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Comment by chucky_z | Hacker News Reader

The main study I can find referenced to this was based in China where levels of flouride in water appear to be much higher than in the US.

Even the study itself calls out 'low-flouride' vs 'high-flouride.' Not 'no flouride.'

Utah is going to have a dental crisis in a few years, as there already too few dentists.

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Meta analysis of the various studies (74 of them from a large range of countries):

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/...

reality check: europe never had fluoride in the water. still looking for the dental crisis.

Most of the water still has fluoride in it naturally.

Tea has fluoride in it. Not saying that's the only reason, but perhaps one.

Then Americans who drink tea get a double dose of fluoride without knowing it. How does that work with the studies?

i started and then deleted several responses to this. I'm not sure how it affects studies, because i don't really read studies that often, it's very taxing on my brain. However, one thing i think is important is it's generally a good idea to give children as little caffeine as possible. I'm sure this is a controversial claim. But if we take that as true, then children aren't getting fluoride from tea, ideally. Adults can make the decision to drink tea that has less or more fluoride, if they care. I personally don't care that much, so i get whatever tea. I have a well, and i brew my tea with distilled water, so whatever is in the bag is whatever i am drinking, and nothing else.

for those that might care, i RO my well water (screen-pre-RO-post filters) into 6 gallon containers, and then distill a gallon at a time. Each gallon of RO water takes ~5 hours total, including the time for the RO to process the water. My RO is very slow, but i am unwilling to pay for a jet pump for it, currently, to speed it up. It takes about 7-8 hours to fill 6 gallons, and it should be able to fill 6 gallons in 3 hours or so - it is a 50GPD filter system, so ~2GPH.

What? Yes we do.

> Out of a population of about three-quarters of a billion, under 14 million people (approximately 2%) in Europe receive artificially-fluoridated water.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation_by_country#...

most people’s teeth in europe do not look great.. specially when compared to north americans.

from my experience, only people who are serious about their mouth health and go to the dentist at least twice a year, seem to have healthy and good looking teeth.

Twice a year? That's only recommended by dentists in north america because most insurances cover it because of lobby pressure. Every 1-2 years fully suffices, depending on your risk profile (smoker, genetics, ...). That's what countries where the insurrance doesn't have skin in the game recommend.

And the average european has much better tooth health than the average u.s. citizen, in my experience.

We have a lot less meth in Europe.

> people’s teeth in europe do not look great

What an offensive statement. Based on what? N=5 observation?

There's a difference between cosmetic dentistry (teeth whitening and the like) and regular dental health.

> most people’s teeth in europe do not look great

What nonsense

He’s watched too much simpsons.

40 out of over 60ish counties in Florida already are fluoride free

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