When I stopped using fluoride

Why did I ever stop using it? And what that did to my teeth.

I stopped using fluoride around 2016. I was into wellness, and all the toothpastes in the wellness aisles of Erewhon (home of the $31 smoothie), Lassen’s, Whole Foods, and on my Instagram feed, all appeared to be fluoride-free. It was touted as clean! Free of preservatives! Free of unnecessary fillers! I was on a quest, after all, to simplify and pare down my life.

I was getting rid of plastics, processed foods, sugars—everything “those” [wellness] books had told me were devilish. Fluoride went along with it. I didn’t do any in-depth or secondary research as to why I should avoid fluoride, but I’d lost enough trust in any sort of big conglomerate by then, including “big dentistry.” Western medicine had failed me; I’d been diagnosed with a hormone disorder, doctors barely helped me, and I was terrified of what kind of products I was putting into my body. I’d have to take my health into my own hands. I became skeptical of anything mass-produced, unless it was bananas, until I became a skeptic of those, too.

I remember getting a DM from a follower once, telling me that she was concerned about my fluoride intake. “It can affect your hormones, cause cancer, and plus, the government is putting so much of it in our water. They’re mass medicating us!!!”

I’d gone to the dentist nearly every year since then. I value dental hygiene, and even though I didn’t have dental insurance, I paid out of pocket for those cleanings. I floss, scrape my tongue, and like to think I take pretty good care of my teeth.​ Each year, my dentists congratulated me on my mouth.

“You’re doing great, Lee!” they’d say.

I’d leave, happily, feeling blessed for my genes and my health. Nothing to worry about.

But in June 2024, on a visit to the dentist for my annual cleaning, I was hit with some news that shook me. I had six cavities.