(NaturalHealth365)  We know there’s fluoride in most brands of toothpaste and mouthwash.  But, most disturbingly, conventional dentistry is proud to support these products – even though the dangers of fluoride exposure have been well-documented throughout the independent scientific literature.

For example, research in the mid-1970s by the late Dr. Dean Burk, head of the cytochemistry division of the National Cancer Institute, indicated that 10,000 or more fluoridation-linked cancer deaths occur yearly in the United States.  Now, a recent study published in Environmental International points to how damaging fluoride exposure can be to adolescents, too.  A one, two punch if you will – since many of these children were already affected by fluoride in the womb – and now their continued exposure is leading to organ damage.

Fluoride represents a clear and present danger to children

Ashley Malin, PhD, lead author of the study, which comes out of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, expresses serious concern about the compound’s widespread addition to the public drinking water supply (a move many call mass medication).

In a press release, Malin states: “This study’s findings suggest that there may be potential kidney and liver health concerns to consider when evaluating fluoride use and appropriate levels in public health interventions.  Prospective studies are needed to examine the impact of chronic low-level fluoride exposure on kidney and liver function in the U.S. population.”

Malin and her colleagues assessed blood samples of nearly 1,983 adolescents.  They also assessed tap water samples and their fluoride content in the homes of 1,742 adolescents.  Based on their analyses and consistent with prior research about childhood fluoride exposure, the authors determined a dose-dependent relationship between fluoride exposure and kidney and liver function.

In other words, the more fluoride children are exposed to, the more damage their organs will endure.

Importantly, the authors substantiated that even low levels of fluoride exposure can contribute to liver and kidney damage.  They also point out that children with poor kidney and liver function may absorb even more of the fluoride – which sounds like the start of a vicious cycle to us.

Tap water can be very dangerous to your family’s health

About three-quarters of all U.S. public drinking water has been laced with fluoride – reportedly as a way to protect our nation’s dental health, even though more than a quarter of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 lose all their teeth anyway.

But did you know bottled water also contains naturally occurring fluoride?  The point is that most bottled water brands are bad for you, but tap water isn’t necessarily much better – at least until it’s purified.

So, an effective way to protect your family from contaminants and pollutants in available water sources is to use a high-quality water purification system.  Ideally, look for a system that filters out fluoride, too.

And know this: Children and adolescents can only excrete about 45 percent of fluoride via their kidneys – the very organs that are damaged by the compound they must try to get rid of.  As an adult, you can clear fluoride at 60 percent.

So, as important as it is for you to protect yourself against fluoride dangers, it’s the more critical for you to protect your younger children.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov
BostonMagazine.com
FluorideAlert.org
NaturalHealth365.com
Oralanswers.com
MountSinai.org