I was born in the early 70s and when I was a baby my parents briefly lived in Arkansas where apparently there is quite a bit of fluoride in the water.
My adult teeth came with horrible orange and brown stains. You can’t bleach them because it’s INSIDE the tooth. I was bullied all through school until seventh grade when I could get composite bonding put on them so you couldn’t see the stains anymore, but I was still bullied until we moved to Concord where nobody knew I had orange and brown teeth.
Back in the 80s it was about $50 a tooth, the last time one chipped and I had to have it get redone I had to pay $500 for one tooth. I’m so tired of having to drop $500 every couple years on this tooth I asked my dentist to pull it out and give me an implant but he wouldn’t.
I’m in my 50s and I’m still mad about it. And I feel terrible for my mom because I blamed her as a child since at the time the theory was that she took antibiotics or had a fever while she was pregnant. It wasn’t until recently that I realized it was the Arkansas water.
Nobody should have to go through what I went through and there’s no reason to dose everyone with fluoride when we can buy it in our toothpaste and mouthwash now.
Thank you for having the courage to share your story. I am sorry for your experience. I wonder what the fluoride concentration was at the time - surely it was higher than allowed now but troubling. While some may disagree, I strongly believe that there is a better way to do this rather than a blunt approach by fluoridating drinking water. Adhering to "do no harm" would suggest that this is not a prudent approach.
I might be wrong for blaming Arkansas. My brother was three years younger & we were both born in NH. He got the white spots, but not the brown/orange so he had less exposure (or handled it better).
I think I remember fluoride tablets at school though. I definitely remember tooth brush lessons at school, then after we brushed we chewed some pink tablet that would show us the plaque we missed, then we would brush again to get the pink off.
Anyway I would be happy to testify at the state house if this ever comes up. Rep Read has my contact info.
I was born in the early 70s and when I was a baby my parents briefly lived in Arkansas where apparently there is quite a bit of fluoride in the water.
My adult teeth came with horrible orange and brown stains. You can’t bleach them because it’s INSIDE the tooth. I was bullied all through school until seventh grade when I could get composite bonding put on them so you couldn’t see the stains anymore, but I was still bullied until we moved to Concord where nobody knew I had orange and brown teeth.
Back in the 80s it was about $50 a tooth, the last time one chipped and I had to have it get redone I had to pay $500 for one tooth. I’m so tired of having to drop $500 every couple years on this tooth I asked my dentist to pull it out and give me an implant but he wouldn’t.
I’m in my 50s and I’m still mad about it. And I feel terrible for my mom because I blamed her as a child since at the time the theory was that she took antibiotics or had a fever while she was pregnant. It wasn’t until recently that I realized it was the Arkansas water.
Nobody should have to go through what I went through and there’s no reason to dose everyone with fluoride when we can buy it in our toothpaste and mouthwash now.
Hi Maggie,
Thank you for having the courage to share your story. I am sorry for your experience. I wonder what the fluoride concentration was at the time - surely it was higher than allowed now but troubling. While some may disagree, I strongly believe that there is a better way to do this rather than a blunt approach by fluoridating drinking water. Adhering to "do no harm" would suggest that this is not a prudent approach.
Best,
Mindi
I might be wrong for blaming Arkansas. My brother was three years younger & we were both born in NH. He got the white spots, but not the brown/orange so he had less exposure (or handled it better).
I think I remember fluoride tablets at school though. I definitely remember tooth brush lessons at school, then after we brushed we chewed some pink tablet that would show us the plaque we missed, then we would brush again to get the pink off.
Anyway I would be happy to testify at the state house if this ever comes up. Rep Read has my contact info.