January 23, 2025 • 30 mins
Unlock the secrets of dental health with Dr. Alex Semidey and co-host Jeremy Wolf as we navigate the complex role of fluoride in preventing tooth decay and its unexpected effects on other parts of the body. Learn how fluoride, introduced in the 1950s to curb the rise in cavities due to sugar-laden diets, acts like a mortar to strengthen your teeth by promoting remineralization. Discover the fascinating history of fluoride's journey from a public health measure to a household staple, alongside the evolution of oral hygiene tools over the past century.
But the conversation doesn't stop at your teeth. We delve into fluoride's potential impact on the pineal gland and its role in sleep regulation. Could excessive fluoride exposure be affecting more than just your dental health? We weigh the benefits and risks of fluoride, exploring alternatives like MI Paste and emphasizing the crucial role of nutrition in maintaining oral health. As some South Florida communities reconsider fluoridation, we encourage an ongoing dialogue about health, nutrition, and the broader implications of fluoride in our daily lives. Join us for a deep dive into the balancing act of fluoride usage and its place in modern dentistry.
For more information follow us @Semideydental or visit our website https://semideydental.com/.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Semide Dental Podcast.
We're here to provide youexpert insights on how dentistry
can improve your quality oflife and extend your health span
.
I'm Alex Semide and I'm apracticing dentist, and I'll be
your host, along with JeremyWolf.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Enjoy the show.
Hello everyone and welcome backto another episode of the
Semide Dental Podcast.
I'm your co-host, jeremy Wolf,joined by none other than your,
of course, dr Alex Semide.
Dr Alex always a pleasure tosee you, my brother, how you
been Likewise my man Doing great.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I am living la vida loca, as per the usual.
All right, as per the usualarrangement.
Yes, yes.
So we got a fun one foreveryone today.
Dr Alex and I we like to run,and we were out on our run
Saturday ago maybe two Saturdaysago and the topic of fluoride
came up.
(00:52):
I've been on this kind ofspiritual journey post-40.
And I've heard a lot aboutfluoride and how it affects your
pineal glands.
So I started talking about that, and I know very little about
fluoride other than the factthat it's applied to my teeth
when I go to the dentist forcleaning.
But Dr Alex here, he is prettywell-versed in this topic, so we
(01:13):
thought what a good topic toget into.
It is a buzzword nowadays.
So, with that being said, whydon't you start off by
explaining what exactly isfluoride, because I think most
people out there probably don'treally understand exactly what
it is, and then why it's becomesuch a big part of dental care?
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yeah, no, absolutely yeah.
Fluoride it's the new F word,right?
Definitely a trending search,given some concerns that this
new incoming administration hasshared regarding fluoride, and
it's been on the radar quite abit and it's been a topic of
discussion for the last foreverreally.
Folks that like to take more ofa holistic approach to their
(01:55):
health care have generally hadconcerns about fluoride and its
toxicity and things like that.
So I think it's important totake a little bit of a step back
and really do a deep dive intothe pros, the cons, where it can
be helpful, where it could betoxic, right.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
As a bad and ugly.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, exactly as dentists going through dental
school.
Fluoride is one of our keyweapons in the endless fight
against tooth decay.
So in today's show we're goingto talk about how fluoride
impacts our oral health andpotential systemic toxicity
related to it.
So before we get into the nittygritty of fluoride, I want to
(02:35):
take a little bit of a step backright and talk about our teeth
and the structure of our teeth,and then I think people will
better understand how fluorideworks into the whole thing.
So the way I always explain itis if you were to zoom in a
really powerful microscope ontothe surface of our teeth, the
enamel, the protective layer ofthe teeth, would look like a
(02:58):
brick wall right, and thosebricks are all minerals very
tightly packed in together.
Now on our teeth there's thisconstant tug of war happening
right, where we lose some ofthose minerals, like it's almost
like bricks are removed fromthe wall and then those minerals
(03:20):
are put back in right and thatprocess is called
demineralization andremineralization, and the things
responsible for removing bricksare things like bacteria, the
stuff we brought.
So the acid that bacterialeaches.
(03:40):
Minerals from the enamel, acidsfrom our diet can also do the
same thing, so we're constantlyweakening that enamel and then
our saliva comes in with all ofthe minerals that it has and
pushes those minerals back in tothe tooth, basically rebuilding
that brick wall.
Right now, fluoride almostserves like a mortar for those
bricks to strengthen the walland hold those minerals in place
(04:03):
On a surface level.
Fluoride is fantastic.
It really helps strengthen ourteeth, fight off cavities, so on
and so forth.
Now fluoride really gotintroduced into the world in the
50s and what happened was 150years ago, when our diets were,
(04:27):
you know, crackers and cheeseand salted meats and you know
some sort of fermented beverage,the risk for cavities was
pretty low.
Like tooth decay just reallywasn't a thing.
Right, sweets and carbs andthings like that that lead to
tooth decay through theproduction of acid and so on and
(04:48):
so forth was a lot rarer thanit is now.
Right, like right now,post-industrial revolution, our
diets are super saturated withsugars, refined carbs, all of
the things that are karyogenicand that's the fancy term for
cavity producing.
That industrial revolutionhappened circa 1900.
(05:10):
And we went from eons of havinggenerally really healthy mouths
to starting to see a lot oftooth decay happening and to the
point where public healthofficials were like whoa, what's
going on?
We need to do something here tostave off this epidemic of
tooth decay.
So they thought, all right, weknow fluoride can have an impact
(05:34):
on the health of the enamel.
Let's just put fluoride intothe water supply so that
everybody's getting fluorideFluoride all the time, right,
and we're going to cut down therisk for cavities and people are
going to have healthier mouths.
Sounds like a great plan, right.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I don't know about that.
Well, let me stop you there.
I want to, because that'scounterintuitive.
I'm on a roll, Jeremy, I'mtalking fluoride man.
No, I would have thought thatpeople would have had more
dental issues.
And what you're saying makessense now with all the processed
foods and the sugars andeverything.
But like, at what point didpeople start actually brushing
their teeth?
(06:12):
Like, when did that become athing?
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, toothbrushes have been around for a really
long time.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, the preponderance, the really oral
health and like at home care andtoothbrushes and tools and
toothpastes and all of that alsostarted really gaining momentum
, Like middle of the lastcentury, middle of the 1900s,
the last century Can you believethat?
1900s last millennium too?
(06:40):
But yeah, so it was always athing, but not nearly as common
as it is nowadays.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
So the government decides to just put this stuff
into tap water, basically, okay,basically.
So what could go wrong there?
What could go wrong?
So there's definitely a bigdistinction in your mind between
topical fluoride and theningesting fluoride into the body
(07:10):
, into the bloodstream, ahundred percent.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
So fluoride works to be a two different mechanisms
right.
It can either work topically,just placed on the surface of
your teeth, to serve as thatmortar, right?
Or it can come from, like theinside out, right.
So if you ingest fluoride andthis is particularly applicable
to kids that fluoride actuallygets embedded into the enamel of
(07:34):
the teeth as the teeth aredeveloping, so it's almost like
you're supercharging these teethfor the future to avoid tooth
decay.
Sounds pretty straightforward.
Now, the issue with that isthat too much of this fluoride
can be toxic, right, and it's avery, very, very delicate
(07:58):
balance and delicate level thatneeds to be achieved to get the
benefits of the fluoride fromyour tap water right, versus
overshooting your mark and ithaving at reaching toxic levels.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
And how could they possibly determine what that
happy medium is?
Because everybody has adifferent body, everybody has a
different composition.
It's got to affect differentpeople differently.
So just to impose like ablanket amount of fluoride on
everybody and say you're goodwith 0.08, whatever that is,
that might be good for somebody.
It might be bad for somebodyelse, Right?
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Yeah, and it lacks the take into consideration
things like all right, like howmuch tap water are you consuming
?
That?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
as well, yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
If I'm trying to be healthy and drinking a gallon of
water a day from myrefrigerator like dispenser,
right that has a carbon filterbuilt in that doesn't filter out
any fluoride, like you could beingesting a lot more fluoride
than you need, right for thedental benefits of it.
Now, the dental benefits ofingested fluoride for adults is
(09:00):
like nil, right.
So we're really exposing theentirety of the population to
something that, and that's notto mention that you're counting
on these local municipalities todo a good job at regulating the
fluoride levels, right.
There's been studies done thathave shown certain community
(09:21):
water sources that have fluoridelevels that are way too high,
that are really potentiallytoxic.
It's important for folks tounderstand that the people
responsible for maintainingthose fluoride levels are local
communities, right, andsometimes equipment malfunctions
, sometimes people overlookthings and folks could be
(09:43):
exposed to dangerously highlevels of the substance, and
this is at the state and locallevel, correct?
At the very local level.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
So, as many communities are starting to
remove fluoride from watersupplies from where you sit, do
you see that as a step forwardor backwards for public health?
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That's a good question.
So I'll be perfectly honest.
I was trained as a dentist andin dental school, fluoride is
like one of the biggest tools inour belt.
Yeah, to fight the good fightagainst tooth decay.
And unfortunately, right, likewith every other profession, you
fall into trappings and youlearn a certain thing in school
(10:29):
and that's just like yourmindset.
And yeah, fluoride is good.
We recommend it this, that andthe other.
Over the last few months I'vebeen doing a deep dive into
fluoride and maybe reconsideringmy personal stance on what our
use should be.
So I think exposing folks tosystemic fluoride with little
(10:49):
control is maybe not the bestapproach anymore.
This was done in the mid-50s tostave off the epidemic of tooth
decay and it was effective.
We saw the results that we hadintended, which was to cut down
the amount of cavities thatpeople were getting.
We got that effect Right.
We just like with everythingelse in medicine, sometimes we
(11:13):
lack the foresight of what elsecould happen with this thing.
Right, you intend you've gotyour original intention, but
what's the fallout from it?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
What's the unintended consequences?
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And I feel like now is when we're starting to have
those discussions.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah, it's a very interesting and fascinating
topic.
There's so many different.
I don't want to do a deep diveinto the FDA and the other
things that are put in our food,but it just seems to me, with
all the information that'savailable out there now,
something like that shouldn't beblanket imposed on everybody.
We should all have the decisionto apply this or not.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Yeah, I'll tell you for myself personally, as I've
altered my views on the wholefluoride thing over the last few
months.
I've made changes in my house.
Right, I purchased a reverseosmosis filter that will remove
the fluoride from the water thatmy kids are drinking all the
time.
Is still a phenomenal tool tohelp reduce our risk for tooth
(12:15):
decay, because our diets arevery karyogenic.
Right, our diets are verycavity inducing.
Everything that we eat hassugars, has refined carbs.
All of those things lead tocavities.
That wasn't the case in the 18,but it is now.
Unless we're going to radicallychange our diets, we do need to
(12:36):
bear in mind our dental health.
Right, and what can we do toimprove our dental health?
Because nobody wants to getcavities, nobody wants to lose
teeth because of decay.
That leads to other healthissues as well.
So I think it's still animportant tool, but I am glad
that we're starting toreconsider just blanket
(12:58):
fluoridation in our water supply.
Fluoride is a great tool whenused topically, when used in a
controlled way.
I can speak for myself and howI've started to alter and adjust
the way we go about things athome.
I've started to cut down on howmuch fluoride I use with my
kids.
I have two kids six and two and, like I said, getting the
(13:20):
reverse osmosis filter,eliminating that ingested
fluoride source andincorporating toothpastes that
don't have fluoride fornighttime brushing.
We still use fluoridatedtoothpastes once a day because
it is so helpful in rebuildingthat enamel and strengthening it
.
But taking small steps likethat to cut down the amount of
(13:44):
fluoride that we're exposed to,I think is a really good idea
and we'll get into why that'simportant in a second here.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
I was going to actually ask about that, the
daily use of it.
I recently started using anon-fluoride toothpaste not
always but sometimes, so beingthat it's already in the water.
If you're consuming water and Iguess technically I'm not,
because I have the bottledZephyr Hills thing unless
they're putting it in the hillsof Zephyr, I guess I'm not
getting it in the drinking water.
But again, this came to my mindbecause of a good friend of
(14:18):
mine who's big into thespiritual world and he told me a
while ago oh, you shouldn'tconsume fluoride because it's
bad for your third eye or pinealgland.
So there is a growing concernabout that.
Obviously is part of the reasonwhy we're talking about it.
Can you explain a little bitmore about?
I thought it was fascinating.
While we were running you weretalking about the pineal gland
(14:38):
and how fluoride does affectthat.
Get into that.
Talk about that for a littlewhile.
Let's go down that rabbit hole.
It is really fascinating.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Yeah, it really is.
So fluoride is a mineral rightand if we ingest it it builds up
in certain tissues in the body.
And speaking specifically ofthe pineal gland, which a lot of
folks hear pineal gland andthey start hearing woo
automatically.
Yeah, woo, woo alert.
It is a real thing.
And it does have biologicprocesses that it's responsible
(15:11):
for, most importantly,regulating our sleep, right?
So the pineal gland makesmelatonin that helps us fall
asleep.
It regulates our circadianrhythm, the sleep-wake cycle,
and sleep is really important,right?
Sleep is what ultimatelyregulates all of your hormone
functions in the body, and ifwe're not sleeping well, if we
(15:32):
are interfering with our qualityof sleep not sleeping well, if
we are interfering with ourquality of sleep our health
suffers.
Now, what fluoride does in thepineal gland is it binds calcium
and it basically like sticks tothe pineal gland.
So it calcifies the pinealgland.
Now, some pineal glandcalcification is normal, and
(15:53):
people that are opponents ofthis argument or train of
thought will say somecalcification is normal, right?
Adults all show some pinealgland calcification.
Yes, that's true.
The problem is that fluoridespeeds that process up
tremendously, right?
So it builds up a lot morecalcium and basically like bogs
down the pineal gland to whereit can't do what it's
(16:15):
responsible for doing.
So it starts affecting ourability to sleep, starts
affecting, you know, everythingthat comes downstream from that
too, right?
Some woo folks ascribe somemore powers to the pineal gland.
I'm not going to get into that,but from a basic biological
standpoint, there is goodscience that warrants, that
(16:38):
substantiates the fact thatfluoride does interfere
ultimately with the function ofthis very important gland.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Aside from stopping the intake of fluoride entirely.
Let's say you're stillconsuming fluoride and it's
contributing to some degree tothe calcification of the pineal
gland Is there anything else youcan do to decalcify the pineal
gland?
Is there an like you get thefluoride coming in?
Is there another supplement youcould take that kind of
balances that out that you knowof?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Yeah, there are some supplements out there that will.
That will decalcify ordefluoridify I think we just
made up a word, the pineal glandand show that it can bring back
some of its function.
I'll let folks do their ownresearch into that, but there
are some over-the-countersupplements that could help with
(17:27):
that.
My personal opinion is, though,if it's something that is toxic
and building up, let's justregulate how much we're taking
in of that, so that we don'thave to take something else to
undo that damage.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
That makes sense and everything, for the most part,
everything in moderation, rightis okay within reason.
Now you did a whole blog onthis and there were some things
that you referenced in the blogthat I wanted to clarify.
You had mentioned dentalfluorosis.
What exactly is that?
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Yeah, so dental fluorosis is what we see when
kids get too much fluorideexposure.
And now, so the kids get allthis fluoride exposure, they
ingest this fluoride.
The fluoride actually getsembedded into the enamel of
their teeth.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
as the teeth are developing, but wasn't that a
good thing, though to somedegree.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
To have a degree right.
But dose makes the poison right.
So when we have too much of itthe enamel actually doesn't
develop properly.
It'll look mottled and stainedand pitted.
Healthy enamel should bevibrant and shiny and smooth.
If it gets too much fluoridewhen it's developing it becomes
(18:40):
the exact opposite and you'releft with fluoride that isn't,
or tooth enamel that just isn'tvery strong or resilient and
it's actually even more prone totooth decay.
Those folks will generally needsome level of aesthetic
dentistry to correct the problem, because it's generally doesn't
look great but it's notnecessarily much beyond the
(19:04):
aesthetic impact that it's goingto have some minor elevated
risk for tooth decay.
So that's really in a nutshellthe negative, like toxic impacts
of fluoride when it comes toyour teeth.
Where it really starts gettinghairy is the systemic exposure.
What happens when that fluoridegets into your overall system
(19:24):
and what is it damaging on thatfront?
So things like the pineal gland, other organs that start taking
in a lot of this of thefluoride, they start losing
function too.
It really is.
It's something that's a greattool.
It just needs to be used, likeyou said, in moderation, the
right dose and generallyingesting a bunch of it through
(19:44):
our tap water.
It just doesn't let us regulatehow much of it we're getting,
but served its purpose in thefifties of staving off tooth
decay.
But I think we're getting smartto the fact that maybe we need
to reconsider this and be alittle bit smarter about how we
go about utilizing it.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
The fluoride ship may have sailed as far as no man,
it's still as far as ingestinginto your bloodstream.
I said may have In your opinion.
I know at your practice you arevery patient, specific.
You treat the.
You do.
You treat the patient right,you don't.
You look at their history.
What's in your opinion?
What's the best way for parentsto safely introduce fluoride to
(20:23):
their kids?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
That's a great question, so I'll tell you what
I did with my kids.
The number one step when itcomes to introducing fluoride.
Right, obviously, this wholetap water conversation
notwithstanding.
Right, because it's probably inthe next few months, except,
most of our south floridacommunities are going to remove
fluoride from the water.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
That's happening, that's happening, that's
happening is that something thatwas voted on or they're just
doing that?
Do you know what's that?
Was that something thatrequired a vote of all the
people, or is that somethingthat was, like it, decided at
the, at the city level?
You know I'm talking about?
Yeah, was that on the, on theballot, so to speak?
Or is that something they justdid?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
I'm not I haven't seen it on the ballot but I see
reports of more and more.
I think delray is removing itin the next month or so from
their water source.
Since the whole fluoride thingis very community specific, I'm
sure every community has adifferent way they go about it.
But, yeah, we're definitelygoing to see less and less of
community fluoridation.
But what I was going to say isa very important thing, right?
(21:23):
So we want to make thedistinction between topical and
systemic fluoride, right?
Like fluoride touching yourteeth is a good thing, right,
that is going to strengthen Igot fireworks with it.
It's such a good thing.
That is going to strengthen.
I got fireworks with it.
It's such a good thing.
It's going to strengthen theenamel on your teeth and cut
down your risk for tooth decay.
Now what we want to avoid is asystemic use of fluoride.
(21:47):
That makes sense toothpastewith fluoride.
So I did a lot of training withmy kids.
I have trainer toothpaste thatdon't have any fluoride Like
until they were able to spit outthe toothpaste really well, I
didn't introduce fluoridatedtoothpaste because I don't want
them ingesting all of that extrafluoride.
(22:08):
So we train them up right.
Once they're able to spit theirtoothpaste out, we start
introducing fluoride, right?
So little things like that.
Like I said before, I don't usefluoridated toothpaste twice a
day anymore.
We use it in the mornings toget that benefit, spit it out
really well, and then at nightwe'll use a non-fluoridated
(22:30):
toothpaste to remove the plaqueand food and things like that
that have built up before we goto bed.
So it's little steps like that.
Really.
Let us fine tune the level offluoride that we're getting
exposed to get the benefitswithout the risks.
Now, in the practice, we dorecommend fluoride.
We still use it.
I'm a firm believer that whenused topically and used in the
(22:51):
right way, it's one of the besttools we have right.
So, all of our patients, we dowhat's called a caries risk
assessment, right, and we takeseveral factors into account,
from how much saliva theyproduce to what their cavity
history is and things like that.
And we assign a certain risklevel, right, and we do this
every year and based on thatrisk level, we'll either
(23:13):
recommend topical fluoride ornot.
And the topical fluoride isplaced in a very controlled way,
right, it's done when you comein for your hygiene visit.
It's placed by the hygienist inareas where it's going to
benefit you the most but exposeyou the least.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
So is that when you go to the dentist and you guys
apply the topical fluoride, I'dimagine that's a significantly
larger concentration than what'sin toothpaste alone.
Otherwise, if you were gettingthe same amount from the
toothpaste, what would be thepoint of giving the full dose of
it?
So okay, that makes sense.
What about you had talked alsoin the blog about alternatives
(23:55):
to fluoride, things like cpp,acp, right, cpp, acp, cpp, acp
can you explain what that is andhow it works?
Phosphopeptide amorphouscalcium phosphate say that 10
times times fast.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, I can't.
I had to read it ACP for short.
And what ACP is?
It's like a fluoride.
It also serves as a mortar forthat brick wall analogy.
It's not quite as effective asfluoride, truth be told, but it
(24:32):
still provides a lot of thosesame benefits.
So it is something that I'vealso introduced at home for
myself and the kids as part ofthe remineralization process to
rebuild that brick wall to keepthe enamel strong.
It's primarily found in aproduct called MI Paste that we
use and recommend.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
So it's, another toothpaste basically, basically.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Yeah, it doesn't taste great, it doesn't feel
great, but it works well.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
It's not all minty like the toothpaste.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
They have all sorts of flavors, from tutti frutti to
vanilla.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
The one I'm using right now that has no fluoride.
It tastes like baking sodastraight up, it's not very
pleasant.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Yeah, it really makes you want to brush.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I've actually brushed my teeth several times with it
and had a nasty taste in mymouth and actually re-brushed my
teeth with the minty toothpaste, because I'm so used to it.
I'll do a brush, I'll startworking.
I'm like I got a funny taste inmy mouth.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
I'm sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
You were saying before I interjected.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
No, the ACP is a great tool.
It's definitely something folksshould look into.
It's something that I encourageall my colleagues to
incorporate into their practiceand share with their patients.
I think dentistry is going tobe taking a long hard look at
fluoride and just how much we'rerecommending it and maybe being
a little bit more judiciouswith how we use that very
powerful tool.
(25:50):
Right Like everything in life,like you said, everything in
moderation.
There are benefits to bederived from fluoride, but we
just need to be better stewardsof it.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
And I love that you're on the cutting edge of
this right.
It really speaks to the timeyou put in educating yourself
around what you're doing, whichis huge, man.
What would be one piece ofadvice if you had to pick one
thing that you'd like to leavelisteners with about this topic,
about fluoride and oral health?
What?
Speaker 1 (26:20):
would that be?
Guard your fluoride intake,right, your systemic fluoride
intake, but don't be afraid ofit.
Hopefully you will find adental home that is on the same
page and taking into account allof the factors that we
discussed previously.
And find a dental home that ison the same page and taking into
account all of the factors thatwe discussed previously, and
find a dentist that's going tohelp you find that right balance
(26:40):
.
Right, like how much do we needfor the intended benefits,
without getting into dangerousterritory where it could be
affecting your overall health?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Did we miss anything?
Was there any other topics orany other pieces of the puzzle
that we didn't address here?
Speaker 1 (26:56):
I wanted to know if you had any other specific
questions about it.
It's always helpful for me toget outside of my dentist head,
because we sometimes think aboutthings in a particular way,
miss the forest for the trees.
We get so into the specificdetails about things that we
don't.
We sometimes lack the abilityto really convey these things to
our patients and the generalpublic.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I think I have a better understanding and you've
clarified quite a few thingswith me and, if nothing else,
just talking about this topichas raised awareness in my mind.
So I'm a little just a littlebit more self-conscious about
this topic, which is really allwe could do, because a change
like this is going to take time,and I think having discussions
like this not just aboutfluoride, but about everything
(27:39):
that we're putting into our bodyare very important, because
there is obviously a growingepidemic in the country about
people's health in our country.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
So the more we can talk about these topics One last
thing I would like to add onthat topic is we incorporate the
fluoride because of that.
That carries risk factor.
The best thing, the best way tolower that risk, is to modify
our diets and improve ourhygiene.
Right.
And modifying our diet is goingto have impacts far beyond your
(28:12):
dental health is going to haveimpacts far beyond your dental
health.
Right, eliminating things likeprocessed carbs, sugars, excess
sugars in the diet those are thethings that lead to tooth decay
and so many more health issues,right?
So if we're addressing rootcauses, let's talk about
nutrition, right, let's getserious about those
(28:33):
conversations and thendownstream, we're going to need
a lot less fluoride becausewe're just not going to be as
risk prone.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah, the nutrition is so huge, probably one of the
easiest things to fix about yourhealth and also, at the same
time, one of the most difficultthings.
One of the hardest for sure,especially in the society that
we live, where you go to Publixlooking for groceries and
everything is packaged to looklike it's healthy and then you
(29:00):
look at what it's composed ofYou're like I don't want to die.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, it's like a gram vat of sugar.
Like where the hell did thiscome from?
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah, it's crazy man, but that definitely is a topic
for another.
Another day we can go on a godown a rabbit hole on that one.
Cool man.
All right, this was reallyinformative Everyone.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
If if you have any experiencewith this, leave it in the
comments below.
Leave your stories, anythingthat you've encountered about
this topic.
We're interested to hear whatyou have to say.
Appreciate you all joining uson this journey and we'll look
(29:28):
forward to seeing you next time,yeah.
Keep smiling folks the Semiday.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Dental Podcast.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Everyone take care.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Have a wonderful day.
We'll catch you next time.
Thanks for tuning in to thisepisode of the Semiday Dental
Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
Don't forget to subscribe,leave a review and follow us on
social media for the latestepisodes.
You can find us at SemidayDental.
If you have any questions, feelfree to reach out.
We're always happy to help.
Until then, keep smiling andstay curious.
Welcome to the Semide Dental Podcast.
We're here to provide youexpert insights on how dentistry
can improve your quality oflife and extend your health span
.
I'm Alex Semide and I'm apracticing dentist, and I'll be
your host, along with JeremyWolf.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Enjoy the show.
Hello everyone and welcome backto another episode of the
Semide Dental Podcast.
I'm your co-host, jeremy Wolf,joined by none other than your,
of course, dr Alex Semide.
Dr Alex always a pleasure tosee you, my brother, how you
been Likewise my man Doing great.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I am living la vida loca, as per the usual.
All right, as per the usualarrangement.
Yes, yes.
So we got a fun one foreveryone today.
Dr Alex and I we like to run,and we were out on our run
Saturday ago maybe two Saturdaysago and the topic of fluoride
came up.
(00:52):
I've been on this kind ofspiritual journey post-40.
And I've heard a lot aboutfluoride and how it affects your
pineal glands.
So I started talking about that, and I know very little about
fluoride other than the factthat it's applied to my teeth
when I go to the dentist forcleaning.
But Dr Alex here, he is prettywell-versed in this topic, so we
(01:13):
thought what a good topic toget into.
It is a buzzword nowadays.
So, with that being said, whydon't you start off by
explaining what exactly isfluoride, because I think most
people out there probably don'treally understand exactly what
it is, and then why it's becomesuch a big part of dental care?
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yeah, no, absolutely yeah.
Fluoride it's the new F word,right?
Definitely a trending search,given some concerns that this
new incoming administration hasshared regarding fluoride, and
it's been on the radar quite abit and it's been a topic of
discussion for the last foreverreally.
Folks that like to take more ofa holistic approach to their
(01:55):
health care have generally hadconcerns about fluoride and its
toxicity and things like that.
So I think it's important totake a little bit of a step back
and really do a deep dive intothe pros, the cons, where it can
be helpful, where it could betoxic, right.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
As a bad and ugly.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, exactly as dentists going through dental
school.
Fluoride is one of our keyweapons in the endless fight
against tooth decay.
So in today's show we're goingto talk about how fluoride
impacts our oral health andpotential systemic toxicity
related to it.
So before we get into the nittygritty of fluoride, I want to
(02:35):
take a little bit of a step backright and talk about our teeth
and the structure of our teeth,and then I think people will
better understand how fluorideworks into the whole thing.
So the way I always explain itis if you were to zoom in a
really powerful microscope ontothe surface of our teeth, the
enamel, the protective layer ofthe teeth, would look like a
(02:58):
brick wall right, and thosebricks are all minerals very
tightly packed in together.
Now on our teeth there's thisconstant tug of war happening
right, where we lose some ofthose minerals, like it's almost
like bricks are removed fromthe wall and then those minerals
(03:20):
are put back in right and thatprocess is called
demineralization andremineralization, and the things
responsible for removing bricksare things like bacteria, the
stuff we brought.
So the acid that bacterialeaches.
(03:40):
Minerals from the enamel, acidsfrom our diet can also do the
same thing, so we're constantlyweakening that enamel and then
our saliva comes in with all ofthe minerals that it has and
pushes those minerals back in tothe tooth, basically rebuilding
that brick wall.
Right now, fluoride almostserves like a mortar for those
bricks to strengthen the walland hold those minerals in place
(04:03):
On a surface level.
Fluoride is fantastic.
It really helps strengthen ourteeth, fight off cavities, so on
and so forth.
Now fluoride really gotintroduced into the world in the
50s and what happened was 150years ago, when our diets were,
(04:27):
you know, crackers and cheeseand salted meats and you know
some sort of fermented beverage,the risk for cavities was
pretty low.
Like tooth decay just reallywasn't a thing.
Right, sweets and carbs andthings like that that lead to
tooth decay through theproduction of acid and so on and
(04:48):
so forth was a lot rarer thanit is now.
Right, like right now,post-industrial revolution, our
diets are super saturated withsugars, refined carbs, all of
the things that are karyogenicand that's the fancy term for
cavity producing.
That industrial revolutionhappened circa 1900.
(05:10):
And we went from eons of havinggenerally really healthy mouths
to starting to see a lot oftooth decay happening and to the
point where public healthofficials were like whoa, what's
going on?
We need to do something here tostave off this epidemic of
tooth decay.
So they thought, all right, weknow fluoride can have an impact
(05:34):
on the health of the enamel.
Let's just put fluoride intothe water supply so that
everybody's getting fluorideFluoride all the time, right,
and we're going to cut down therisk for cavities and people are
going to have healthier mouths.
Sounds like a great plan, right.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
I don't know about that.
Well, let me stop you there.
I want to, because that'scounterintuitive.
I'm on a roll, Jeremy, I'mtalking fluoride man.
No, I would have thought thatpeople would have had more
dental issues.
And what you're saying makessense now with all the processed
foods and the sugars andeverything.
But like, at what point didpeople start actually brushing
their teeth?
(06:12):
Like, when did that become athing?
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, toothbrushes have been around for a really
long time.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, the preponderance, the really oral
health and like at home care andtoothbrushes and tools and
toothpastes and all of that alsostarted really gaining momentum
, Like middle of the lastcentury, middle of the 1900s,
the last century Can you believethat?
1900s last millennium too?
(06:40):
But yeah, so it was always athing, but not nearly as common
as it is nowadays.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
So the government decides to just put this stuff
into tap water, basically, okay,basically.
So what could go wrong there?
What could go wrong?
So there's definitely a bigdistinction in your mind between
topical fluoride and theningesting fluoride into the body
(07:10):
, into the bloodstream, ahundred percent.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
So fluoride works to be a two different mechanisms
right.
It can either work topically,just placed on the surface of
your teeth, to serve as thatmortar, right?
Or it can come from, like theinside out, right.
So if you ingest fluoride andthis is particularly applicable
to kids that fluoride actuallygets embedded into the enamel of
(07:34):
the teeth as the teeth aredeveloping, so it's almost like
you're supercharging these teethfor the future to avoid tooth
decay.
Sounds pretty straightforward.
Now, the issue with that isthat too much of this fluoride
can be toxic, right, and it's avery, very, very delicate
(07:58):
balance and delicate level thatneeds to be achieved to get the
benefits of the fluoride fromyour tap water right, versus
overshooting your mark and ithaving at reaching toxic levels.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
And how could they possibly determine what that
happy medium is?
Because everybody has adifferent body, everybody has a
different composition.
It's got to affect differentpeople differently.
So just to impose like ablanket amount of fluoride on
everybody and say you're goodwith 0.08, whatever that is,
that might be good for somebody.
It might be bad for somebodyelse, Right?
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Yeah, and it lacks the take into consideration
things like all right, like howmuch tap water are you consuming
?
That?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
as well, yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
If I'm trying to be healthy and drinking a gallon of
water a day from myrefrigerator like dispenser,
right that has a carbon filterbuilt in that doesn't filter out
any fluoride, like you could beingesting a lot more fluoride
than you need, right for thedental benefits of it.
Now, the dental benefits ofingested fluoride for adults is
(09:00):
like nil, right.
So we're really exposing theentirety of the population to
something that, and that's notto mention that you're counting
on these local municipalities todo a good job at regulating the
fluoride levels, right.
There's been studies done thathave shown certain community
(09:21):
water sources that have fluoridelevels that are way too high,
that are really potentiallytoxic.
It's important for folks tounderstand that the people
responsible for maintainingthose fluoride levels are local
communities, right, andsometimes equipment malfunctions
, sometimes people overlookthings and folks could be
(09:43):
exposed to dangerously highlevels of the substance, and
this is at the state and locallevel, correct?
At the very local level.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
So, as many communities are starting to
remove fluoride from watersupplies from where you sit, do
you see that as a step forwardor backwards for public health?
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That's a good question.
So I'll be perfectly honest.
I was trained as a dentist andin dental school, fluoride is
like one of the biggest tools inour belt.
Yeah, to fight the good fightagainst tooth decay.
And unfortunately, right, likewith every other profession, you
fall into trappings and youlearn a certain thing in school
(10:29):
and that's just like yourmindset.
And yeah, fluoride is good.
We recommend it this, that andthe other.
Over the last few months I'vebeen doing a deep dive into
fluoride and maybe reconsideringmy personal stance on what our
use should be.
So I think exposing folks tosystemic fluoride with little
(10:49):
control is maybe not the bestapproach anymore.
This was done in the mid-50s tostave off the epidemic of tooth
decay and it was effective.
We saw the results that we hadintended, which was to cut down
the amount of cavities thatpeople were getting.
We got that effect Right.
We just like with everythingelse in medicine, sometimes we
(11:13):
lack the foresight of what elsecould happen with this thing.
Right, you intend you've gotyour original intention, but
what's the fallout from it?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
What's the unintended consequences?
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And I feel like now is when we're starting to have
those discussions.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah, it's a very interesting and fascinating
topic.
There's so many different.
I don't want to do a deep diveinto the FDA and the other
things that are put in our food,but it just seems to me, with
all the information that'savailable out there now,
something like that shouldn't beblanket imposed on everybody.
We should all have the decisionto apply this or not.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Yeah, I'll tell you for myself personally, as I've
altered my views on the wholefluoride thing over the last few
months.
I've made changes in my house.
Right, I purchased a reverseosmosis filter that will remove
the fluoride from the water thatmy kids are drinking all the
time.
Is still a phenomenal tool tohelp reduce our risk for tooth
(12:15):
decay, because our diets arevery karyogenic.
Right, our diets are verycavity inducing.
Everything that we eat hassugars, has refined carbs.
All of those things lead tocavities.
That wasn't the case in the 18,but it is now.
Unless we're going to radicallychange our diets, we do need to
(12:36):
bear in mind our dental health.
Right, and what can we do toimprove our dental health?
Because nobody wants to getcavities, nobody wants to lose
teeth because of decay.
That leads to other healthissues as well.
So I think it's still animportant tool, but I am glad
that we're starting toreconsider just blanket
(12:58):
fluoridation in our water supply.
Fluoride is a great tool whenused topically, when used in a
controlled way.
I can speak for myself and howI've started to alter and adjust
the way we go about things athome.
I've started to cut down on howmuch fluoride I use with my
kids.
I have two kids six and two and, like I said, getting the
(13:20):
reverse osmosis filter,eliminating that ingested
fluoride source andincorporating toothpastes that
don't have fluoride fornighttime brushing.
We still use fluoridatedtoothpastes once a day because
it is so helpful in rebuildingthat enamel and strengthening it
.
But taking small steps likethat to cut down the amount of
(13:44):
fluoride that we're exposed to,I think is a really good idea
and we'll get into why that'simportant in a second here.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
I was going to actually ask about that, the
daily use of it.
I recently started using anon-fluoride toothpaste not
always but sometimes, so beingthat it's already in the water.
If you're consuming water and Iguess technically I'm not,
because I have the bottledZephyr Hills thing unless
they're putting it in the hillsof Zephyr, I guess I'm not
getting it in the drinking water.
But again, this came to my mindbecause of a good friend of
(14:18):
mine who's big into thespiritual world and he told me a
while ago oh, you shouldn'tconsume fluoride because it's
bad for your third eye or pinealgland.
So there is a growing concernabout that.
Obviously is part of the reasonwhy we're talking about it.
Can you explain a little bitmore about?
I thought it was fascinating.
While we were running you weretalking about the pineal gland
(14:38):
and how fluoride does affectthat.
Get into that.
Talk about that for a littlewhile.
Let's go down that rabbit hole.
It is really fascinating.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Yeah, it really is.
So fluoride is a mineral rightand if we ingest it it builds up
in certain tissues in the body.
And speaking specifically ofthe pineal gland, which a lot of
folks hear pineal gland andthey start hearing woo
automatically.
Yeah, woo, woo alert.
It is a real thing.
And it does have biologicprocesses that it's responsible
(15:11):
for, most importantly,regulating our sleep, right?
So the pineal gland makesmelatonin that helps us fall
asleep.
It regulates our circadianrhythm, the sleep-wake cycle,
and sleep is really important,right?
Sleep is what ultimatelyregulates all of your hormone
functions in the body, and ifwe're not sleeping well, if we
(15:32):
are interfering with our qualityof sleep not sleeping well, if
we are interfering with ourquality of sleep our health
suffers.
Now, what fluoride does in thepineal gland is it binds calcium
and it basically like sticks tothe pineal gland.
So it calcifies the pinealgland.
Now, some pineal glandcalcification is normal, and
(15:53):
people that are opponents ofthis argument or train of
thought will say somecalcification is normal, right?
Adults all show some pinealgland calcification.
Yes, that's true.
The problem is that fluoridespeeds that process up
tremendously, right?
So it builds up a lot morecalcium and basically like bogs
down the pineal gland to whereit can't do what it's
(16:15):
responsible for doing.
So it starts affecting ourability to sleep, starts
affecting, you know, everythingthat comes downstream from that
too, right?
Some woo folks ascribe somemore powers to the pineal gland.
I'm not going to get into that,but from a basic biological
standpoint, there is goodscience that warrants, that
(16:38):
substantiates the fact thatfluoride does interfere
ultimately with the function ofthis very important gland.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Aside from stopping the intake of fluoride entirely.
Let's say you're stillconsuming fluoride and it's
contributing to some degree tothe calcification of the pineal
gland Is there anything else youcan do to decalcify the pineal
gland?
Is there an like you get thefluoride coming in?
Is there another supplement youcould take that kind of
balances that out that you knowof?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Yeah, there are some supplements out there that will.
That will decalcify ordefluoridify I think we just
made up a word, the pineal glandand show that it can bring back
some of its function.
I'll let folks do their ownresearch into that, but there
are some over-the-countersupplements that could help with
(17:27):
that.
My personal opinion is, though,if it's something that is toxic
and building up, let's justregulate how much we're taking
in of that, so that we don'thave to take something else to
undo that damage.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
That makes sense and everything, for the most part,
everything in moderation, rightis okay within reason.
Now you did a whole blog onthis and there were some things
that you referenced in the blogthat I wanted to clarify.
You had mentioned dentalfluorosis.
What exactly is that?
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Yeah, so dental fluorosis is what we see when
kids get too much fluorideexposure.
And now, so the kids get allthis fluoride exposure, they
ingest this fluoride.
The fluoride actually getsembedded into the enamel of
their teeth.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
as the teeth are developing, but wasn't that a
good thing, though to somedegree.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
To have a degree right.
But dose makes the poison right.
So when we have too much of itthe enamel actually doesn't
develop properly.
It'll look mottled and stainedand pitted.
Healthy enamel should bevibrant and shiny and smooth.
If it gets too much fluoridewhen it's developing it becomes
(18:40):
the exact opposite and you'releft with fluoride that isn't,
or tooth enamel that just isn'tvery strong or resilient and
it's actually even more prone totooth decay.
Those folks will generally needsome level of aesthetic
dentistry to correct the problem, because it's generally doesn't
look great but it's notnecessarily much beyond the
(19:04):
aesthetic impact that it's goingto have some minor elevated
risk for tooth decay.
So that's really in a nutshellthe negative, like toxic impacts
of fluoride when it comes toyour teeth.
Where it really starts gettinghairy is the systemic exposure.
What happens when that fluoridegets into your overall system
(19:24):
and what is it damaging on thatfront?
So things like the pineal gland, other organs that start taking
in a lot of this of thefluoride, they start losing
function too.
It really is.
It's something that's a greattool.
It just needs to be used, likeyou said, in moderation, the
right dose and generallyingesting a bunch of it through
(19:44):
our tap water.
It just doesn't let us regulatehow much of it we're getting,
but served its purpose in thefifties of staving off tooth
decay.
But I think we're getting smartto the fact that maybe we need
to reconsider this and be alittle bit smarter about how we
go about utilizing it.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
The fluoride ship may have sailed as far as no man,
it's still as far as ingestinginto your bloodstream.
I said may have In your opinion.
I know at your practice you arevery patient, specific.
You treat the.
You do.
You treat the patient right,you don't.
You look at their history.
What's in your opinion?
What's the best way for parentsto safely introduce fluoride to
(20:23):
their kids?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
That's a great question, so I'll tell you what
I did with my kids.
The number one step when itcomes to introducing fluoride.
Right, obviously, this wholetap water conversation
notwithstanding.
Right, because it's probably inthe next few months, except,
most of our south floridacommunities are going to remove
fluoride from the water.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
That's happening, that's happening, that's
happening is that something thatwas voted on or they're just
doing that?
Do you know what's that?
Was that something thatrequired a vote of all the
people, or is that somethingthat was, like it, decided at
the, at the city level?
You know I'm talking about?
Yeah, was that on the, on theballot, so to speak?
Or is that something they justdid?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
I'm not I haven't seen it on the ballot but I see
reports of more and more.
I think delray is removing itin the next month or so from
their water source.
Since the whole fluoride thingis very community specific, I'm
sure every community has adifferent way they go about it.
But, yeah, we're definitelygoing to see less and less of
community fluoridation.
But what I was going to say isa very important thing, right?
(21:23):
So we want to make thedistinction between topical and
systemic fluoride, right?
Like fluoride touching yourteeth is a good thing, right,
that is going to strengthen Igot fireworks with it.
It's such a good thing.
That is going to strengthen.
I got fireworks with it.
It's such a good thing.
It's going to strengthen theenamel on your teeth and cut
down your risk for tooth decay.
Now what we want to avoid is asystemic use of fluoride.
(21:47):
That makes sense toothpastewith fluoride.
So I did a lot of training withmy kids.
I have trainer toothpaste thatdon't have any fluoride Like
until they were able to spit outthe toothpaste really well, I
didn't introduce fluoridatedtoothpaste because I don't want
them ingesting all of that extrafluoride.
(22:08):
So we train them up right.
Once they're able to spit theirtoothpaste out, we start
introducing fluoride, right?
So little things like that.
Like I said before, I don't usefluoridated toothpaste twice a
day anymore.
We use it in the mornings toget that benefit, spit it out
really well, and then at nightwe'll use a non-fluoridated
(22:30):
toothpaste to remove the plaqueand food and things like that
that have built up before we goto bed.
So it's little steps like that.
Really.
Let us fine tune the level offluoride that we're getting
exposed to get the benefitswithout the risks.
Now, in the practice, we dorecommend fluoride.
We still use it.
I'm a firm believer that whenused topically and used in the
(22:51):
right way, it's one of the besttools we have right.
So, all of our patients, we dowhat's called a caries risk
assessment, right, and we takeseveral factors into account,
from how much saliva theyproduce to what their cavity
history is and things like that.
And we assign a certain risklevel, right, and we do this
every year and based on thatrisk level, we'll either
(23:13):
recommend topical fluoride ornot.
And the topical fluoride isplaced in a very controlled way,
right, it's done when you comein for your hygiene visit.
It's placed by the hygienist inareas where it's going to
benefit you the most but exposeyou the least.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
So is that when you go to the dentist and you guys
apply the topical fluoride, I'dimagine that's a significantly
larger concentration than what'sin toothpaste alone.
Otherwise, if you were gettingthe same amount from the
toothpaste, what would be thepoint of giving the full dose of
it?
So okay, that makes sense.
What about you had talked alsoin the blog about alternatives
(23:55):
to fluoride, things like cpp,acp, right, cpp, acp, cpp, acp
can you explain what that is andhow it works?
Phosphopeptide amorphouscalcium phosphate say that 10
times times fast.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, I can't.
I had to read it ACP for short.
And what ACP is?
It's like a fluoride.
It also serves as a mortar forthat brick wall analogy.
It's not quite as effective asfluoride, truth be told, but it
(24:32):
still provides a lot of thosesame benefits.
So it is something that I'vealso introduced at home for
myself and the kids as part ofthe remineralization process to
rebuild that brick wall to keepthe enamel strong.
It's primarily found in aproduct called MI Paste that we
use and recommend.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
So it's, another toothpaste basically, basically.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Yeah, it doesn't taste great, it doesn't feel
great, but it works well.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
It's not all minty like the toothpaste.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
They have all sorts of flavors, from tutti frutti to
vanilla.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
The one I'm using right now that has no fluoride.
It tastes like baking sodastraight up, it's not very
pleasant.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Yeah, it really makes you want to brush.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I've actually brushed my teeth several times with it
and had a nasty taste in mymouth and actually re-brushed my
teeth with the minty toothpaste, because I'm so used to it.
I'll do a brush, I'll startworking.
I'm like I got a funny taste inmy mouth.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
I'm sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
You were saying before I interjected.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
No, the ACP is a great tool.
It's definitely something folksshould look into.
It's something that I encourageall my colleagues to
incorporate into their practiceand share with their patients.
I think dentistry is going tobe taking a long hard look at
fluoride and just how much we'rerecommending it and maybe being
a little bit more judiciouswith how we use that very
powerful tool.
(25:50):
Right Like everything in life,like you said, everything in
moderation.
There are benefits to bederived from fluoride, but we
just need to be better stewardsof it.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
And I love that you're on the cutting edge of
this right.
It really speaks to the timeyou put in educating yourself
around what you're doing, whichis huge, man.
What would be one piece ofadvice if you had to pick one
thing that you'd like to leavelisteners with about this topic,
about fluoride and oral health?
What?
Speaker 1 (26:20):
would that be?
Guard your fluoride intake,right, your systemic fluoride
intake, but don't be afraid ofit.
Hopefully you will find adental home that is on the same
page and taking into account allof the factors that we
discussed previously.
And find a dental home that ison the same page and taking into
account all of the factors thatwe discussed previously, and
find a dentist that's going tohelp you find that right balance
(26:40):
.
Right, like how much do we needfor the intended benefits,
without getting into dangerousterritory where it could be
affecting your overall health?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Did we miss anything?
Was there any other topics orany other pieces of the puzzle
that we didn't address here?
Speaker 1 (26:56):
I wanted to know if you had any other specific
questions about it.
It's always helpful for me toget outside of my dentist head,
because we sometimes think aboutthings in a particular way,
miss the forest for the trees.
We get so into the specificdetails about things that we
don't.
We sometimes lack the abilityto really convey these things to
our patients and the generalpublic.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I think I have a better understanding and you've
clarified quite a few thingswith me and, if nothing else,
just talking about this topichas raised awareness in my mind.
So I'm a little just a littlebit more self-conscious about
this topic, which is really allwe could do, because a change
like this is going to take time,and I think having discussions
like this not just aboutfluoride, but about everything
(27:39):
that we're putting into our bodyare very important, because
there is obviously a growingepidemic in the country about
people's health in our country.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
So the more we can talk about these topics One last
thing I would like to add onthat topic is we incorporate the
fluoride because of that.
That carries risk factor.
The best thing, the best way tolower that risk, is to modify
our diets and improve ourhygiene.
Right.
And modifying our diet is goingto have impacts far beyond your
(28:12):
dental health is going to haveimpacts far beyond your dental
health.
Right, eliminating things likeprocessed carbs, sugars, excess
sugars in the diet those are thethings that lead to tooth decay
and so many more health issues,right?
So if we're addressing rootcauses, let's talk about
nutrition, right, let's getserious about those
(28:33):
conversations and thendownstream, we're going to need
a lot less fluoride becausewe're just not going to be as
risk prone.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Yeah, the nutrition is so huge, probably one of the
easiest things to fix about yourhealth and also, at the same
time, one of the most difficultthings.
One of the hardest for sure,especially in the society that
we live, where you go to Publixlooking for groceries and
everything is packaged to looklike it's healthy and then you
(29:00):
look at what it's composed ofYou're like I don't want to die.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, it's like a gram vat of sugar.
Like where the hell did thiscome from?
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah, it's crazy man, but that definitely is a topic
for another.
Another day we can go on a godown a rabbit hole on that one.
Cool man.
All right, this was reallyinformative Everyone.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
If if you have any experiencewith this, leave it in the
comments below.
Leave your stories, anythingthat you've encountered about
this topic.
We're interested to hear whatyou have to say.
Appreciate you all joining uson this journey and we'll look
(29:28):
forward to seeing you next time,yeah.
Keep smiling folks the Semiday.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Dental Podcast.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Everyone take care.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Have a wonderful day.
We'll catch you next time.
Thanks for tuning in to thisepisode of the Semiday Dental
Podcast.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
Don't forget to subscribe,leave a review and follow us on
social media for the latestepisodes.
You can find us at SemidayDental.
If you have any questions, feelfree to reach out.
We're always happy to help.
Until then, keep smiling andstay curious.
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