Why is America So Ignorant? Fluoride in the Drinking Water

[WaTcHeR]

US says too much fluoride in water

Fluoride in drinking water -- credited with dramatically cutting cavities and tooth decay -- may now be too much of a good thing. Getting too much of it causes spots on some kids' teeth.

A reported increase in the spotting problem is one reason the federal government will announce Friday it plans to lower the recommended levels for fluoride in water supplies -- the first such change in nearly 50 years.

About 2 out of 5 adolescents have tooth streaking or spottiness because of too much fluoride, a surprising government study found recently. In some extreme cases, teeth can even be pitted by the mineral -- though many cases are so mild only dentists notice it. The problem is generally considered cosmetic.

Health officials note that most communities have fluoride in their water supplies, and toothpaste has it too. Some kids are even given fluoride supplements.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is announcing a proposal to change the recommended fluoride level to 0.7 milligrams per liter of water. And the Environmental Protection Agency will review whether the maximum cutoff of 4 milligrams per liter is too high.

The standard since 1962 has been a range of 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams per liter.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the splotchy tooth condition, fluorosis, is unexpectedly common in kids ages 12 through 15. And it appears to have grown much more common since the 1980s.

"One of the things that we're most concerned about is exactly that," said an administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly before the release of the report. The official described the government's plans in an interview with The Associated Press.

But there are other concerns, too. A scientific report five years ago said that people who consume a lifetime of too much fluoride -- an amount over EPA's limit of 4 milligrams -- can lead to crippling bone abnormalities and brittleness.

That and other research issued Friday by the EPA about health effects of fluoride are sure to re-energize groups that still oppose adding it to water supplies.

The American Dental Association released a statement applauding the government announcement to change fluoride guidance.

Fluoride is a mineral that exists naturally in water and soil. About 70 years ago, scientists discovered that people whose supplies naturally had more fluoride also had fewer cavities. Some locales have naturally occurring fluoridation levels above 1.2. Today, most public drinking water is fluoridated, especially in larger cities. An estimated 64 percent of Americans drink fluoridated water.

Portland, Ore., is the largest city that doesn't fluoridate its water.

Bill Zepp of the Oregon Dental Association said the city's anti-fluoridation activists will embrace the recommended fluoride changes "as some type of win."

Maryland is the most fluoridated state, with nearly every resident on a fluoridated system. In contrast, only about 11 percent of Hawaii residents are on fluoridated water, according to government statistics.

Fluoridation has been fought for decades by people who worried about its effects, including conspiracy theorists who feared it was a plot to make people submissive to government power.

Those battles continue.

"It's amazing that people have been so convinced that this is an OK thing to do," said Deborah Catrow said Friday. She successfully fought a ballot proposal in 2005 that would have added fluoride to drinking water in Springfield, Ohio.

Reducing fluoride would be a good start, but she hopes it will be eliminated altogether from municipal water supplies.

Catrow said it was hard standing up to City Hall, the American Dental Association and the state health department. "Anybody who was anti-fluoride was considered crazy at the time," she said.

In New York, the village of Cobleskill in Schoharie County -- west of Albany -- stopped adding fluoride to its drinking water in 2007 after the longtime water superintendent became convinced the additive was contributing to his knee problems. Two years later, the village reversed the move after dentists and doctors complained.

In March, 2006, the National Academy of Sciences released a report recommending that the EPA lower its maximum standard for fluoride in drinking water to below 4 milligrams. The report warned severe fluorosis could occur at 2 milligrams. Also, a majority of the report's authors said a lifetime of drinking water with fluoride at 4 milligrams or higher could raise the risk of broken bones.

Late last year, lawyers for the Fluoride Action Network, Beyond Pesticides, and Environmental Working Group threatened legal action if the EPA did not lower its ceiling on fluoride.

In Europe, fluoride is rarely added to water supplies. In Britain, only about 10 percent of the population has fluoridated water. It's been a controversial issue there, with critics arguing people shouldn't be forced to have "medical treatment" forced on them. In recent years, the UK has tried to add fluoride to communities with the worst dental health but there's still considerable opposition.

In the early years of fluoridation in the United States, the range of levels was created because people in warmer climates drank more water, therefore getting more fluoride than cooler regions. Over time, that difference leveled out with air conditioning, the senior administration official said.

Fluorosis has generally been seen as the primary down side of fluoride.

According to the CDC, nearly 23 percent of children ages 12-15 had fluorosis in a study done in 1986 and 1987. That rose to 41 percent in the more recent study, which covered the years 1999 through 2004.

"We're not necessarily surprised to see this slow rise in mild fluorosis," Dr. William Kohn, director of the CDC's division of oral health, said in a recent interview.

Health officials have hesitated to call it a problem, however. In most kids, it's barely noticeable; even dentists have trouble seeing it, and sometimes don't bother to tell their unknowing patients.

Meanwhile, the U.S. prevalence of tooth decay in at least one tooth among teens has declined from about 90 percent to 60 percent. Health officials call water fluoridation one of the 10 greatest public health accomplishments of the last century.

"One of water fluoridation's biggest advantages is that it benefits all residents of a community -- at home, work, school, or play. And fluoridation's effectiveness in preventing tooth decay is not limited to children, but extends throughout life, resulting in improved oral health," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh, in a statement.

Indeed, many health leaders continue to be worried about cavities, particularly among poor families with kids who eat a lot of sweets but don't get much dental care.



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[WaTcHeR]

50 reasons to oppose fluoridation


Dr. Paul Connet, Ph.D. of St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY offers 50 reasons to oppose fluoridation as listed below and the statements are slightly edited.
1. Humans don't need fluoride to have good teeth.

2. Fluoridation is unnecessary. Most Western European countries are not fluoridated and they have experienced the same decline in dental decay as the U.S. where a majority of cities are fluoridated.

3. Fluoridation's role in the decline of tooth decay is in serious doubt.

4. Where fluoridation has been discontinued in communities in Canada and other countries, dental decay has not increased but actually decreased.

5. Dental crises were reported to have occurred in U.S. cities where fluoride has been added to drinking water for over 20 years; Tooth decay is more correlated with income than fluoride levels in water.

6. A decline in tooth decay had been already seen before fluoridation was introduced; Some studies suggested increased levels of fluoride in drinking water was associated with elevated risk of tooth decay.

7. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges findings by many leading dental researchers that fluoride does not have to be ingested to have a protective effect, which is topical, but not systemic. Since swallowing fluoride is unnecessary, no reason exists to force people (against their will) to drink fluoride in their water supply.

8. The FDA has never approved any fluoride product designed for ingestion as safe or effective.

9. Fluoridation does not help reduce dental decay rates. A major survey has found 30 percent of children in fluoridated areas had dental fluorosis on at least two teeth while the purpose of fluoridation is to limit the rate below 10 percent.

10. While fluoride is a known risk factor for dental fluorisis, other factors also affect the dental condition.

11. The level of fluoride put into drinking water at 1 ppm is not what nature intended. Fluoride presented in mother's milk is 200 times lower than 1 ppm. No benefits but only risks come from this level of fluoride.

12. Fluoride is a cumulative poison, and only 50 percent of this mineral ingested daily can be excreted through the kidneys.

13. Fluoride actively interferes with hydrogen bonding and inhibits a great number of enzymes.

14. Together with aluminum, fluoride interferes with G-proteins leading to further interference with many hormonal and some neurochemical signals.

15. Fluoride is mutagenic and can damage DNA and interfere with enzymes that help DNA repairs.

16. Fluoride can form complexes with other metals or minerals causing a variety of problems.

17. Animal studies show exposure to 1 ppm of fluoride in the form of sodium fluoride or aluminum fluoride in drinking water for a year resulted in morphological changes in kidneys and brains of rats, increased uptake of toxic metal aluminum in the brain and the formation of beta-amyloid deposits, which increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

18. Aluminum fluoride used to fluoridate water is toxic to the brain; the U.S. government recommended this chemical should be tested for its toxicity.

19. Fluoride accumulates in the brain and alters mental behavior in a manner like a neurotoxin.

20. Five studies in China revealed fluoride exposure was linked lower IQ in children.

21. Fluoride also accumulates in the pineal gland to a very high level and reduces melatonin production and leads to an early onset of puberty.

22. Fluoride was prescribed in Europe to patients with hyperthyroidism. Water fluoridation essentially forces people to use a thyroid-depressing drug. The Department of Health and Human Services reported fluoride exposure in fluoridated communities is estimated at the range of 1.6 to 6.6 mg per day, which covers the dose range from 2.3 to 4.5 mg per day that decreases the thyroid functions.

23. Some early symptoms of skeletal fluorosis, which is caused by fluoride, mimic the symptoms of arthritis, a fact that leads to misdiagnosis of skeletal fluorosis. Because of this, incidence of skeletal fluorosis can be underestimated.

24. High doses of fluoride up to 26 mg per day were tried to treat people with osteoporosis in hopes that their bones can be hardened and fracture rates can be reduced. Exposure to such high levels, in fact, increased the rate of fractures, particularly hip fractures. The level of exposure can be easily reached in people who live in fluoridated areas during their lifetime.

25. Many studies have linked exposure of fluoride with increased risk of fractures, particularly hip fractures, which are serious health problems.

26. The one and only government-sanctioned animal study intended to examine the effect of fluoride on cancer risk showed a dose-dependent increase in risk of bone cancer in male rats. Other cancers in the liver and the mouth were also increased, but the government downplayed the findings.

27. A review of data in a national cancer database found higher rates of bone cancer in young men in fluoridated areas compared to unfluoridated areas. A smaller study revealed the increase in bone cancer in young men living in fluoridated areas was 6 times higher, compared with those living in unfluoridated areas.

28. Animal studies showed high levels of fluoride wreak havoc on the male reproductive system, specifically damaging sperm and boosting the odds of infertility.

29. Although toxic at high levels, the fluoridation programs are poorly monitored. As a result, the exposure to high toxic mineral varies widely and some people might have been victimized by the practice.

30. No one can really know exactly how much his daily intake of fluoride is. Some people could expose themselves to much higher levels than others even though the average may or may not be too much out of the normal range.

31. Fluoridation is unethical because individuals are forced to drink fluoridated water. If fluoride is indeed beneficial, people can always take it as a dietary supplement.

32. Referenda cause a conflict between individual rights and majority rule. Fluoride, a toxin, should not be given to an individual just because his neighbors agree that he should receive it in drinking water.

33. Some people are more sensitive than others. One 13-year study showed about 1 percent of patients given 1 mg of fluoride per day developed negative reactions.

34. The Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry and other researchers reported that certain individuals including elderly, diabetics, and those with poor kidney function may be more vulnerable to fluoride's toxic effects.

35. Vulnerable are also those who suffer malnutrition such as deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, and iodine and protein in their diet. People with malnutrition are likely the poor, who are the targets of new fluoridation programs.

36. Dental decay is more commonly seen in poor communities. That is not because they have no access to fluoride, but because they are poor and don't have access to adequate dental care and don't have dental insurance.

37. Fluoridation has failed to prevent the most serious oral health problem facing young and poor children, that is, baby bottle tooth decay or early childhood caries.

38. Early studies intended to help launch fluoridation programs were criticized for their poor methodology and choice of control communities. Dr. Hubert Arnold from the University of California at Davis was cited as saying the early fluoridation trials "are especially rich in fallacies, improper design, invalid use of statistical methods, omissions of contrary data, and just plain muddleheadedness and hebetude."

39. When the U.S. Public Health Service first endorsed fluoridation in 1950, no single trial had been yet completed.

40. After the launching of fluoridation, evidence from studies indicated that fluoride could not help prevent pit and fissure tooth decay, which represents up to 85 percent of the tooth decay in children. This is a fact that has been known to the dental community.

41. People today are exposed to much higher levels of fluoride than the optimal fluoridation level 1 ppm, which is the level viewed as optimal in 1945.

42. Fluoride chemicals used to fluoridate water in the U.S. are not food or pharmaceutical grade. They come from the wet scrubbing systems commonly seen in the superphosphate fertilizer industry. They are contaminated with impurities and only 90 percent of it is sodium fluorosilicate and fluorosilic acid.

43. The chemicals used for fluoridation have not been tested for its safety. The tests conducted in animal studies used pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride, but not industrial grade fluoride chemicals.

44. Use of fluorisilic acid increased uptake of lead into children's blood.

45. Sodium fluoride is an extremely poisoning substance, a dose of 200 mg of fluoride ion can be enough to kill a young child, and 3 to 5 grams of it may kill an adult. Deaths were reported to result from excess exposure to fluoride.

46. At least 14 Nobel Prize winners had expressed their reservations about fluoridation.

47. Nobel laureate in Medicine and Physiology Dr. Arvid Carlsson was quoted as saying ""I am quite convinced that water fluoridation, in a not-too-distant future, will be consigned to medical history...Water fluoridation goes against leading principles of pharmacotherapy, which is progressing from a stereotyped medication - of the type 1 tablet 3 times a day - to a much more individualized therapy as regards both dosage and selection of drugs. The addition of drugs to the drinking water means exactly the opposite of an individualized therapy" (Carlsson 1978).

48. Pro-fluoridation officials refuse to debate over fluoridation. Dr. Michael Easley, a well known lobbyist for fluoridation in the US was quoted as saying "Debates give the illusion that a scientific controversy exists when no credible people support the fluorophobics' view". Dr. Edward Groth, a Senior Scientist at Consumers Union, was quoted as observing "the political profluoridation stance has evolved into a dogmatic, authoritarian, essentially antiscientific posture, one that discourages open debate of scientific issues".

49. Scientist, doctors, and dentists who have spoken against fluoridation have been subjected to censorship and intimidation.

50. The Union representing scientists at US EPA headquarters in Washington DC opposes water fluoridation. "In summary, we hold that fluoridation is an unreasonable risk. That is, the toxicity of fluoride is so great and the purported benefits associated with it are so small - if there are any at all - that requiring every man, woman and child in America to ingest it borders on criminal behavior on the part of governments."

For more details about adverse effects of fluoride, readers are encouraged to visit the fluoridealert.org's website. (editing by Denise Reynolds)

EPA wants less fluoride in water, but do we need any of the chemical?



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