What’s the deal with fluoride water? Is the government really trying to poison us, or do they just want us all to have nice teeth? There has always been talk about the dangers of fluoride water, but conversation has risen sharply in the past few years.
In fact, at the end of this article, we will go over a pretty shocking revelation that’s very recent concerning the controversy surrounding fluoride. With that said, let’s take a look at what you’ll learn in this article:
Table of Contents
- What Is Fluoride Water?
- How Effective is Fluoride?
- Arguments Against Fluoride
- A Final Look
What Is Fluoride Water?
The best place to start is with what fluoride water is and why it’s even an issue. In short, fluoride water is water that has had small amounts of fluoride added to it as mandated by the government.
The primary reason this is done is to improve the dental health of the population. If that’s all that it was, then it probably wouldn’t be an issue. However, it’s not as simple as that, so we’ll go over it in a little more detail.
What Is Fluoride?
Fluoride is a naturally occurring chemical compound comprising fluorine combined with other elements, usually calcium, sodium, or hydrogen. It is most commonly found in mineral form (such as calcium fluoride) in rocks, soil, and water.
As an organic compound, fluoride is naturally found in our water and various foods at various levels. Specifically, it’s found in the earth’s soil, which is then transferred to either nearby water sources or taken up by plants.
However, the amount can vary greatly, ranging from barely detectable to unsafe.
Concerning its proposed health benefits, they are all centered towards improved dental health, including;
- Prevention of tooth decay
- Mitigates the erosion of enamel from acidic foods
- Remineralization of teeth
- Reduces plaque buildup.
Quick History Of Fluoride In Water
As fluoride is found naturally in water, when we say “fluoride water,” we are talking about water that has had fluoride added during processing.
So why do we do that? It all started with a brown stain.
In the early 1900s, researchers in Colorado investigated “the brown stain.”¹ The brown stain darkened people’s teeth as if they had been stained. However, even though they were discolored, these people had lower levels of tooth decay.
After studying, researchers concluded that the brown stain was caused by fluorosis, a condition caused by the overconsumption of fluoride. You see, due to the ground of Colorado, their water had unusually high levels of fluoride, which caused their enamel to wear off, resulting in a brown coloration.
From that point, more research was done to study the effect of fluoride on dental health and the danger of overexposure. The goal was to see if public health officials could put fluoride into the drinking water to treat entire populations. Eventually, on January 25, 1945 in Grand Rapids, MI, was the first region in the United States to add fluoride to its drinking water.
Since then, the recommended level of fluoride in water has fluctuated as new assessments have been administered. At the same time, the process of adding fluoride spread across America.
Over time, the practice grew, and approximately 75% of America’s drinking water has been fluoridated. The US Public Health Service (USPHS) recommends a fluoride concentration of 0.7 ppm.² This is believed to provide protection while not causing other damage.
Another consideration for lowering the number is that other products have begun putting fluoride in their products, such as toothpaste, as well as a general increase in dental care.
Another couple of numbers to be aware of are set by the EPA;
- Maximum allowable concentrations prevent enamel fluorosis- 2.00ppm
- Maximum allowable concentrations prevent skeletal fluorosis- 4.00ppm
And World Health Organization;
- The safe limit for drinking water- 1.50ppm
It’s important to realize that adding fluoride to water is not mandated by the federal or even state governments. The decision to fluoridate water is made by the local government, which has direct control over the water supply.
It’s estimated that around 75% of regions within the US fluoridate the public water supply. Areas that don’t are generally more isolated or rural areas that use well water or other tanks.
Why Does The Government Add Fluoride?
As we mentioned above, the primary reason the government puts fluoride in our water is dental care. In fact, water fluoridation is considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.
How Effective Is Fluoride Water?
The only reason it’s put in water is to improve the dental and oral health of the population. So, the big question concerning fluoride is, does it work?
Mehhhh. This actually surprised us.
The effectiveness of decreasing cavities is far from stellar. In fact, it’s more effective in decreasing cavities in your primary teeth (baby teeth) than in permanent teeth.
Numbers can range quite a bit, but the highest number usually stated for reduction in primary teeth is 60%. However, this number is seen in older studies, which have had poor study designs. As time went on, the improvements dwindled.
For example, a 2015 study found a reduction in children’s teeth to be 35% in baby teeth and 26% in permanent teeth.³ It’s important to note that these children had no other exposure to fluoride.
Concerning adults, this reduction in cavities hovers around the 25% reduction at the higher level.? However, other reports show just a 13% reduction in cavities in permanent teeth.?
Now, these numbers are improvements, but they’re probably much lower than you expected, especially when talking about adults. It’s something to consider when deciding if you think fluoridated water is good or not.
Arguments Against Drinking Fluoride Water
Above, we saw the effectiveness of putting fluoride in water. So it does work—perhaps not as much as you’d expect, but it does work. This would be great so long as there are no negative side effects.
So now we will examine why some people say “No!” to fluoride.
Too Much Fluoride Causes Fluorosis
Above, we talked about two things;
- The Colorado brown stain
- EPA maximum acceptable levels to prevent fluorosis
Both of these things are caused by being exposed to too much fluoride. This overexposure gradually eats away at the enamel of the teeth. This is known as dental fluorosis and is largely a cosmetic issue, i.e., staining of the teeth. While not ideal, it doesn’t seem to negatively affect health or pain.
The number for this ranges greatly. The 1999–2004 NHANES reported the following numbers concerning fluorosis. ?
- 20.8% of people aged 6 to 49 had mild or very mild dental fluorosis
- 2.0% had moderate fluorosis
- Less than 1% had severe fluorosis.
- 40.6% of adolescents aged 12 to 15 had any form of fluorosis
- 8.7% of adults aged 40 to 49 had any form of fluorosis
Later, the 2015-2016 NHANES reported;
- ? children and adolescents age 6 years and older had some dental fluorosis (mild or very mild)
- 1.4%-1.8% of children and adolescents age 6 years and older had moderate or severe dental fluorosis
One last important finding was that rates drop dramatically as the population ages. This again points to a greater concern for children.
Now, if you are constantly exposed to very high levels (the EPA sets it at 4.00 ppm), you can actually experience skeletal fluorosis. Unlike dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis can negatively affect your overall health, leading to conditions like osteoporosis, arthritis, and chronic joint pain.
Because more and more products are putting fluoride into their products, there’s an argument that people can not effectively control; how much they consume and likely have no idea.
Countries Without Fluoridated Water Are Also Seeing A Decrease In Cavities
The title says it all.
Not all countries use fluoridated water. Therefore, a good way to assess its overall effectiveness is to examine the rate of cavities in these countries. Keep in mind that we need to look at the rate as some countries’ water naturally has more or less fluoride.
With that said, remarkably, a plethora of countries without fluoridated water have seen a similar drop in cavities as countries with fluoridated water over the past few decades.?
This is explained by the increase in other products, primarily dental care products, that have fluoride added to them.
Many use this phenomenon and suggest we don’t need to continue putting fluoride in our water due to the increase in our products; it’s simply not needed anymore.
Why Does The Government Care So Much About Our Teeth?
Let us insert this thought. As we mentioned above, the government has only mandated fluoride to improve the dental health of the population. They believe it’s a cost-effective method to ensure that all people, regardless of class, can access this treatment.
Ignoring the issues concerning possible health effects, having healthy teeth sounds like a good policy. However, many people would respond by asking why the government cares so much about our teeth when all other aspects of our health are ignored.
For example, suppose the government cares so much about our teeth that it forces the population to drink fluoride. Why does it not mandate the amount of added sugar in our food?
The recommendation for sugar intake for adults is less than 10% of total calories. However, on average, adults consume 2-3 times this.? Keep in mind that this is the average. Many adults consume very low amounts, meaning many others are eating even more.
Most of this sugar comes from sugary drinks and snacks, which are not needed to support health nor does it offer any health benefit (other than tasting good!).
However, this sugar consumption is the primary driver for cavities that affect more than 80% of the population.? In addition, added sugar is one of the primary drivers of obesity, diabetes, and all other health issues.
That begs the question, if fluoride really is about our teeth, why is nothing done in any other sector of our life? Why not mandate sugar consumption or fast food?
People Should Have A Choice About Taking Fluoride
None of the above would even be an issue if there was more choice.
However, if you live in a region whose government decides to implement water fluoridation, you have few options to drink non-fluoridated water and must go out of your way to make it happen.
This raises the classic issue of how much control the government has over our health.
There are plenty of other examples, with vaccines being one of the biggest. However, some people will even argue this when it comes to wearing your seatbelt. Not that wearing a seatbelt is bad, but they argue that the government shouldn’t mandate issues that concern your health.
Therefore, on this issue, it really depends on how a person views this issue, and it is 100% a personal decision. Do you, or do you not believe the government should push these policies on the population?
Fluoride Has Been Linked To Autism, Cognitive Development, And Drop In IQ
Of all the push-back on fluoride water, the one topic that gets the most attention is the belief that there’s a connection between fluoride in water and a rise in autism and a drop in IQ.
Before we go further, it’s important to reiterate that fluoride has no essential physiological function, and a deficiency has never been reported as causing issues. This is an important factor when considering risk vs. reward.
Moving on, after reviewing research, the concern about this negative effect of fluoride water is based in reality.
A surprising amount of research points to a connection between neurology and fluoride. In fact, it’s so substantial that it led to most European countries refusing to put fluoride in their water.¹?
What’s surprising is this connection is not new. Various research has connected overexposure to fluoride to various neurological impairments since the 1930s. Some of these include;
- Sharp decline in mental activity
- Memory impairment
- Difficulties with concentration and thinking
- Reduced ability to write
- Chronic fatigue
- Headaches
- Loss of mental acuity
- Inability to concentrate
- Depression
- Diminished ability to focus
- Gastrointestinal symptoms
- Deterioration of muscular coordination
That’s not a small list.
Alarmingly, over 300 animal and human studies indicate that fluoride is neurotoxic! And sit down for this next one: fluoride is on the WHO’s list of the top 10 chemicals of greatest public health concern!¹¹ Technically, this includes an inadequate amount and excess, but we never hear that even authoritative health organizations recognize the danger of high fluoride levels.
The primary piece of lacking information is the mechanism by which excess fluoride could cause these neurological defects. However, several have been put forth, including;¹²
- Mitochondrial dysfunction
- Oxidative stress
- Inflammation
- Immunoexcitotoxicity
It’s also important to note that these negative effects are seen when ingesting levels of fluoride higher than the recommended amount.
Regardless, there seems to be sufficient evidence to warrant concern over the amount of fluoride you are exposed to. This is especially true for pregnant mothers and younger children.
It just so happened that a very recent new federal ruling took place against the EPA. In fact, this is the first time a federal judge has decided about the neurodevelopmental risks to children of the recommended US water fluoride level.
A US District judge ruled that “it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be.”¹³
In addition, the court notes that there is “little dispute” on if too much fluoride is hazardous and that even the EPA even acknowledges this. Of particular concern is the use of pregnant mothers consuming fluoride and its effect on the child’s IQ.
While the judge has ruled for more regulation, he didn’t specify what this should look like.
How To Minimize Fluoride Intake?
So, what do you do if you’re concerned with fluoride? Well, the good thing is you have a couple of options. These include;
- Buy dental products that don’t use fluoride
- Drink distilled water
- Drink spring water
- Drink filtered water (osmosis, deionizers, and activated alumina)
- Don’t use fluoridated gels at the dentist’s office
- Check that you’re not using fluoridated salt
- If you drink a lot of tea, use tea made with young leaves (white leaves)
Final Conclusion On Fluoride Water
So…what do we do with fluoride water? We’ll be honest, when we began the research for this, we went in completely neutral. We had never really looked into it too much. However, we’re coming out with a new perspective..
There does in fact seem to be cause for concern. In addition, as far as dental health, it seems the primary beneficiaries are children and their primary teeth. When you mix that with the fact there’s no physiological need for fluoride, the risks become even greater.
We can’t tell you what to do, but we would like you to look into this matter a little further if you’re concerned. This is especially true for expecting mothers. The good thing is the fix is relatively easy. While you need to do a little work, getting distilled water delivered to your house or installing a filter (double check that fluoride is part of the filtration) would work. Keep in mind you don’t need to eliminate 100% of fluoride, but cutting out excess could be a good idea. Oh, and stop eating so much sugar!
References
- “Pipe Dreams: America’s Fluoride Controversy.” Science History Institute, www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/pipe-dreams-americas-fluoride-controversy/.
- Davidson, Karina W., et al. “Screening and Interventions to Prevent Dental Caries in Children Younger than 5 Years.” JAMA, vol. 326, no. 21, 7 Dec. 2021, p. 2172, https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.20007.
- Iheozor-Ejiofor, Zipporah, et al. “Water Fluoridation for the Prevention of Dental Caries.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, no. 6, 2015, p. CD010856, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26092033, https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub2.
- “Effectiveness of Fluoride in Preventing Caries in Adults — Griffin et Al. 86 (5): 410 — Journal of Dental Research.” Web.archive.org, 19 Apr. 2010, web.archive.org/web/20100419024226/jdr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/full/86/5/410
- National Institute of Health. “Office of Dietary Supplements – Fluoride.” Ods.od.nih.gov, 26 Apr. 2022, ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Fluoride-HealthProfessional/.
- National Institute of Health. “Office of Dietary Supplements – Fluoride.” Ods.od.nih.gov, 26 Apr. 2022, ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Fluoride-HealthProfessional/.
- Harvard Public Health. “Is Fluoridated Drinking Water Safe?” Harvard Public Health Magazine, 22 June 2018, www.hsph.harvard.edu/magazine/magazine_article/fluoridated-drinking-water/.
- CDC. “Get the Facts: Added Sugars.” Nutrition, 14 May 2024, www.cdc.gov/nutrition/php/data-research/added-sugars.html.
- Moynihan, Paula. “Sugars and Dental Caries: Evidence for Setting a Recommended Threshold for Intake.” Advances in Nutrition, vol. 7, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2016, pp. 149–156, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4717883/, https://doi.org/10.3945/an.115.009365.
- Strunecka, Anna, and Otakar Strunecky. “Chronic Fluoride Exposure and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 16, no. 18, 16 Sept. 2019, p. 3431, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183431.
- World Health Organization. “Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments.” https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/chemical-safety/10chemicals-en.pdf
- Strunecka, Anna, and Otakar Strunecky. “Chronic Fluoride Exposure and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 16, no. 18, 16 Sept. 2019, p. 3431, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183431.
- Dorgan, Michael. “Federal Judge Orders EPA Further Regulate Fluoride in Drinking Water due to Concerns over Lowered IQ in Kids.” Fox News, 26 Sept. 2024, www.foxnews.com/health/federal-judge-orders-epa-further-regulate-fluoride-drinking-water-due-concerns-over-lowered-iq-kid.
