Fluoride, it its pure form is a yellow gas, very reactive and toxic. It is never found alone in nature, just combined with other elements, the combination being called fluorine.
Sodium fluoride is the most common combination used by peoples. There are also calcium fluoride, carbon tetrafluoride or oxygen difluoride, combination found more rarely.
Most of the fluoride components are used like fertilizer in agriculture or as poison.
When ingested directly, fluoride components are toxic. They are quickly absorbed in the digesting tract and eliminated trough urine. The urine level of fluoride can show if a person was exposed at a high fluoride concentration. When a person comes in contact directly with fluoride components the first aid is to wash with simply water the area where the fluoride touched the body.

    The sodium fluoride is used to fluorinate the tap water. The fluorination of tap water started when some researches showed that consuming tap fluorinated water decreases the risk of dental caries in children.But after introducing the fluoride as fertilizers, the quantities of fluoride contained in the soil and fruits and legumes cultivated increased. Also adding fluoride in beverages and tap water, assure the fluoride quantities necessary for teeth protection also in the regions where tap water was not fluorinated.

    Using toothpaste and mouthwash fluoride richer help prevent or protect teeth against caries by replacing the phosphorus from tooth enamel with fluoride, creating fluorapatite, much more resistant substances at acids that are responsible of enamel teeth degradation.
But the benefits and risk of using fluoride are not in balance. Some researchers affirm that we take to much fluoride in our bodies per day more that is necessary.
Using too much fluoride at once or consuming lower dose but in a long period of time, can have side effects. Dental fluorosis can appear in children, in the period when they're teeth are growing. It is manifested by mild whitish symmetrical areas on teeth, or by pitting of the enamel of teeth, a much more sever form also associated with brownish discoloration of teeth.

    Some researchers showed that bone fracture is also related with fluoride consummation, while others showed a decrease of bone fracture in communities that where consuming tap fluorinated water.Cancer is one of the most sever fluoride side effects.Studies where made on mice, witch showed the developing of osteosarcoma on mice that where treated with a normal dose of fluoride, but studies made on humans in long period of time does not showed none correlation in cancer developing in persons consuming tap fluoridate water.

    There are some doctors that are against the fluoridation of tap water. They say that sodium fluorine, the one used for water fluoridation, can cause apoptosis on human cells.
Apoptosis, also called "death cells programmed", is activating an enzyme for the cells and causes the auto-destruction of the cell.

    Also they say that fluoride affect also DNA, causing DNA damage, and the following of DNA damage is disease development.Brain function can also be affected, causing the lower of the IQ and a decrease of attention and concentration.

    It is known that the brain have a barrier for auto protection of harmfully substances, called hematoencephalic barrier, protecting itself from fluoride or other bad components.
The pineal gland that is localized near the brain center is not so protected, and the fluoride can pass the hematoencephalic barrier in front of it. Some studies showed that pineal gland is subtracting the fluoride from the blood, and the fluoride level from the pineal gland was much higher that the level of fluoride from muscle or teeth.

    Much of the negative effects of fluoride have not yet been totally demonstrated. Using of fluoride in public alimentation and public consummation has also benefits and risks. Until there is proved that fluoride has more risks that benefits, the fluoridation of tap water in some region is still continuing.

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