Healthy Smile Worth the Risk?
Tuesday mornings were always “Fluoride Day” when I was in elementary school. We’d all pile into the cafeteria and wait anxiously to see which flavor of the often used teeth treatment would be distributed. Some days, parents would be invited to come in and take part in the fluoride festivities. Why shouldn’t they have? Clean
teeth are important in both children and adults.
Could it be that this weekly ritual does more harm than good? Could too much of a good thing actually be detrimental and cause neurological disorders in children?
It’s possible - according to researchers investigating fluoride and its effects. Too much fluoride consumed by women who are pregnant lowers their thyroid levels and this may affect the brain and neurological development of the unborn child. Such disturbance in development can cause ADD, Autism and decreased IQ levels.
This raises the question: “How much is too much?” and “If I stop doing fluoride treatments will this put me in the clear?” Not so fast. Fluoride is found not only in toothpaste and other dental products but in drinking water and some foods as well. Exposure to fluoride from these multiple sources could be enough to cause the lower Thyroid levels that can lead to neurological deficiencies.
As much as 2/3 of the nation’s water sources contain fluoride. There are organizations such as the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation whose goal is to omit fluoride from public water sources.
Tags: autism, fluoride dangers, too much fluoride, water and autism
September 15th, 2009 at 3:24 am
Fluoride can damage the brain, study says
“It is not clear that the benefits of
adding fluoride to drinking water outweigh risks of neurodevelopment
or other effects such as dental fluorosis,” according to an Institute
for Children’s Environmental Health report. (1)
Fluoride chemicals are added to 2/3 of U.S. public water supplies
ostensibly to reduce tooth decay. Fluoride is found in dental
products, supplements and virtually all foods and beverages (2).
“Excessive fluoride ingestion is known to lower thyroid hormone
levels, which is particularly critical for women with subclinical
hypothyroidism; decreased maternal thyroid levels adversely affect
fetal neurodevelopment,” reports a prestigious committee of
scientists and health professionals in a “Scientific Consensus
Statement on Environmental Agents Associated with Neurodevelopmental
Disorders.”
Studies they reviewed and others link fluoride to brain abnormalities
and/or IQ deficits. (3)
“The question is what level of exposure results in harmful effects to
children. The primary concern is that multiple routes of exposure,
from drinking water, food and dental care products, may result in a
high enough cumulative exposure to fluoride to cause developmental
effects,” they write.
“Given the serious consequences of LDDs [learning and developmental
disabilities], a precautionary approach is warranted to protect the
most vulnerable of our society,” the authors caution.
“It’s time to stop water fluoridation,” says attorney Paul Beeber,
President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation. “With
many neurological diseases, such as autism and ADD, afflicting too
many American children, fluoride’s dubious promises of less cavities
no longer outweigh fluoride’s serious health risks,” says Beeber.
The National Research Council reviewed fluoride toxicology evidence
and reported in March 2006 that studies linking fluoride to lowered IQ
are plausible.(3a)
“The real dental dilemma facing American children today is their
inability to get dental care,” says Beeber. “Eighty-percent of
dentists refuse Medicaid patients (4) and 130 million Americans don’t
have dental insurance (5),” says Beeber.
Studies show that when fluoridation ends, cavities actually go down.
(6)
Dr. Phyllis Mullenix was the first U.S. scientist to find evidence
that fluoride damages the brain. She published her study in a
respected peer-reviewed scientific journal (7) and then was fired
because she wouldn’t squelch it.(8)
References:
1) Institute for Children’s Environmental Health, “Scientific
Consensus Statement on Environmental AgentsAssociated with
Neurodevelopmental Disorders,”Developed by the Collaborative on Health
and the Environment’sLearning and Developmental Disabilities
Initiative November 7, 2007 released February 20, 2008
http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/LDDIStatement.pdf
2) USDA National Fluoride Database of Selected
Beverages and Foods - 2004 http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Fluoride/Fluoride.html
3) http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/brain/index.html#human
3a) The National Academies of Science, Committee on Fluoride in
Drinking Water, National Research Council, “Fluoride in Drinking
Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards,” March 2006
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11571.html?onpi_newsdoc03222006
4) Slate, “Hidden Rations Why poor kids can’t find a dentist,” by Anne
Alstott
May 29, 2007 http://www.slate.com/id/2167190/
5) American Dental Education Association/American Association for
Dental Research Testimony presented by Dr. Nick Mosca March 27, 2007
Before the House Energy and Commerce Committee
http://www.iadr.com/files/public/LA07testimonyMosca.pdf
6) http://thyroid.about.com/cs/toxicchemicalsan/a/fluoridepr.htm
7) Mullenix P, et al. (1995). “Neurotoxicity of Sodium Fluoride in
Rats,” Neurotoxicology and Teratology 17:169-177)
http://www.fluoridealert.org/mullenix-interview.htm
Videos: Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9daqPRUWpMc
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4QrTcyrrvw