On this Skeptical Sunday, Jessica Wynn brushes away fluoride fears and gets to the root of this controversial mineral's cavity-fighting powers! On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss: Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in water, soil, and food that helps prevent tooth decay by strengthening tooth enamel and making teeth more resistant to acid. When added to water supplies at controlled levels, it has been shown to reduce cavity rates by 40-70% in children. The discovery of fluoride's benefits came from investigating "Colorado Brown Stain" in the early 1900s, where researchers found that while high fluoride levels stained teeth brown, it also made them remarkably resistant to decay. This led to research determining safe, effective fluoride levels for water supplies. Despite widespread scientific consensus on its safety and effectiveness, fluoride remains controversial, with some groups claiming health risks. However, extensive research has found no evidence linking properly fluoridated water to cancer, bone problems, or other serious health issues at recommended levels. The optimal fluoride level in water has been adjusted over time as other sources of fluoride (like toothpaste and food products) have become more common. In 2015, the US Public Health Service lowered its recommended levels, showing ongoing monitoring and adjustment of public health policies. You can take control of your dental health by understanding your local water fluoride levels (easily found on the CDC website), using fluoride toothpaste appropriately, and making informed choices about water filtration — while remembering that every $1 spent on water fluoridation saves about $38 in dental healthcare costs! Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at [email protected] and let him know! Connect with Jessica Wynn and subscribe to her newsletter: Between the Lines! Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1073 If you love listening to this show as much as we love making it, would you please peruse and reply to our Membership Survey here? And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally! This Episode Is Brought To You By...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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This episode is sponsored in part by What Was That Like podcast. Have you ever wondered how it feels to watch your house burn down, be attacked by an alligator, or learn that your spouse hired someone to kill you? What Was That Like is the podcast for you, if you're that person. Not the person who got hired to be killed, but the person who wondered, more thankfully.
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wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Skeptical Sunday. I'm your host, Jordan Harbinger. Today I'm here with Skeptical Sunday co-host, writer, and researcher Jessica Wynn. On the Jordan Harbinger Show, we decode the stories, secrets, and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you.
We'll see you next time. Topics such as why the Olympics are kind of a sham, circumcision, sovereign citizens, diet supplements, the lottery, Reiki healing, ear candling, self-help cults, and more. And if you're new to the show or you want to tell your friends about the show, I suggest our episode starter packs.
These are collections of our favorite episodes on persuasion, negotiation, psychology, disinformation, cyber warfare, crime and cults, and more. That'll help new listeners get a taste of everything we do here on the show. Just visit jordanharbinger.com slash start or search for us in your Spotify app to get started. Today, fluoride, the lip-smacking curiosity in our water supply.
It's a fascinating mineral that's a hero for our teeth, but a puzzle for a lot of the general public. We associate it with dental health, but in some mouths, the fluoride added to our water leaves a bad taste. So what is fluoride? Why is it in our water? Will this lead to mind control via our faucets? Researcher and writer Jessica Wynn joins me to wash away the confusion around fluoride.
Right. Hey, Jordan, thanks for having me back on Skeptical Sunday.
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