Hailed as a harmless chemical that would prevent tooth decay, new evidence shows how fluoride could be linked to serious health problems. Fluoridation was first advanced in the US at the end of the second World War. Proponents argued that fluoride in water and toothpaste would help to protect teeth and prevent decay. Over the following decades, fluoride was added to public water supplies across the country.
While the benefits of fluoridation have been held to be unquestionable, accumulating evidence points to a fleftening prospect: that fluoride may have serious adverse health effects, including infant mortality, congenital defects and IQ.
Now a new book, titled “The Fluoride Deception” by Christopher Bryson examines the background of the fluoridation debate. According to Bryson, research challenging fluoride’s safety was either suppressed or not conducted in the first place. He says fluoridation is a triumph not of medical science but of US government spin.
Water fluoridation effectively reduces cavities in both children and adults:[9] earlier studies showed that water fluoridation reduced childhood cavities by fifty to sixty percent, but more recent studies show lower reductions (18–40%) likely due to increasing use of fluoride from other sources, notably toothpaste, and also the ‘halo effect’ of food and drink that is made in fluoridated areas and consumed in unfluoridated ones.[2]
A 2000 systematic review found that water fluoridation was statistically associated with a decreased proportion of children with cavities (the median of mean decreases was 14.6%, the range −5 to 64%), and with a decrease in decayed, missing, and filled primary teeth (the median of mean decreases was 2.25 teeth, the range 0.5–4.4 teeth),[11] which is roughly equivalent to preventing 40% of cavities.[54] The review found that the evidence was of moderate quality: few studies attempted to reduce observer bias, control forconfounding factors, report variance measures, or use appropriate analysis. Although no major differences between natural and artificial fluoridation were apparent, the evidence was inadequate for a conclusion about any differences.[11] Fluoride also prevents cavities in adults of all ages. There are fewer studies in adults however, and the design of water fluoridation studies in adults is inferior to that of studies of self- or clinically applied fluoride. A 2007 meta-analysis found that water fluoridation prevented an estimated 27% of cavities in adults (95% confidence interval [CI] 19–34%), about the same fraction as prevented by exposure to any delivery method of fluoride (29% average, 95% CI: 16–42%).[55] A 2002 systematic review found strong evidence that water fluoridation is effective at reducing overall tooth decay in communities.[56] A 2015 Cochrane review found that water fluoridation was effective at reducing caries levels in children, but that most of the evidence for its effectiveness came from studies conducted before 1975.[57]
Most countries in Europe have experienced substantial declines in cavities without the use of water fluoridation.[3] For example, in Finland and Germany, tooth decay rates remained stable or continued to decline after water fluoridation stopped. Fluoridation may be useful in the U.S. because unlike most European countries, the U.S. does not have school-based dental care, many children do not visit a dentist regularly, and for many U.S. children water fluoridation is the prime source of exposure to fluoride.[15] The effectiveness of water fluoridation can vary according to circumstances such as whether preventive dental care is free to all children.[58]
Some studies suggest that fluoridation reduces oral health inequalities between the rich and poor, but the evidence is limited.[3]There is anecdotal but not scientific evidence that fluoride allows more time for dental treatment by slowing the progression of tooth decay, and that it simplifies treatment by causing most cavities to occur in pits and fissures of teeth.
Great doc, great book. has over 100 pages of references, extremely well researched.
So much good information, eg the chapter about the mining town that was mass-poisoned in the 50’s with fluoride and then covered up – almost erased from history if not for this book