More fluoride facts

Dear editor:

I am replying to Ms. Woodman’s letter, “Fluoridation is toxic,” in the Oct. 29 issue.

Ms. Woodman, I regret that I must inform you that your letter is full of misinformation and ignorance. (Ignorance is absence of knowledge, not necessarily absence of intelligence.) Your letter reveals little acquaintance with science in general and chemistry in particular, so I’ll try to keep this on the level I use with my beginning freshman chemistry students.

Fluorine is not a mixture of anything. Fluorine is an element — one of the 118 elements in the periodic table of the elements from which all chemical compounds are made. Fluorine is element No. 9, which puts it at the top of the column called halogens, which also contains chlorine, bromine and iodine. All these elements have nearly identical chemical reactivity because they have the same number of electrons in their outer orbits that can react with other elements to form compounds. You mentioned Sodium Fluoride, NaF. This is not “aluminum filings” as you said (aluminum is metallic element No. 13 and can never be NaF), but a compound formed between an atom of sodium (Na) and an atom of fluorine (F). NaF has similar properties to the compound NaCl — table salt. The names chloride and fluoride indicate they are ions of their elements meaning they have accepted an extra electron from a metallic element like sodium and are part of a compound.

Fluorine is an essential nutrient like chlorine, sodium and iodine. The principal need of chlorine and sodium are as serum electrolytes. Iodine is essential in the thyroid. Fluorine is essential in the mouth. Bones are composed of a compound called hydroxy- appetite — primary components calcium and phosphorus. Bone is hard and strong, but not hard and strong enough to be teeth. The outside covering of your teeth — enamel — is fluoro-appetite produced by a reaction of hydroxy-appetite with fluoride which causes it to be smooth, hard, and resistant to wear and erosion by bacteria-generated acids.

Ground water used as drinking water in many areas has sufficient dissolved fluoride to supply all residents’ needs. Many communities like Hot Springs receive little or no fluoride from their water sources and must have fluoride in a form like NaF added to the drinking water. Fluoride in toothpaste can add a bit to the need depending on how much of the toothpaste you swallow, but the bulk of the fluoride must be taken into the body to be incorporated into tooth enamel. We all need some fluoride, but the need is critical for children 0 to 12 years old. Without sufficient fluoride intake, their teeth will be soft, easy to erode and will eventually rot out of their heads.

Yes, NaF in large quantities can be poisonous, but so can NaCl or even in some cases H2O. But the concentrations of NaF added to drinking water are quite safe and effective. David M. “Mike” Dacus

Hot Springs