The Denver Board of Water Commissioners recently voted to continue adding fluoride to the community water supply despite growing concerns among health professionals who are concerned about the potential health effects. Denver physician Dr. Katia Meier recently spoke out against water fluoridation in Natural Awakenings magazine. She points out that fluoride may be a factor in the prevalence of ADD and ADHD, learning difficulties, lowered IQ, endocrine disruption and skeletal fluorosis, which she says is often misdiagnosed as arthritis.

There can be serious side effects.

Yes, fluoride makes teeth stronger to prevent decay-but that protection comes at a significant cost. Unfortunately, most people aren’t aware that ingesting an amount of fluoride larger than a blueberry requires treatment to rid the poison from your body or that children have died from fluoride poisoning in dental offices. In these situations, people might seek the help of a medical malpractice lawyer, like Keating O’Gara Law, because “Fluoride gels,” highly concentrated fluoride products that many dentists apply topically to patients’ teeth, expose the patients to very large amounts of fluoride-some of which is absorbed into the body during treatment-and can cause nausea, gastrointestinal pain and vomiting (those looking to mitigate such symptoms may want to consider biocidin supplements to help with them and other health concerns) and could damage the kidneys, male reproductive system and glucose metabolism according to FluorideAlert.org. So, this would only happen if a dentist was too liberal with the fluoride gels.

I see dental fluorosis, a discoloration of the tooth structure, in my patient’s mouths every day. People of all ages have it, and it’s a visible sign that the body is receiving too much fluoride at a very important stage of growth. Sometimes the enamel is disfigured so badly that it requires expensive dentistry to cover it up. Most patients are not aware that this aesthetic disfigurement is occurring inside their bodies. Fluorosis is a silent disease.

Fluoride toxicity has been linked to hypothyroidism, osteoporosis and skeletal fluorosis. With time and more research, these negative health impacts will be made clear to the public so that people can make informed choices about using fluoride.

The safe amount is zero.

I recommend avoiding whenever possible. Many of my colleagues use water filtration systems that remove the fluoride in their homes. I do this myself, and I recommend a reverse osmosis system. If you’re drinking well water, have the water checked for fluoride. What is the recommended safe level of fluoride for drinking water? You’ll find many opinions online. I believe the safe amount is zero.

Hydroflourosilicic acid (HFS)- a waste byproduct of the fertilizer industry- is being added to our drinking water. HFS is so toxic that it requires special Hazmat remediation when there is an HFS spill. In 2010 The American Dental Association issued warnings and recommended against using fluoridated water for infant baby formulas. Fluoridated water has 250 times more fluoride than breast milk.

Many people argue that water fluoridation helps people and families who cannot afford to feed their children quality food and subsist on Coca-Cola and McDonalds. I disagree. More and more people are being educated about how certain foods and beverages lead to decay. I don’t believe we should be placing a known toxic substance in our drinking water to protect people who are making bad choices.

It took years to convince people that smoking and mercury fillings were bad for them. So, too, will it take time to convince the masses that fluoride should not be added to drinking water. Today, most people choose against smoking and mercury fillings, yet cigarettes and mercury fillings are still available.

In these cases, people have a right to make choices about issues that directly affect their health. So, too, should the public have the right to choose against water fluoridation.

There are water filter products out there which can purify and remove contaminants from the water, if you prefer to consume your water in this way. Visit https://waterfilterway.com/ for the latest reviews on such filtration products.