I haven't made any drastic changes, mainly just removed the biggest sources of artificial fluoride. I think that's a reasonable change, you can read more about fluoridation on Wikipedia. I don't think anyone would argue that fluoride can reduce the occurrence of cavities, the question is really whether it's worth putting a toxic reactive chemical in your body to accomplish the minimal 15% reduction... or if maybe a better diet (Primal?) and cleaning are the real solution? Check out Weston A. Price's research on diet and cavities, look at the pictures in "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" and tell me that what we eat has nothing to do with the health of out teeth...?
I looked into various water filtration systems and found out that the standard pitcher/faucet filters DON'T remove fluoride; so the Brita, PUR and ZeroWater filters are great at removing particulates, heavy metals and chlorine, but don't significantly reduce the fluoride content of your water. Distillation only removes about 60% (and leaves behind many Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's)). Activated alumina filters can remove up to 80%, but they pose unknown health risks from aluminum exposure (not widely available) and leave high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). The only way I found to efficiently remove most of the fluoride and also remove particulates, heavy metals and VOCs was a reverse osmosis (RO) system... At first I thought they'd be too expensive, but Amazon has a good system (5-stage, 75 gallon/day, NSF Certified) for $170 that I've been using for a while now and works great. It's a big investment, but the filters last 6 months to a year (depending on use), and over the long run you're saving money over buying RO bottled water elsewhere. Plus, no more Brita filters (which are pretty expensive already!). Problem solved... [link to City of Cocoa's Water Quality Report, 2011; Fluoride is added to our local water along with Chlorine!]
RO System: iSpring 75GPD 5-Stage Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System - Comparing to Watts Premier, Crystal Clear, GE, APEC
There are a lot of fluoride free toothpastes out there, so I'd try a few and see what you like. Personally, I'd recommend one with Neem in it. Neem has been used medicinally in India for over 2 millennia and is known for it's antibacterial properties and used in oral cleaning (among other things). I use a combination of tooth paste and then add a little of the tooth powder to it... the tooth powder is also really nice for traveling (no liquids).
Toothpaste: Himalaya Herbal Healthcare Neem & Pomegranate Toothpaste
Powder: Peppermint Toothpowder - 2.5 oz - Powder
All-in-One Tooth Powder: Eco-Dent Extra Brite Tooth Whitener, Without Fluoride, Dazzling Mint
After I eat I like to chew gum to remove food from between teeth, and this gum has Neem and peppermint for fresh breath (both have antibacterial properties) and to help polish teeth as well. The only downside is that the mint flavor doesn't last very long, but at least the gum doesn't dissolve in your mouth like many other's do after chewing for an hour. It's also sugar free (xylitol; cavity protection) and soy free, which is hard to find with gum!
Gum: Peelu Co. Chewing Gum, Peppermint
That's it... these small changes have reduced my exposure to fluoride significantly and have kept me cavity free for 27+ years, and hopefully for many more to come!
