Fluoride is well known for its ability to help protect your teeth from cavities and decay, but the history of how this mighty mineral became so popular isn’t as famous. Here’s a brief look back at how dentists first realized it was good for your teeth, and how it’s still helping protect millions of smiles today!
Teeth Mottling: The Start of Something Good
Like any superhero, fluoride has an origin story, too. It all started in 1901, when a dentist named Dr. Frederick McKay opened a dental practice in Colorado Springs, CO. As he welcomed new patients, Dr. McKay noticed that many of them had brown stains on their teeth. In fact, some of them were so badly mottled that they looked like they were caked with chocolate!
In an attempt to figure out what was happening with his patients, Dr. McKay reached out for help from a researcher named Dr. G.V. Black, and in 1909 Dr. Black arrived in Colorado Springs to assist him. Over the next six years, the men worked together to try and determine the cause of the stains (which today are called fluorosis). During their research, they realized that nearly 90 percent of the local children had the same kind of stains, but that oddly enough, their teeth were extremely cavity resistant!
Hitting the Road
In 1923, Dr. McKay left Colorado Springs for Oakley, ID to investigate a similar mottling phenomenon. It seemed that the locals had recently switched to a new water supply, and suddenly their teeth began turning brown too. Dr. McKay advised them to switch again to a nearby spring, and within a few years their tooth mottling stopped.
Dr. McKay then headed to Bauxite, AR, the hometown of the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA). It seems the locals there were also noticing an increase in brown tooth stains. Working with ALCOA’s chief chemist H.V. Churchill, Dr. McKay ran tests on the water supply and discovered that it contained high levels of fluoride. McKay ordered tests on the water supplies of Colorado Springs and Oakley, and sure enough both sources also had high levels of fluoride!
Narrowing it Down
Upon learning of Dr. McKay’s research, the National Institute of Health (NIH) took a closer look at the effects of water-borne fluoride on teeth. Two researchers, Dr. Trendley Dean and Dr. Elias Elvove created a way to measure the fluoride levels in water, and by the 1930s, the NIH could confidently determine that fluoride levels up to 1.0 ppm would not cause the mottling of fluorosis.
This discovery further sparked the curiosity of Dr. Dean, who wondered if adding safe levels of fluoride to public water supplies could help protect the smiles of the community against cavities. In 1945, he launched a study in Grand Rapids, MI, where the town had recently voted to add the mineral to their water. Though he intended to run the study for 15 years, after only 11 years he was able to determine that cavities in the local children had decreased by a whopping 60 percent!
The Benefits of Fluoride Today
Today, thanks to the research of Dr. McKay and his team, fluoridated water is used in countless communities around the world. Here in the United States, fluoridated water costs approximately a dollar per person annually, making it a safe, affordable, and effective way to prevent cavities just by having a refreshing drink!
If your community doesn’t fluoridate, speak to your dentist about adding a fluoride supplement to your oral health routine, and be sure to use fluoridated toothpaste when brushing your teeth so you can benefit from the tooth strengthening properties of this amazing mineral!
About Our Practice
At Claybrooke Dental of Gahanna, we’ve been a mainstay in the community for over 50 years. Run today by your caring team of dentists, Dr. Brooke Buller and Dr. Clayton Odenweller, we are proud to be trusted protect the smiles of generations of patients!
To schedule an exam and cleaning, please visit our website or call us today at 614-475-1874.