Comment by jandrewrogers
21 days ago
I am competent on this particular subject matter, I have worked in fluorine chemistry and am familiar with the biology and medical literature of fluorine toxicity. The report made much weaker claims than people seem to think.
There is a very serious mechanism of action problem. Fluorine poisoning is a thing that happens. The observed effects and empirical evidence, as well as the mechanisms of action that cause them, are incompatible with any mechanism of action that supports the hypothesis that it causes brain damage. Basically, it would invalidate the entire history of actual fluoride exposure.
The other serious problem is that people are exposed to far more fluorine through what they eat than through water. What is special about trace levels in municipal water? And many parts of the world have far higher natural fluoride levels in their water than any municipal water supply with no evidence of adverse consequences. This has been studied many times in many countries! In fact, the only consistent correlation with naturally high fluoride levels is better cardiovascular health (for which there is a known mechanism of action).
This notion that trace levels of fluoride in some municipal water is adversely impacting IQ based on thin evidence from the developing world is just the public health version of “faster than light neutrinos”. Someone thinks they measured it but it contradicts everything we know about the subject. The rational approach isn’t to discard everything we know without a hell of a lot more evidence.
I don’t think adding fluoride to municipal water does much these days but it also isn’t harming anyone.
It also seems to mirror the rhyme with the vaccine "debate."
That debate is framed around being vaccinated vs the scare of "vaccine caused autism" (or myocarditis), but that frame is missing the risk of things like measles.
Likewise tooth decay is not only expensive, but it can have dreadful health consequences if left unaddressed. Missing teeth is also socially costly. Being poor or "ugly" or poor looking is a serious adverse health consequence. Imagine parents barely making ends meet or working multiple jobs. It's easy to imagine disadvantaged kids missing out on dental care.
I also explicitly remember reading multiple reports of poor tooth health correlating with dementia development. I've also read that serious infections of any sort can harm IQ.
Sure, but we need to look at this from the other side, too. Does fluoridating water provide benefits? I think it's safe to say it did way back when we started doing it. But we didn't have fluoride toothpaste back then. Putting fluoride in the water is presumably more costly than not doing it. If it's actually providing benefits, and the risk of harm is below some very low threshold, then sure, let's keep doing it. But is it actually providing benefits?