# Sorry, I don’t believe you that my toothpaste will kill me. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 29, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181 "2012-03-29T17:40:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/21 "2012-03-30T02:45:09Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I henceforth coin a new pejorative: “Calgary teeth.” > [@Grey](#): > > Moo Town Molars I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Since I have crappy teeth that aren’t going to get any better, I think I’ll go with cry. > [@Dr.Woo](#): > > Cheer up. The city of San Jose, California _finally_ approved the fluoridation of its water supply last November. San Jose was - and actually still is - the largest city in the US without fluoridation. Still is, because they’re “studying” the issue and how to implement fluoridation. That study should only take, oh, twenty years or so, and it’ll be followed by some kind of extremely limited pilot program, itself followed by a phased implementation over the next century. > > Fucking morons. I guess San Jose could be used a control group in a study for what _lack_ of fluoridation does for teeth. > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Just because a city does not have fluoride does not mean is for crazy reasons. Some cities (mine) just don’t see the need to spend money implementing fluoridation. In other words, it wasn’t like they had it and stopped because someone started hitting the Kool-Aid.\ Fluoridation doesn’t cost much, though, for the health benefits that it gives. [This article says it costs about a dollar per person per year in the United States.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation) That article also says fluoridation is > [@](#): > > one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century; ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/22 "2012-03-30T02:50:32Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > The Junk Scientists won a significant victory in Calgary recently - they took the fluoride out of Calgary’s municipal water last year (with no debate and no input from Calgary’s citizens). Another area not known for nutjobs, Waterloo Region, also voted to remove the fluoride from their water. Now, there’s naturally occuring fluoride in the groundwater in the region, so I’m not quite sure how they’re going to accomplish that… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/23 "2012-03-30T02:55:24Z")
> [@BorgHunter](#): > > Perhaps not, but that [did happen last year in Pinellas County, Florida, where I grew up](http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article1195147.ece). And people ask me why I moved away from that boring, godforsaken blight of strip malls, soccer moms, and humidity. …to escape from flouridated water? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/24 "2012-03-30T02:58:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Technically (IIRC) toxins are organic, which disqualifies the majority of things you hear scares of like mercury or MSG. Have no idea about the technical definition of “toxin”, but MSG is definitely an organic compound. Not to say these folks aren’t nuts. They are. Just a nitpick. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/25 "2012-03-30T02:59:35Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > Another area not known for nutjobs, Waterloo Region, also voted to remove the fluoride from their water. Shit. Well, sorry, Canadian kids from cities without fluoride - hope you enjoy spending your life with crappy teeth and expensive, painful dental procedures like I have. > [@](#): > > Now, there’s naturally occuring fluoride in the groundwater in the region, so I’m not quite sure how they’re going to accomplish that… I see that Calgary’s natural fluoride levels are close to therapeutic, so I hope it’s enough to still give benefits to teeth here. I’ll just make sure I drink A LOT of water. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/26 "2012-03-30T03:02:23Z")
I was born just before era of fluoride treatments and Crest toothpaste. The idea of fluoride in the water was said to be a Communist plot. When I was three years old I had a tooth drilled because it had three cavities. Regularly after that when I went to the dentist I had to have cavities drilled and filled. I had a lot of mercury in my mouth. Then came fluoride in the water and Crest toothpaste. My parents had the wisdom to take advantage of free programs in the school where fluoride treatments would be applied to our teeth. We also started using Crest toothpaste. Lo and behold, no more cavities and no more drilling. Many decades later, I have good teeth and am cancer free. Let’s look for bigger fish to fry than subjecting our children to a life of oral misery because of somebody’s unscientific agenda. There is a lot of shit out there that will kill you before a bit a fluoride. Attack that first. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/27 "2012-03-30T03:15:47Z")
I’m all for a more informed public not succumbing to hysteria. But I do find the “if I don’t consume enough of the product to cause outright death, it’s perfectly safe at any lower level of contact or consumption” mindset a bit silly too. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/28 "2012-03-30T05:48:22Z")
Touch my bottle of Obsession and I’ll break your face. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/29 "2012-03-30T06:32:30Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I too am tired of these kind of nutbars. Me too. The levels of toxins in nutbars is just off the scale, man. > [@anya\_marie](#): > > Touch my bottle of Obsession and I’ll break your face. See, I _knew_ that stuff was dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/30 "2012-03-30T09:55:24Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > I’m all for a more informed public not succumbing to hysteria. But I do find the “if I don’t consume enough of the product to cause outright death, it’s perfectly safe at any lower level of contact or consumption” mindset a bit silly too. why? Who’s said that? ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/31 "2012-03-30T11:42:29Z")
Fluoridation is a superfluous frippery. The policy made sense back when fluoridation started, though: scientists in the '40s thought fluoride had benefits when ingested. But modern medical advances have shown this isn’t the case. Fluoride is only effective when applied topically. A good fluoride toothpaste and occasional topical fluoride treatments will have a significant effect on dental health; fluoridated water does not. Fluoridation of our water supply is an anachronism; but, as it’s not causing harm, I doubt it’ll change anytime soon. Fluoride \*can \*be destructive when ingested in large amounts, although that’s not a first-world concern (unless you consume well-water). While the low levels of fluoride added in the US aren’t going to harm anybody, well-water with excessive fluoride levels adversely affected a bunch of people [in India](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoride_toxicity#Chronic_toxicity). It causes bone deformation in children, among other issues. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/32 "2012-03-30T12:54:55Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Have no idea about the technical definition of “toxin”, but MSG is definitely an organic compound. > > Not to say these folks aren’t nuts. They are. Just a nitpick. Well I learned something so I can go home now, right? It looks like the [dictionaries](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/toxin)say [toxins](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxin)are [organic](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/toxin). However peoply use it in a broader sense all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/33 "2012-03-30T13:00:04Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Don’t eat the browned taters, man! Yeah. I’ll selflessly take on the risk of eating them myself. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/34 "2012-03-30T13:28:19Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > I’m all for a more informed public not succumbing to hysteria. But I do find the “if I don’t consume enough of the product to cause outright death, it’s perfectly safe at any lower level of contact or consumption” mindset a bit silly too. If the “lower level of contact” I’m going to be risking is 0.00014375% of the amount that could kill me, is that silly? You can die from drinking too much water, and on the flip side the ER may give you atropine (from deadly nightshade) for resuscitation. It’s silly to think that because a product contains a tiny amount of something that could harm you, the product as a whole is bad. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/35 "2012-03-30T13:38:17Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > It’s silly to think that because a product contains a tiny amount of something that could harm you, the product as a whole is bad. There are a number of things you need to ingest that could kill you if you got too much of them. Water, salt, iron, and vitamin A are a few examples. The world just doesn’t divide neatly into toxins where no amount is safe to ingest and things that are always safe, no matter how much of it you take in. Fortunately, we have science to determine what is and isn’t a safe amount of these things to ingest. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/36 "2012-03-30T13:57:11Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > Yesterday, as a favor for a friend, my wife went to some kind of cosmetic product party. See, IMHO a friend is someone who does not ask you to come to an event such as you describe. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/37 "2012-03-30T13:59:09Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Fluoridation is a superfluous frippery. The policy made sense back when fluoridation started, though: scientists in the '40s thought fluoride had benefits when ingested. But modern medical advances have shown this isn’t the case. Fluoride is only effective when applied topically. A good fluoride toothpaste and occasional topical fluoride treatments will have a significant effect on dental health; fluoridated water does not. It’s good to see that someone here actually understands this. There’s a reason why Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and other nations don’t fluoridate. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/38 "2012-03-30T14:14:37Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Yeah. I’ll selflessly take on the risk of eating them myself. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. Suicide! Don’t you know that browned starches contain acrylamide, which has been shown to cause cancer in 10% of rats, at exposures of only 1000 times the level that it occurs dietarily? Thus is it perfectly reasonable to require McDonalds to post warnings at the door that their french fries are probably carcinogenic. Which reminds me, it has recently come to my attention that ingesting a quarter gram of iodine daily is invariably and rapidly fatal, so I’m lobbying for legislation requiring the labeling all iodine-containing foods with a warning that they may kill you. (I think goiters are _sexy_.) ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/39 "2012-03-30T14:19:52Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Which reminds me, it has recently come to my attention that ingesting a quarter gram of iodine daily is invariably and rapidly fatal, so I’m lobbying for legislation requiring the labeling all iodine-containing foods with a warning that they may kill you. You’ll get my saltshaker when you pry it away from my cold, dead hands. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181/40 "2012-03-30T14:42:40Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Suicide! Don’t you know that browned starches contain acrylamide, which has been shown to cause cancer in 10% of rats, at exposures of only 1000 times the level that it occurs dietarily? Thus is it perfectly reasonable to require McDonalds to post warnings at the door that their french fries are probably carcinogenic. That’s just how selfless I am. I will eat those browned potatoes, to save the rest of you from them. I’ll have some seaweed, too, to save you from the mean, bad iodine in it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sorry-i-don-t-believe-you-that-my-toothpaste-will-kill-me/617181.md?page=3)