fluoride.

List of the fluoride content of foods

Here is a small selection of the fluoride content of some foods (per 100 g), although you should always bear in mind that the fluoride content can also vary here – depending on the fluoride pollution of the environment from which the food comes.

Salmon (golden, humpback, white salmon): 0.65 mg
Canned salmon: 0.16 mg
Sea salt: 0.48 mg (so rather little per gram: 0.0048 mg)
Sardines/swordfish/herring (fresh or frozen): 0.4 mg
Matjes: 0.38 mg (canned 0.27 mg)
Canned fish: 0.3 mg
Lean-fried herring: 0.24 mg
Prepared pork liver: 0.28 mg
Barley groats: 0.24 mg
Brewer’s yeast tablets/dry yeast: 0.2 mg
Instant coffee powder: 0.2 mg
Veal sweetbreads: 0.2 mg
Fresh crabs: 0.16 mg
Roquefort/mountain cheese/Emmental cheese: 0.16 mg
Liver sausage: 0.16 mg
Rye and rye flour: 0.15 mg
Fish cakes: 0.15 mg
Cooked beef fillet: 0.14 mg
Cashew nuts: 0.14 mg
Processed cheese: 0.14 mg
Wholemeal bread: 0.1 mg
Lamb’s lettuce/spinach: 0.1 mg
Almonds: 0.09 mg
Avocado: 0.05 mg
Chocolate (whole milk and dark): 0.05 mg
Oat flakes: 0.037 mg
Tofu: 0.007 – 0.013 mg
Vegetables: 0.007 – 0.05 mg
Fruit: 0.002 – 0.02 mg
Potatoes: 0.001 mg
Beer: 0.001 – 0.005 mg
Red wine: 0.01 – 0.02 mg

 

 

Do fluorides have disadvantages?

The dose determines whether a substance is good or bad for your health. This is no different with fluoride. If too much fluoride is taken over a long period of time during tooth formation, the teeth can have white or even brownish-yellow spots and dents.

Poisoning is also possible if you swallow too much fluoride.

What is too much?

I have to get a bit more technical here:

The definitely toxic dose is 32 to 64 mg of fluoride per kilogram of body weight. For small children, the probably toxic dose is 5 mg of fluoride per kilogram of body weight.

For an adult weighing 60 kg, that means between 1,920 and 3,840 mg

For a child weighing 20 kg, that means 100 mg

How much fluoride does a 75 ml tube of toothpaste contain?

Ordinary toothpastes usually contain 1450 ppm fluoride:

1450 ppm = 1450 mg /l = 1,450 mg/ml  = 108.75 mg/ 75 ml

Snow Pearl toothpaste contains 520 ppm fluoride:

520 ppm = 520 mg/l = 0.520 mg/ml  = 39 mg / 75 ml

Even if a whole tube is swallowed, Snow Pearl toothpaste is NOT toxic, even for a child!

Why is Snow Pearl toothpaste still very effective?

With 530 ppm fluoride content, SNOW PEARL gel toothpaste has a significantly lower fluoride concentration (only 36%) than other commercially available toothpastes. This dental care product has outstanding protective and repair functions thanks to the groundbreaking and patented formulation with calcium sodium fluorophosphosilicate. Its molecular effect is the excellent adhesion to the tooth surface, and this is precisely what makes it so effective. The calcium sodium fluorophosphosilicate particles are dissolved very slowly by saliva and therefore guarantee a release of fluoride, calcium and phosphate that lasts for up to 12 hours. Fluorapatite is created in the remineralization process, which regenerates the decalcified tooth enamel and makes it 10 times more resistant to acids and caries. The excellent effect on sensitive teeth is also soothing and immediately noticeable.

✓ Low fluoride content with optimal protection.

✓ 12 hours of controlled low-level release of fluoride thanks to the patented Swiss formulation with calcium sodium fluorophosphosilicate.

✓ Sustainably reduces your tooth sensitivity to heat, cold, sweet, sour and mechanical contact by securely closing the dentinal tubules.

✓ Repairs the enamel in the case of incipient caries lesions by generating an acid and caries-resistant fluoride apatite surface.

✓ Increases the calcium and phosphate content in the enamel

I hope that this has provided a little more clarity on the controversial topic of fluoride.

If you have any questions, I am of course available at any time

Yours

Dr. Lorenza Dahm