In fact, a report from the world’s oldest and most prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, has officially classified fluoride as a neurotoxin — in the same category as arsenic, lead and mercury.
The news was broken by author Stefan Smyle, who cited a report published in The Lancet Neurology, Volume 13, Issue 3, in the March 2014 edition, by authors Dr. Phillippe Grandjean and Philip J. Landrigan, MD. The report, which was officially released in 2014 and published in the journal, can be viewed by clicking here.
In addition to fluoride in city water supplies, the substance can also be found in certain foods, especially in heavily processed brands of tea that may be grown in polluted areas (see this list for more info).
In the Lancet report, the authors propose a global prevention strategy, saying that “untested chemicals should not be presumed to be safe to brain development, and chemicals in existing use and all new chemicals must therefore be tested for developmental neurotoxicity.”
REFERENCES:
1) See data at:
www.fluoridealert.org/content/bfs-2012/
2) See data at:
www.fluoridealert.org/content/water_europe/
3) For data on the number of countries in Europe that allow fluoridated salt, see: Gotzfried F. (2006). Schweiz Monatsschr Zahnmed 116: 371–75. Unlike water fluoridation (which applies fluoride to an entire water supply), salt fluoridation in Europe is limited to household salt that people have the option to purchase. In two of the five European countries that allow salt fluoridation, only 6% to 10% of household salt is actually fluoridated. Salt fluoridation is thus a far less intrusive application of fluoride than water fluoridation.
4) See extensive compilation of published research and data at:
www.fluoridealert.org/studies/caries01/
5) World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Education, Training, and Research in Oral Health, Malmö University, Sweden. Data available at
http://www.mah.se/CAPP/ (accessed on March 30, 2013).
6) A representative example of this viewpoint was expressed by Dr. Robert Kehoe in 1957: “The question of the public safety of fluoridation is non-existent from the viewpoint of medical science.”
7) In a January 2008 article published in Scientific American, Dr. Doull was quoted as saying: “[W]e’ve gone with the status quo regarding fluoride for many years—for too long, really—and now we need to take a fresh look. In the scientific community, people tend to think this is settled. I mean, when the U.S. surgeon general comes out and says this is one of the 10 greatest achievements of the 20th century, that’s a hard hurdle to get over. But when we looked at the studies that have been done, we found that many of these questions are unsettled and we have much less information than we should, considering how long this has been going on. I think that’s why fluoridation is still being challenged so many years after it began.” See:
www.fluoridealert.org/researchers/nrc/panelists/
8) National Research Council. (2006). Fluoride in drinking water: a scientific review of EPA’s standards. National Academies Press, Washington D.C. Available online at:
www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11571
9) See excerpts of NAS’s findings at:
www.fluoridealert.org/researchers/nrc/findings/
10) See excerpts of NAS’s recommendations at:
www.fluoridealert.org/researchers/nrc/recommendations/
11) Most fresh surface waters (e.g., lakes/streams) contain very little fluoride. When fluoride is obtained from deep ground water supplies, however, fluoride contamination can become a significant problem. See infra note 13.
12) High levels of naturally occurring fluorides have wreaked havoc on tens of millions of people’s health around the world, particularly in developing countries where water shortages force many rural communities to obtain water from deep in the ground. Consumption of fluoride-laden well water causes serious health ailments, including tooth loss, bone disease, ulcers, brain damage, heart disease, and thyroid disease. See:
www.fluoridealert.org/issues/health/. Because of this, international organizations like UNICEF assist developing nations in finding ways of removing fluoride from the water. For a review by UNICEF on the worldwide scope of fluoride poisoning, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/uploads/UNICEF-1999.pdf
13) In Canada, the average level of fluoride in fresh surface water is just 0.05 ppm, which is 14 to 24 times less fluoride than added to water in fluoridation programs. See: Environment Canada. (1993). Inorganic Fluorides: Priority Substances List Assessment Report. Government of Canada, Ottawa. p. 14. Fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, and eggs contain even lower levels of fluoride (unless they’re sprayed with fluoride pesticides). See:
www.fluoridealert.org/content/fresh_foods/. In the rare circumstance where rivers or ponds contain the same level of fluoride that is added to tap water, salmon and frogs have been found to suffer serious harm, including bone disease, changes in behavior, and increased mortality. See: Shaw SD, et al. (2012). Journal of Zoo & Wildlife Medicine 43(3):549-65; Damkaer DM, Dey DB. (1989). North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 9: 154-162.
14) As noted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “By recovering by-product fluosilicic acid from fertilizer manufacturing, water and air pollution are minimized, and water authorities have a low-cost source of fluoride available to them.” See:
www.fluoridealert.org/uploads/hanmer1983.pdf.
15) In 20th century, fluoride pollution caused more harm to livestock than any other pollutant. In Polk County, Florida (the capital of America’s phosphate industry), cattle downwind of the phosphate industry suffered “mass fluoride poisoning.” Between 1953 and 1960, “the cattle population dropped 30,000 head,” and “an estimated 150,000 acres of cattle land were abandoned.” As one farmer explained, “Around 1953 we noticed a change in our cattle… We watched our cattle become gaunt and starved, their legs became deformed; they lost their teeth. Reproduction fell off and when
a cow did have a calf, it was also affected by this malady or was a stillborn.” For discussion and documentation, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/articles/phosphate01/
16) See: Weng C, et al. (2000). Treatment chemicals contribute to arsenic levels. Opflow (AWWA), October, p. 6-7. Available at:
http://www.fluoridealert.org/uploads/opflow-2000.pdf
17) Hirzy JW, et al. (2013). Environ. Sci. Policy
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2013.01.007. On the lead/neurotoxic risk, see: Coplan MJ, et al. (2007). Neurotoxicology 28(5):1032-42; Maas RP, et al. (2007). Neurotoxicology 28(5):1023-31.
18) Beltran-Aguilar ED, et al. (2010). Prevalence and Severity of Dental Fluorosis in the United States, 1999–2004. NCHS Data Brief No. 53.
19) For photographs and discussion, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/issues/fluorosis/
20) Spzunar SM, Burt BA. (1988). J. Dent. Res. 67(5):802-06; Hodge HC. (1950). J. Am. Dent. Assoc. 40:436-39.
21) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/studies/dental_fluorosis01/
22) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/f-toothpaste/
23) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/processed/
24) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/f-pesticides/
25) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/tea/
26) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/teflon-pans/
27) See: www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/pharmaceuticals/
28) Institute of Medicine. (1997). Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. p. 302.
29) Ekstrand J, et al. (1981). British Medical Journal 283: 761-2.
30) In a May 15, 2012 letter to Senator Barbara Boxer, the CDC wrote: “We are unaware of data . . . about the additional protection from tooth decay that could result from [intakes greater than 10 micrograms/day of fluoride].” See:
www.fluoridealert.org/uploads/cdc-2012.pdf
31) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/studies/infant02/
32) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/studies/infant01/
33) Choi AL, et al. (2012). Environmental Health Perspectives 120:1362-68.
34) For a discussion of these studies, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/articles/iq-facts/. For a listing of all studies that have found an association between fluoride and reduced IQ, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/studies/brain01/.
35) Dr. Philippe Grandjean, the senior scientist who authored the Harvard review, has stated that: “Chemical brain drain should not be disregarded. The average IQ deficit in children exposed to increased levels of fluoride in drinking water was found to correspond to about 7 points – a sizable difference. To which extent this risk applies to fluoridation in Wichita or Portland or elsewhere is uncertain, but definitely deserves concern.” See:
www.braindrain.dk/2013/02/fluoridated-water-and-brains/.
36) Under current fluoride supplementation guidelines, two-year-old children living in non-fluoridated areas are prescribed 0.25 mg of fluoride per day. This is the same amount of fluoride contained in just one 8 ounce glass of water fluoridated at 1 ppm. To learn more about current fluoride supplementation guidelines, see: Rozier RG, et al. (2010). J. Am. Dent. Assoc. 141(12):1480-89.
37) 21 U.S.C. § 355(a). Although an exception to this rule exists for drugs that were on the market prior to 1938, fluoride supplements did not enter the market until the 1950s. Accordingly, the “grandfather clause” exception does not apply to fluoride supplements. For a detailed discussion on this point, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/researchers/fda/explanations/
38) To access FDA’s letters confirming this fact, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/researchers/fda/not-approved/
39) The two fluoride supplements that FDA has rejected are Enziflur (a fluoride/vitamin combination) and prenatal fluoride supplements. See:
www.fluoridealert.org/uploads/enziflur-1975.pdf and
www.fluoridealert.org/articles/fda-1966/.
40) According to the NAS, “fluoride is no longer considered an essential factor for human growth and development.” See:
www.fluoridealert.org/studies/essential-nutrient/
41) According to the FDA: “Fluoride, when used in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or animal, is a drug that is subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation.” See:
www.fluoridealert.org/researchers/fda/drug/
42) In Germany, for example, “the argumentation of the Federal Ministry of Health against a general permission of fluoridation of drinking water is the problematic nature of compulsion medication.” See this and other statements from European authorities at:
www.fluoridealert.org/content/europe-statements/.
43) Under the principle of “informed consent,” the patient has the “right to self decision.” See: AMA Ethical Opinion 8.08. While the doctor has an “obligation . . . to present the medical facts accurately to the patient,” it is the patient (or the patient’s caregiver) who has the sole right to decide what medical treatments to use.
44) Fejerskov O. (2004). Caries Research 38:184 (“The hypothesis was that increased intake of fluoride during tooth formation raises the fluoride concentration in enamel and hence increases acid resistance. As a consequence fluoride had to be taken systemically and artificial fluoridation of drinking waters became the ‘optimal’ solution.”).
45) For an extensive compilation of quotes from dental researchers discussing this consensus, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/studies/caries04/
46) According to the CDC, “fluoride prevents dental caries predominately after eruption of the tooth into the mouth, and its actions primarily are topical for both adults and children.” Centers for Disease Control (1999). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 48: 933-40.
47) In Maryland, 84% of dentists do not accept Medicaid patients. Similar rates exist in other states, including Alabama (82%), Colorado (79%), and Ohio (72%). As a result, most low-income children are not able to receive treatment from a dentist. See data and reports at:
www.fluoridealert.org/content/dental-care/
48) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/ej/
49) Beltran-Aguilar ED et al. (2005). MMWR Surveillance Summaries 54(3): 1-44. For a discussion of other studies that have found racial disparities in fluorosis rates, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/studies/dental_fluorosis02/
50) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/issues/ej/statements/
51) For a compilation of reports, see:
www.fluoridealert.org/studies/caries07/.
52) See:
www.fluoridealert.org/news/cincinnatis-dental-crisis/
53) Ismail AI, et al. (2006). Severity of dental caries among African American children in Detroit. Presentation at ADEA/AADR/CADR Conference, March 11. Abstract available at:
http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2006Orld/techprogram/abstract_73168.htm
54) Albert DA, et al. (2002). Dental caries among disadvantaged 3- to-4-year-old children in northern Manhattan. Pediatric Dentistry 24:229-33.
55) Bridge to Healthy Smiles. Cook County Oral Health Crisis. Available at:
http://www.bridgetohealthysmiles.com/ISDSBrochure.pdf
56) Bexar County Head Start Dental Screenings Program. See data at:
www.fluoridealert.org/uploads/san_antonio_caries.pdf
57) For a discussion of these tragic outcomes, see: Carrie Gann, Man Dies from Toothache, Couldn’t Afford Meds, ABC News, Sept. 11,2011, and Laura Owings, Toothache Leads to Boy’s Death, ABC News, March 5, 2007.
58) Allowing access to dental therapists represents an important strategy for expanding dental care services to underserved populations. Dental therapists are specially trained to provide dental care, such as tooth cleanings and fillings. According to a recent review, “the quality of technical care provided by dental therapists (within their scope of competency) was comparable to that of a dentist, and in some studies was judged to be superior.” Nash D, et al. (2012). A Review of the Global Literature on Dental Therapists. W.K. Kellogg Foundation. p. 6. Despite these findings, dental trade associations (such as the American Dental Association) are vigorously lobbying against efforts to allow dental therapists to serve underprivileged populations. See: Levine D. (2011). Why Are Dentists Opposing Expanded Dental Care? Available at:
www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-why-are-dentists-opposing-expanded-dental-care.html
