Fluoride vs. Dental Health

WARNING:  This article contains a teeth selfie (I swear there is a good reason)

Fluoride is in most of our toothpaste, used by dentists and even put into our drinking water.  But does it really help teeth at all?  This January I’m well past the two year mark of filtering fluoride from my drinking water and using toothpaste without fluoride.

The results:  whiter teeth, less food and plaque sticking to them, better breath and better tasting coffee (coffee tastes better using my filtered water)

During the first year, after I noticed I had to brush less and my teeth looked and felt better I decided to test how long I could last before going to the dentist.  This was a nerve-wracking experience.  Not only was I experimenting with my own money (purchase of water filter), body (teeth I’ll have to live with), I was testing to see how much less dentists might be needed.

I ended up lasting a year before going to the dentist.  I had no cavities and my gums were all healthy but I did have slight enamel loss on a back tooth on my right side.  This apparently happened because I brushed too hard.

With that setback, the experiment wasn’t a perfect success but I had doubled the amount of time before I needed a cleaning and my dentist said my teeth looked beautiful otherwise.  As of this teeth-selfie It has been  approximately 10 months since I’ve been to the dentist for a cleaning.

What I’d like to call attention to is the inside bottom of my teeth.  For all my young adult and adult life, I had never been able to clean them well enough that the color would be white.  However, now that fluoride isn’t in my drinking water, the bottom of my pallet benefits the most because the fluoride is not passing through every time I drink.

In conclusion:  from my experience, dental health is better without fluoride.  It’s very subtle, but at this point I can taste when impurities are present in water I drink.  I’m also happy with the non-fluoride toothpaste I use and have recommended it to other individuals who had similar good experiences.

Any information readers would like, feel free to ask in the comments.  I have no problem answering.