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Parkcrest Dental Group: Fluoride’s History in Dentistry

  • January 17, 2017
  • 10:17 am
  • Dental Education, Dental Products
  • Dentistry, Oral Health

In recent years, different groups in this country have suggested that fluoride is dangerous for the community. They protest fluoride in their water supply and believe fluoride doesn’t improve dental health nearly enough to outweigh the negatives. At Parkcrest Dental Group, our team of dentists in Springfield, MO, firmly support the scientific research of the last century. This research shows that fluoride helps reduce the likelihood of cavities. In fact, dentists first started researching fluoride because it was naturally occurring. Let Parkcrest Dental Group take you on a journey through the brief but important history of fluoride in dentistry.

Related Post: Pediatric Dentistry: Fluoride And Dental Health For Kids

An Unassuming Beginning

At the turn of the century, the first dentist stumbled upon the effects of fluoride. These effects didn’t look good at first glance. Dentist Dr. McKay arrived in Colorado Springs in 1901 and found the residents had brown stains on their teeth. This disorder, originally dubbed the Colorado Brown Stain, is now referred to as mottled teeth. In Naples, Italy, a year later, another dentist discovered the same condition. Both populations shared the brown stained teeth and one other trait: people had much fewer cavities than in other areas. There was no mad scramble of dentists flocking to these areas in an effort to discover why this happened. Instead, a few dentists in different areas of the globe began doing their own private research.

Fluoride in Arkansas & England

Two very different regions of the world collaborated on the research that would propel fluoride to the US Public Health Service’s attention. An Arkansas mining company worried about mottled teeth in their area in 1931. They thought their mining contaminated the water with aluminum, causing the brown stains found in the population of the nearby town. The hired a chemist to test whether this was true. The chemist found excess fluoride, not aluminum, in the water where mottled teeth were most prevalent.

A dentist in Essex, England, who had researched mottled teeth in 1925, heard about the link between fluoride and mottled teeth. His earlier research showed a strong correlation between mottled teeth and fewer cavities. His new research showed that a population near water with 0.5 parts per million (ppm) fluoride had significantly more cavities than a nearby population with 4.5 ppm.

Related Post: General Dentistry Experts Explain Fluoride Rinses

US Health Department Studies Fluoride

During WWII, the US Health Department conducted research on the effects of fluoride. In a study conducted in 21 cities, Dr. H. T. Dean discovered the range of fluoride in water that protected from cavities but didn’t cause mottled teeth. The optimal range proved to be right around 1 ppm. Mottled teeth rarely occurred at 1 ppm fluoride in drinking water, and this small amount of fluoride proved as beneficial as higher dosages.

Fluoride & Parkcrest Dental Group

The Parkcrest Dental Group fully supports and encourages the use of fluoride. Toothpaste and mouthwashes recommended by your Parkcrest Dental Group dentists in Springfield, MO, will contain the optimal levels of fluoride, protecting your teeth from cavities. If you have concerns regarding cavities or tooth decay, contact Parkcrest Dental Group to schedule a checkup today.

Meet Some Dentists in Springfield, MO

Some of the doctors at Parkcrest Dental Group

Dr. Stuart Scott (top left) is our pediatric dentist. He earned his degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry before completing a two-year residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Dr. Steven Harrison (top center) is board-certified by the American Board of Orthodontics. Dr. Harrison, our orthodontist, graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry. He’s been with Parkcrest Dental Group since 1986.

Dr. Chanin Ropka (top right) attended UMKC before joining the United States Navy, where she served as the only dentist on board the USS Germantown and at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego. Dr. Ropka began at Parkcrest Dental in 2001.

Dr. Daniel Fannin (bottom left) graduated from UMKC School of Dentistry in 1997. He completed an Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency in 1998 before joining Parkcrest Dental Group that same year.

Dr. Steven C. Sponenberg (bottom center) has been a Springfieldian his entire life. He graduated from Creighton University School of Dentistry in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2004 before joining Parkcrest Dental Group immediately after.

Dr. Jason Hall (bottom right) is also a native Springfieldian. He earned his DDS from the University of Missouri at Kansas City Dental School in 1997. He came to Parkcrest Dental Group in 2010. Dr. Hall’s father, Stan, is also a dentist.

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