Let's talk about Fluoride

First of all, we have to distinguish between fluorine and fluoride!

Fluoride is a natural trace element and occurs everywhere in our environment, e.B in water and in many foods. Fluorine, on the other hand, is a toxic and strong-smelling gas. The similarity of the two names often leads to uncertainty and misunderstandings.

 You probably also know a similar example from your everyday life: Sodium chloride is the chemical name for ordinary table salt and is a vital part of our diet. Chlorine, on the other hand, is a toxic gas which, in a weakened form, is used for the disinfection of swimming pools, but is also and unfortunately used in chemical weapons.

Fluoride can also be dangerous and toxic if taken in too large quantities. In small quantities, however, it is extremely important for our dental health!

Now let's take a step back:

Tooth enamel is the hardest material in our body and consists of a perfect and microfine lattice of crystal (hydroxyapatite) with embedded inorganic minerals, e.B. magnesium, sodium, potassium. However, this incredibly complex and fascinating structure is very sensitive to the action of acids, the minerals are slowly dissolved, the crystal structure becomes porous and becomes an ideal hiding place for bacteria whose metabolic products further damage the tooth. This is how caries develops.

Fluorides can counteract this tooth destruction process.

Bound fluorine, i.e. fluoride, is found in almost every toothpaste. In dentistry, three fluorides in particular have played an important role to date: sodium monofluorophosphate, amine fluoride and tin fluoride. The Snow Pearl toothpaste contains an innovative and groundbreaking new fluoride formula: Calcium Sodium Fluorophosphosilicate. I will write about the excellent properties of this fluoride compound below.

Since 1850, it has been known with certainty that fluoride-containing enamel is more acid-resistant and it was logically assumed that caries can be prevented with fluoride intake.

As soon as we eat something, the food is not only crushed by the teeth, but also moistened with saliva. In addition, the mouth is a small biotope with millions of bacteria, most of which are also necessary there, among other things for digestion. However, certain bacteria are less useful, such the so-called "streptococci mutans". These bacteria live on sugar of all kinds, including fructose, glucose and others. They absorb it, "digest" it, and produce acid that lowers the pH in the oral cavity.

Calcium and phosphate minerals are released from the enamel crystal, the crystal structure becomes more porous and less stable. Such a development is called demineralization, i.e. removal of minerals.

The minerals contained in saliva can counteract to a certain extent and fill the resulting gaps in the crystal. In this way, the tooth enamel becomes tight and firm again. Such recovery of minerals is called remineralization.

Ideally, there is a balance between de- and remineralization. However, if acid is very often produced or the acid level cannot drop because snacks (especially sweet ones) have been pickled, demineralization predominates, the tooth enamel does not get enough calcium phosphates back from the saliva – and the holey areas become larger and larger. This is how caries begins.

What fluorides do

Fluorides can contribute to the protection of teeth in several ways:

• Fluorides support remineralization. They have been proven to help the calcium phosphates to be incorporated more quickly into the tooth enamel. Advantage: The time for bacteria to use the weak points in the enamel is shorter and the risk of caries is thus reduced.
• Fluorides are also stored in the enamel themselves, just like the calcium phosphates. Advantage: If demineralization begins again due to acid, fluorides are immediately on the spot to accelerate remineralization.
• Fluorides, which reach the teeth via toothpaste or corresponding gel, form a kind of protective film around the teeth, a kind of top layer of calcium fluoride. Advantage: When acid is formed, it is already neutralized from this top layer, the minerals in the tooth enamel remain on site, the tooth enamel solid.
• Fluorides also penetrate the bacteria and disrupt their metabolism. Advantage: The tooth-dangerous acid production is inhibited and the multiplication of bacteria is reduced, resulting in less dental plaque.
• Fluorides should actually be available in the teeth like in a reservoir. Since this is not sufficiently prepared by nature, fluorides can also be added from the outside. The ideal time for this is in childhood, when the teeth have not yet broken through. As long as the tooth formation in the jawbone is running, fluoride from food can be incorporated into the tooth enamel via the bloodstream. Advantage: A stable microstructure is created in the tooth right from the start, the grid becomes stronger, the minerals become more difficult to remove and the tooth is therefore more resistant to destruction by acid. Here, however, it is important not to exceed the dosage because otherwise the tooth formation can also be disturbed. For this reason, fluorine tablets are practically no longer recommended today.
• Not only dental scientists, but also consumer advocates such as Stiftung Warentest confirm: Fluorides make sense. The increasing prevalence of fluoride-containing toothpastes, e.B., has led to a very significant decrease in tooth decay in children and adolescents.

Where are fluorides contained?

Fluorides in mineral water

Fluoride compounds occur everywhere in nature and therefore also naturally in mineral water. Mineral water is therefore not "artificially" fluoridated. However, it is not mandatory to indicate the fluoride content on the label. If it does not appear, you can ask the appropriate company about it.

• Only from 1.5 mg of fluoride per liter of water, the water must be labeled "fluoride-containing".
• From 5 mg/l, a mineral water is considered to contain fluoride so much that it must carry a corresponding warning.
• Up to 0.7 mg of fluoride per litre, a water may be advertised as "suitable for the preparation of infant formula". Of course, the other limit values (for sodium, nitrate, nitrite, sulfate, etc.) must also be complied with.
• A water is considered low in fluoride if it contains less than 0.3 mg of fluoride.
• FYI: Seawater contains about 1 mg of fluoride per liter.

However, most mineral waters have values below 0.5 mg of fluoride per liter. Evian contains e.B. only 0.02 mg, Gerolsteiner 0.21 mg, Vittel 0.14 mg, Volvic 0.2 mg, Adelholzener up to 0.15 mg, RheinfelsQuelle 0.45 mg, Apollinaris but already 0.68 mg and Selters 0.86 mg.

If you are interested in the fluoride content of your tap water, it is best to ask your respective water supplier. The fluoride content should be below 0.3 mg per liter in most cases.

Fluorides in food

From the above information, the following emerges:

A protective effect against caries should be achieved at already 0.05 mg per kilogram of body weight and day, which would be about 3.5 mg of fluoride in a 70-kilogram person.

Some sources also recommend a maximum of 3.8 mg of fluoride per day for men and a maximum of 3.1 mg for women (1).

For children and adolescents, these values apply (1):

1. 0 to less than 4 months: 0.25 mg
2. 4 to less than 12 months: 0.5 mg
3. 1 to 4 years: 0.7 mg
4. 4 to 10 years: 1.1, mg
5. 10 to 13 years: 2.0 mg
6. 13 to 19 years: 2.9 mg (girls), 3.2 mg (boys)

These doses are far from high enough to cause damage.

So if you drink 2 liters of a low-fluoride water per day, then you take about 0.6 mg of fluoride with it (at most). However, if you drink a lot of black or green tea, keep in mind that this (in addition to the fluoride content of the water used for preparation) still provides around 1 mg of fluoride per liter (although this value can vary enormously depending on the type of tea). Fruit and herbal teas can also be fluoride-rich, but this should not exceed 0.3 mg at 2 cups per day (of course, depending on the amount of dried herbs/fruits used).

Walnuts are also among the fluoride-rich foods with about 0.68 mg per 100 g. In general, however, it is especially animal foods (meat and fish) that are fluoride-rich.

List of fluoride content of foods

Here is a small selection of the fluoride content of some foods (per 100 g), always taking into account that the fluoride content can also fluctuate here - depending on the fluoride load of the particular environment from which the food originates.

1. Salmon (gold, humpback, white salmon): 0.65 mg
2. Canned salmon: 0.16 mg
3. Sea salt: 0.48 mg (per gram rather little: 0.0048 mg)
4. Sardines/swordfish/herring (fresh or frozen): 0.4 mg
5. Matjes: 0.38 mg (canned food 0.27 mg)
6. Canned fish: 0.3 mg
7. Herring lean fried: 0.24 mg
8. Pork liver prepared: 0.28 mg
9. Barley barley: 0.24 mg
10. Brewer's yeast tablets/dry yeast: 0.2 mg
11. Coffee Instant Powder: 0.2 mg
12. Veal bries: 0.2 mg
13. Crab fresh: 0.16 mg
14. Roquefort/Bergkäse/Emmentaler: 0.16 mg
15. Liver sausage: 0.16 mg
16. Rye and rye flour: 0.15 mg
17. Fish meatballs: 0.15 mg
18. Beef fillet cooked: 0.14 mg
19. Cashews: 0.14 mg
20. Processed cheese: 0.14 mg
21. Whole wheat bread: 0.1 mg
22. Lamb's lettuce/spinach: 0.1 mg
23. Almonds: 0.09 mg
24. Avocado: 0.05 mg
25. Chocolate (whole milk and bitter): 0.05 mg
26. Oatmeal: 0.037 mg
27. Tofu: 0.007 - 0.013 mg
28. Vegetables: 0.007 - 0.05 mg
29. Fruit: 0.002 - 0.02 mg
30. Potatoes: 0.001 mg
31. Beer: 0.001 - 0.005 mg
32. Red wine: 0.01 - 0.02 mg

Do fluorides also have disadvantages?

The dose determines whether a substance is good or bad for health. Fluoride is no different. If too much fluoride is taken over a longer period of time during tooth formation, the teeth may have white or even brownish-yellow spots and dents.

Poisoning is also possible if you swallow too much fluoride.

So what's too much?

Here I have to get a little more technical:

The safely toxic dose is 32 to 64 mg of fluoride per kilogram of body weight. In young children, the likely toxic dose is 5 mg of fluoride per kilogram of body weight.

For an adult person weighing 60 kg, this means between 1,920 and 3,840 mg

For a child weighing 20 kg, this means 100 mg

How much fluoride does a 75 ml tube of toothpaste contain?

Common toothpastes usually contain 1450ppm of fluoride:

1450 ppm = 1450 mg /l = 1.450 mg/ ml = 108.75 mg/ 75 ml

The Snow Pearl toothpaste contains 520ppm of fluoride:

520 ppm = 520 mg/l = 0.520 mg/ml = 39 mg / 75 ml

Even when swallowing a whole tube, the Snow Pearl toothpaste is NOT toxic even in a child!

Why is Snow Pearl's toothpaste still very effective?

With a fluoride content of 520 ppm, the SNOW PEARL Gel toothpaste has a significantly lower fluoride concentration (only 36%) than other commercially available toothpastes. This dental care fulfills outstanding protection and repair functions thanks to the groundbreaking and patented formulation with calcium sodium fluorophosphosilicate. Their molecular feature of action is the excellent adhesion to the tooth surface, and this is exactly what makes it so effective. The particles of calcium sodium fluorophosphosilicate are dissolved very slowly by the saliva and therefore guarantee a fluoride, calcium and phsphate release lasting up to 12 hours. In the remineralization process, fluorapatite is formed, which regenerates the decalcified tooth enamel and makes it 10 times more resistant to acids and caries. The excellent effect against sensitive teeth is also beneficial and immediately noticeable.

✓ Low fluoride content with optimal protection.

✓ 12 hours controlled low-level release of fluoride thanks to patented Swiss formulation with calcium sodium fluorophosphosilicate.

✓ Sustainably reduces your tooth sensitivity to heats, colds, sweets, acids and mechanical treatment through stable closure of the dentin cheeses.

✓ Repairs the enamel at incipient caries lesions by the generation of an acid and caries resistant fluoridapatite surface.

✓ Increases the calcium and phosphate content in the enamel

I hope to have created a little more clarity about the controversial topic of fluoride.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me

Your

Dr Lorenza Dahm