Too much flouride is bad for your health

Fluoride is a natural mineral
abound in water, soil and foods
like tea leaves, egg, fish and
meat. Fluoride is useful when
consumed in reasonable quantity
such as when small quantity is
used in washing our tooth and
mouth regularly.
Benefits of fluoride to our health
Fluoride helps to strengthen the
teeth and prevent cavities,
prevent against tooth decay
when taken in small quantity.
Journal of America Chemical
Society says, "Fluoride helps to
harden the enamel coating that
protects teeth from the acid
produced by decaying bacteria."
Fluoride makes it easy to wash
away decay-causing bacteria
through brushing and other
activity by preventing the
bacteria from having a strong
grip on the tooth.
Despite of all these
aforementioned benefits of
fluoride, it also have it side
effects on health especially if
used or consumed in excess. One
of the side effects of fluoride is
DENTAL FLUOROSIS.
Dental fluorosis occurs during
tooth formation. It ranges from
mild to severe dental fluorosis.
The mild can be hardly spotted
because it is whitish while the
severe can be spotted at a glance
because of its brownish
discoloration of the tooth.
Though, the occurrence of dental
fluorosis has increased over the
last 40 years in non-fluoridated
environments, studies shows
that the greater the exposure to
fluoride during tooth formation
the greater the risk of dental
fluorosis.
Decades ago, the main sources of
fluoride were food and water
but today, fluoride is available
everywhere through products
like toothpaste, mouth rinses and
dietary supplements.
Now the big question am asking
my readers is: Did most of the
consumers know the actual or
appropriate quantity of fluoride
to consume over a given period
of time and at a particular point
in time? The answer to my
question is big NO if I guess
right.
That is why fluoride has recently
attracted criticisms from
scientists and researchers.
Safe quantity of fluoride
According to a reputable online
source, "A 100ml tube of
toothpaste contains about
188.5mg of fluoride more than
three times a lethal dose for a
one-year old-yet nowhere on the
packaging are there any
warnings that this product might
be harmful to your child."
Accordingly, experts confirmed
that 50mg of fluoridated
toothpaste can kill a one-year old
child weighing 10kg.
WHO guideline suggest a 1.5mg
per litre of drinking water is the
safe level of fluoride in drinking
water.
Therefore, parents and
guardians are urged to keep
fluoridated commodity out of the
reach of children.