Why flow the water?

1994/05/01 Sarrionaindia, M. Jesus Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

Dental caries is a disease with a great impact on health that in some measure attacks all people. Since the origin of caries is known, it has been observed that if some measures are taken, it can be avoided. The measures are to wash your teeth, eat low sugars, and take fluoro topically and systematically.

In the water of the sources, fluorides are present spontaneously, but dissolved at different concentrations (from the minimum to the least healthy). At the beginning of this century it was observed that in demographic, cultural and food groups alike, the incidence of caries was different. A protective factor was found: fluoro.

In the research carried out in the last 50 years, it has been observed that the incidence of caries in temporary and permanent teeth is lower if drinking water has between 0.7 and 0.2 liters of fluor per million. There are different ways of catchment, but all of them are drinking water, with the best cost/benefit ratio, especially because they guarantee the protection of the entire population.

Fluoro not only hardens the enamel of the teeth. It also helps to cure initial damage to cavities. For this reason, taking fluoride in childhood has the same effect as doing it for a lifetime. That is, although childhood is the one that offers the most support, it also has advantages for adult teeth.

The frequent application of local fluoros (in the mouth) by saliva is more effective than the occasional administration of high doses. Neighbors who drink fluorinated water, despite having the same demineralized enamels as the rest, have fewer dental holes. According to different studies, water flow delays the development of the caries hole by 50%.

Since 1945 the U.S. population of Grand Rapids added fluoros to public drinking water, several countries, especially the most industrialized, have followed the same path. Today, among others, 51% of the US population drinks artificially fluorinated water, 50% in New Zealand, 50% in Australia, 70% in Ireland and 100% in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The artificial one of the last 40 years and its natural fluoride guarantee the safety of the fluoride. Fluoride, when collected proportionally to a part per million, does not cause known damage to health (or to the environment).

The adoption of these measures relating to public health, according to the scientific knowledge we possess, would mean a reduction of suffering and human damage that would exceed the possible economic damage or losses that could be derived.

In the Autonomous Community, the number of drinking water fluoros is less than 0.2 parts per million on average and caress prophylaxis should be 1 part per million.