Why You Can't Believe a Fluoridationist

Fluoridationists bend the truth 

Johnny Johnson, President of the American Fluoridation Society and ardent fluoridation lobbyist,  used misleading and sometimes dishonest information in his pro-fluoridation presentation to the Missouri Oral Health Coalition April 24, 2024, according to the slide below  

His deceptive list of "false claims by fluoridation opponents" is corrected below this slide from his presentation:

1) The most used fluoridation chemical, hydrofluosilicic acid, has never been safety tested in animals or humans, according to the US National Toxicology Program.  It was nominated for testing which never occurred.

2) The American Dental Association says "If your baby is primarily fed infant formula, using fluoridated water might increase the chance for mild enamel fluorosis [white spotted permanent teeth]"

In 2006, the American Dental Association sent out an e-gram "If using a [infant formula] product that needs to be reconstituted, parents and caregivers should consider using water that has no or low levels of fluoride"

3) Fluoride Toxicity from Medscape "Fluoride toxicity is characterized by a variety of signs and symptoms...Long-term exposure to fluoride through elevated levels in drinking water leads to skeletal and dental fluorosis."  (70% of US children and adolescents are afflicted with dental fluorosis - some of it moderate/severe)

4) Fluoride and ADHD - Conclusions: The present review suggests that early exposure to fluoride may have neurotoxic effects on neurodevelopment affecting behavioral, cognitive and psychosomatic symptoms related to ADHD diagnosis. However, due to the heterogeneity of the studies included, current evidence does not allow to conclusively confirm that fluoride exposure is specifically linked to ADHD development. (Fluoride Exposure and ADHD: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological Studies)

5) Fluoride and Alzheimer's Potential Role of Fluoride in the Etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease (International Journal of Molecular Sciences)

6) Fluoride's link to kidney disease is over 100 years old Even dentists with the CDC's oral health division have private fears over fluoride's kidney effects, according to freedom of information attained documents.

7) It's not a conspiracy.  However, hydrofluosilicic acid and sodium fluoride are toxin-laced waste products of phosphate fertilizer manufacturing which are never purified before being added into drinking water. In 1983, Rebecca Hammer, Deputy Assistant Administrator For Water, US EPA stated:

     “In regard to the use of fluosilicic acid as a source of fluoride for fluoridation, this agency regards such use as        an ideal environmental solution to a long-standing problem. By recovering by-product fluosilicic acid from              fertilizer manufacturing, water and air pollution are minimised” and water utilities have a low-cost source of            fluoride available to them." See to Leslie A Russell 30 March 1983 

8) NYS Dept of Health statistics show there is no correlation between the fluoridation rate of a county and tooth decay rates or to fewer dental-related hospital ER visits for toddlers

9) "Some Individuals Appear To Be Highly Sensitive To Fluoride As Shown By Case Studies And Double-Blind Studies."  In one study, which lasted 13 years, the results showed that about 1% of patients given 1.0 mg of fluoride each day developed negative reactions. The Untold Story Of Fluoridation: Revisiting The Changing Perspectives

10) According to the US National Research Council 2006, there is substantial evidence that fluoride exposure can impact thyroid function in some individuals  

11) According to the CDC's MMWR 2001 report "The prevalence of dental caries in a population is not inversely related to the concentration of fluoride in enamel, and a higher concentration of enamel fluoride is not necessarily more efficacious in preventing dental caries." and

"Saliva is a major carrier of topical fluoride. The concentration of fluoride in ductal saliva, as it is secreted from salivary glands, is low — approximately 0.016 parts per million (ppm) in areas where drinking water is fluoridated and 0.006 ppm in nonfluoridated areas. This concentration of fluoride is not likely to affect cariogenic activity."

12) The CDC says: "It is not CDC’s task to determine what levels of fluoride in water are safe."  The EPA regulates fluoride in water as a contaminant to protect bone and tooth damage.  EPA is currently being sued to acknowledge fluoride's neurological effects.  We are awaiting the Judge's decision. The FDA labels fluoride supplements as "unapproved drugs" because no safety & efficacy studies were ever conducted on sodium fluoride.

13) After reviewing all available fluoridation studies, the independent and trusted UK-based Cochrane group of researchers could not find any quality evidence to prove fluoridation changes the "existing differences in tooth decay across socioeconomic groups." Neither could they find valid evidence that fluoride reduces adults' cavity rates nor that fluoridation cessation increases tooth decay, published in 2015

Fluoridation may reduce cavities in children (2 primary teeth or 1 permanent tooth). But Cochrane cautions these studies have "high risk of bias" and were mostly done before preventive measures were widespread, e.g. fluoridated toothpaste and sealants.

Two more recent studies, CATFISH and LOTUS, published in 2022 and 2024, respectively, show fluoridation has little or no benefit in modern times.

14) No fluoride, in any form, should be injected into public water supplies.  Fluoride isn't a nutrient or essential for decay-free teeth.  Consuming a fluoride-free diet doesn't cause cavities.  Fluoride is a drug with adverse side effects.

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Fluoride Abundant in Foods, Beverages, Dental Products; Fluoridation Unnecessary

Total fluoride intake should be determined before prescribing more, reported former New York State Department of Health Dental Director, J. Kumar, He wrote: “Because of the availability of fluoride from multiple sources, practitioners should prescribe other forms of fluoride therapy based on an understanding of patients’ total exposure to fluoride and the need for it,” (NYS Dental Journal February 1998). Few dentists, if any including him, heed that advice.

The American Dental Association concurs: "It also is critical that the dentist assess a child’s total fluoride exposure from all sources (beverages, food, toothpaste, supplements, topical applications and so forth..." (Journal of the American Dental Association 2014)

But now, as the California state dental director and American Dental Association's  National Fluoridation Advisory Committee, Kumar says "my job is to promote fluoridation." 

Never is fluoride intake tallied when communities are pressured to continue or start fluoridation. Legislators should know much fluoride children already ingest before feeding them more via their water supply. 

In fact, a 1999 study specific to non-fluoridated Connersville, Indiana, showed resident children ingested sufficient fluoride from foods, beverages and dental products.  Dentists ignored that inconvenient fact pushed more fluoride into them in 2000 after a successful but misguided lobbying effort to start fluoridation.

Fluoride sources are many:

Absent from labels, fluoride is in virtually all foods and beverages, including, soda, baby foods and all infant formulas, It’s high in tea (up to 6 mg/L), ocean fish and soy products. And, because of fluoride-containing pesticide residues, all grapes and its products (raisins, juice, wine, jellies, jams) have a significant fluoride content.

EPA allows extremely high amounts of fluoride pesticide residues on foods  See "Fluoride tolerances approved by US EPA as of July 15, 2005"

Fluoride is even in chocolate and french fries and sea salt, Himalayan salt contains some fluoride too.

Foods made with mechanically separated (boned) chicken, such as canned meats, hot dogs, and infant foods, also add fluoride to the diet (J Agric Food Chem Sept 2001) "A single serving of chicken sticks alone would provide about half of a child's upper limit of safety for fluoride," the researchers report.

Fluoride ingested daily from toothpaste ranges from 1/4 to 1/3 milligram (National Institutes of Health) “Gels used by dentists are typically applied one to four times a year and can lead to ingestions of 1.3 to 31.2 mg fluoride each time.” 

"Following Silver Diamine Fluoride  application, the serum fluoride concentrations ranged from 6 to 36ng/mL(0.006 to 0.036 ppm)"

Fluoride is in 20% of medicines, food packaging and inhaled from air pollution 

Other sources come from feed regimens of animal products, animal products; food storage containers (Teflon-coated containers); and food packaging (migration of perfluorochemicals into food).

Paper straws even contain fluorinated compounds.

How much is too much? 

According to the National Academy of Sciences, “without causing unwanted side effects including moderate dental fluorosis,” (yellow splotched teeth), the adequate daily intake of fluoride, from all sources, should not exceed: (But does) 

 -- 0.01 mg/day for 0 – 6-month-olds (which is in every infant formula – concentrated or not) 

-- 0.5 mg/day for 7 through 12 months 

-- 0.7 mg/day for 1 – 3-year-olds 

-- 1.1 mg/day for 4 – 8 year olds 

This is what moderate dental fluorosis looks like, according to the US Centers for Disease Control 

The US Department of Health and Human Services (1991) estimated that total fluoride exposure in fluoridated communities ranges from 1.6 to 6.6 mg/day 

Further, parents need to know that fluoride supplements have “not been found by FDA to be safe and effective.” 

No evidence proves anyone is or ever was fluoride-deficient. Fluoride isn’t a nutrient or essential for decay-free teeth – meaning that fluoride-free diets do not cause cavities. Fluoride is a drug with side effects. In fact, 70% of US kids are fluoride overdosed and afflicted with dental fluorosis – white spotted, yellow, brown and/or pitted teeth which created a lucrative market for cosmetic dentistry because fluoride is everywhere. But tooth decay is still epidemic 

The EPA regulates water fluoride levels to protect against fluoride-caused bone damage. So It's important to know that fluoride concentration in drinking water does not equate to an individual's daily dose. Fluoridation should never begin without fore knowledge of the community's fluoride intake from all sources.

Foods originating from Mexico have higher concentrations of fluoride than those found in US foods

FLUORIDE AIR POLLUTION

"Chief sources of fluoride pollutants are glassworks, steelworks, ceramic factories, phosphate fertilizer plants, brickworks, aluminum factories and uranium smelters. Combustion of coal is also source of fluorine pollution to some extent. Most injurious fluoride pollutant is gaseous hydrogen fluoride (HF). Fluoride is released into the air in large quantities by aluminum reduction plants, phosphate processors, steel mills, coal burning operations, brick and tile manufacturers, and various less significant sources (8). It can cause adverse effects when ingested by domestic animals or absorbed by plants. Fluoride air pollution adversely affect health of human beings. Fluorides are released into the atmosphere in gaseous state (as hydrogen fluoride and silicon tetra-fluoride) as well and in form of solid particles. These particles fall on and the gases are absorbed by, plants/ vegetation near the source of pollution. If such vegetation/ plants are consumed by the animals like cattle, sheep, horses, or pigs they will suffer from serious problems as these animals, particularly the cattle are vulnerable to fluoride (9). Ninety-six percent of the ingested fluoride accumulates in the bodies of animals is incorporated into the crystal structure of bone and tooth mineral (10, 11). Fluorides affect the bones & teeth (9, 12, 13)." 

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