Once when my niece came for a visit, she left her toothpaste behind. Since I'm addicted to reading product labels, I couldn't help myself. Have you seen that little warning on the fluoride-laden toothpastes? It warns that if you swallow more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste, you should call poison control. Poison control! What child hasn't swallowed a mouthful of toothpaste? I know I did when I was younger.

A quick peek at the material safety data sheet for fluoride indicates the following (no emphasis added by me.:

"HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED, INHALED, OR ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. CAUSES SEVERE IRRITATION. HIGH CONCENTRATIONS ARE EXTREMELY DESTRUCTIVE TO TISSUES OF THE MUCOUS MEMBRANES AND UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT, EYES AND SKIN. SYMPTOMS OF EXPOSURE MAY INCLUDE BURNING SENSATION, COUGHING, WHEEZING, LARYNGITIS, SHORTNESS OF BREATH, HEADACHE, NAUSEA AND VOMITING. EXPOSURE CAN CAUSE:STOMACH PAINS, VOMITING, DIARRHEA. PROLONGED EXPOSURE CAN CAUSE:DAMAGE TO THE LUNGS.

CHRONIC EFFECTS: THIS PRODUCT IS OR CONTAINS A COMPONENT THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO BE POSSIBLY CARCINOGENIC BASED ON ITS IARC, ACGIH, NTP OR EPA.

The label language, "If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately" is now required on all fluoride toothpastes. (Source: American Dental Association).

As is the case with many of the toxic chemicals in household products, it may just be the things they don't tell us that should concern us more.

A new study by Harvard University grad student, Dr. Elise Bassin, and reported by Environmental Working Group (EWG), found that there is a significant relationship between fluoride and osteosarcoma in boys-the most common type of bone cancer.

(WASHINGTON, April 5)-Boys who drink water with levels of fluoride considered safe by federal guidelines are five times more likely to have a rare bone cancer than boys who drink unfluoridated water, according to a study by Harvard University scientists published in a peer reviewed journal.

Dr. Bassin's study focused on boys, ages 6-8, who drank fluoridated water. Incidentally, the water these boys were drinking had only ¼ of the maximum amount of fluoride that the EPA allows in drinking water. So, what does that mean for everyone else who is drinking the maximum (or more) amount of fluoride? Many of us also get a good daily dose of fluoride in non-organic juices, teas, and coffee, It's even in our fruits and vegetables, which absorb fluoride from the environment, either through irrigation, soil, or cooking. It's everywhere.

But what is fluoride?

The main type of fluoride used to treat water is hydrofluosilicic acid (HFS). It's actually a toxic waste product of the phosphate pesticide industry and from pollution scrubbing systems. The cheaper sodium silicofluoride (SSF) is used in 90% of water fluoridation.

What does fluoride do for/to us?

We've all come to know fluoride for it's cavity prevention, but unfortunately it doesn't just affect our teeth. According to the National Research Council, "The NRC also notes a growing body of scientific research linking fluoride exposure to disruption of the nervous and endocrine systems, including the brain, thyroid and pineal gland. According to data presented in the report, the doses of fluoride associated with thyroid disturbances are now exceeded by many Americans-particularly children-living in so-called 'low fluoride' (1ppm) areas. In research published in the International Journal of Environmental Studies. (September 1999) Masters and Coplan studied lead screening data from 280,000 Massachusetts children. The study indicated a possible linkage between fluoride consumption and lead absorption in children.

A number of other countries have even banned fluoride.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) weighed in on the subject:

"But fluoride has another characteristic: it's poisonous to humans. Since early 1930s, scientists have been aware that too much fluoride can wreak havoc on the human body. Overexposure has been linked to the thickening of bone to the point of spinal fusion, as well as to mouth, throat, and bone cancer; emphysema-like respiratory conditions; skin lesions; liver and kidney damage; neurological disorders; and a host of other ailments.

Okay, I know what you're thinking, everything causes cancer, I can't be bothered with this. But here's how I look at it. If we are armed with information like this, we can explore our choices. So, if you decide that you don't want fluoride in your water, get it out with a good tap water filter that spefically removes fluoride. Although this doesn't solve the public health implications of mass fluoridation, a good tap water filter will take out most of the fluoride, chlorine, and a host of other nasty chemicals.

We filtered our tap water until we moved to a home with really clean well water. And, my family has used fluoride free toothpaste for years. We rarely have cavities, but I think it has more to do with our diet. I agree with Dr. Joseph Mercola:

"Fluoride should simply not be used at all by anyone who is interested in health. There are far better options of improving one's dental health and the primary one includes the foods you eat. Link to diet… The diet is the most important issue in preventing cavities. If you want another outstanding book for your library you can obtain Dr. Weston Price's book 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration'. He was one of the most prominent dentists at the turn of the century and wondered why so many children were getting cavities. He realized that it was the introduction of processed foods. So he traveled all over the world and documented how the introduction of processed food severely damaged the teeth. One does not even have to read the book as the pictures tell the whole story. The book was written in 1920 and is very true still today."

Whatever you believe about fluoride, it's important to keep asking the questions and doing your own research.