1. Why would anyone be opposed to water fluoridation? Doesn't fluoride occur in the water naturally anyway?
The
fluoride products used in water fluoridation (sodium fluoride or fluorosilicic
acid) are classified as hazardous waste products of the fertilizer, aluminum,
and nuclear industries. They are even more toxic than naturally-occurring fluoride,
since they contain other components, such as arsenic, lead, barium, and/or
aluminum. Click Here Water fluoridation also causes more lead to be leached from pipes into the
water supply.
However, even naturally-occurring fluoride, in areas with high concentrations (over 1 ppm), has been found to have extremely adverse health effects. Even before additional fluoride is added, the level of natural fluoride in the water in many areas in the U.S. is already equal to the amount of naturally-occurring fluoride that has been found to cause skeletal fluorosis in other countries.
Studies done in India and China found skeletal fluorosis in areas containing naturally occurring fluoride as low as .7 ppm. (Gupta et al, 2007 Skeletal fluorosis mimicking seronegative arthritis. Scandanavian Journal of Rheumatology 36(2):154-5.) That same amount, .7 pmm, is the current amount recommended by the CDC to be added to community water supplies.
In addition to the natural fluoride in groundwater, most people are exposed to multiple sources of fluoride (pesticides in wine and food, tea, some ceramics, anti-depressants, antibiotics, pollution from manufacturing, soft drinks, Teflon pans, waterproof items, dental gels, mouthwash, toothpaste, etc.). They presumably are being exposed to well over the equivalent of 1 ppm before any fluoride is added to the water; however no industry or government testing has ever been done to find out how much fluoride the public is absorbing from all sources. This massive exposure to fluoride did not exist in the 1950s, when fluoride was first introduced.
2. Don't all advanced countries fluoridate their water? And hasn't it been proven that countries that do fluoridate their water have better dental health than countries that don't?
No. Fluoridation has been almost completely abolished in Europe. You can read statements from government officials in those countries about why they don't add fluoridation chemicals to water here: Click Here
Statistics gathered by the World Health Organization do not show any difference in rates of dental caries in fluoridated vs. non fluoridated countries. (WHO Collaborating Center for Education, Training, and Research in Oral Health, Malmo Univ., Sweden, 2012.) Where fluoridation has been discontinued in communities like Canada, the former East Germany, Cuba and Finland, dental decay has not increased but rather has continued to decrease (Maupome' 2001; Kunzel & Fischer, 1997, 2000; Kunzel 2000; Seppa 2000).
In the U.S., the state of Kentucky, which has been fluoridating the longest, and has achieved almost complete fluoridation of its water supply, has the worst dental health of any state in the country. From an article appearing in the Lexington Herald Leader (10/14/09): "Governor Beshear said Kentucky led the nation in 2004 in terms of the number of people age 65 or older who had lost teeth. About 27 percent of Kentuckians of all ages had lost six or more teeth to decay or gum disease, compared with 18 percent in the rest of the nation."
Yet, "In 2004, 99.6% of Kentucky's public water systems were providing fluoridated water to their customers. This ranked Kentucky first among all states." (Kentucky Epidemiologic Notes and Reports, Vol. 40. Ã "ž-8, Dept. of Public Health.)
Similar results were reported in Texas: "After 9 years and $3 million of adding fluoride, research shows tooth decay hasn't dropped among the poorest of Bexar County's children, it has only increased - up 13 percent this year." (Conger J., 2011, San Antonio: Added to our drinking water: a chemical 'more toxic than lead? 'KENS 5 News.)
A study of children in Canada comparing fluoridated vs. non-fluoridated
communities showed dental caries decreased in non-fluoridated areas, stayed the
same in fluoridated communities.
Levels of tooth decay continued to decrease after Cuba ended fluoridation:
Click Here
These studies found no increase in tooth decay after fluoride was discontinued:
Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/322125a0
British Medical Journal Click Here
In all countries listed in the links below, as in the U.S., dental disease
continued to decline, whether or not the countries were fluoridated. These
non-fluoridated countries had rates of dental problems lower than the U.S. - The
Netherlands, the UK (10% of the country is fluoridated), Belgium, Sweden,
Switzerland. These non-fluoridated countries had rates that were about the same
as the US - Italy, Finland, Iceland, France.
Click Here
Click Here
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