Fluoride: Poisoning the WellCynthia Hodges, J.D., LL.M., M.A.Many municipalitites add fluoride to drinking water, ostensibly to prevent tooth decay. This amounts tomaking fluoride, the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder, a compulsory medication. Fluo-dide poses a significant risk to the public health. These risks include thyroid gland suppression and cancer risk, dental fluorosis, risk to brain and bone health, and more.Other countries have granted their citizens the right to choose or refuse adding fluoride to their diets. 97%of Western Europe has chosen fluoride-free water. Rather than for cing fluoride treatmenton the whole population, western Eur ope allows individuals the right to choose, or refuse, fluoride. For example, inLuxembourg, the official position is that “drinking water isn't the suitable way for medicinal treatmentand that people needing an addition of fluoride can decide by their own to use the most appropriate way.”According to comprehensive data from the World Health Organization, the tooth decay rates in WesternEurope are often lower than in the US.Fluoride has very little benefit and serious risks when ingested. Proponents of fluoride may believe in itseffectiveness, but a growing number of studies question that belief. According to a review published bythe Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, “The magnitude of [fluoridation's] effect is not largein absolute terms, is often not statistically significant and may not be of clinical significance.” The Cen-ters for Disease Control statedthat fluoride's “predominant effect is posteruptive and topical.” Any bene-fits obtained from the use of fluoride come from the direct application of fluoride to the outside of teethand not from ingestion.Fluoride’s ability to fight cavities when orally ingested seems to have been greatly exaggerated. Dr. JohnYiamouyiannis examined raw data from a study that was conducted by the National Institute for DentalResearch (NIDR), andconcluded that fluoride did not appear to have any decay preventing success. Hefound little difference in the DMFT values (the mean number of decayed, missing or filled teeth) for ap- proximately 40,000 children, regardless of whether they grew up in fluoridated, non-fluoridated or par-tially fluoridated communities.

Another study conducted by the New Zealand National Health Service plan examined the teeth of every child in key age groups, and found that the teeth of children in non-fluoridated cities were slightly better than those in the fluoridated cities.

Cavities do not increase whenfluoridation stops. Several studies published since 2000 have reported no increase in tooth decay in com-munities that have ceased fluoridation.Ingestion of fluoride endangers pu blic health. The most recognized problemis dental fluorosis, which is characterized by the failure of tooth enamel to crystallize properly in permanent teeth. The chemicals usedto fluoridatedrinking water - fluorosilicic acid, sodium silicofluoride, and sodium fluoride - are industrialwaste products from the phosphate fertilizer industry. Of these chemicals, fluorosilicic acid (FSA) is themost widely used. FSA is a corrosive acid that has been linked to higher blood lead levels in children. Astudy from the University of North Carolina found that FSA can, in combination with chlorinated compounds, leach lead from brass joints in water pipes. Lead is a neurotoxin that can cause learning disabili-ties and behavioral problems in children.Even in the absence of lead, ingesting fluoride is a risk to brain health. According to the National Re-1

Yiamouyiannis, J.A. “Water Fluoridation and Tooth Decay: Results from the 1986-87 National Surveyof U.S. Schoolchildren,” Fluoride, 23, 55-67, 1990.

Colquhoun, J. “Child Dental Health Differences in New Zealand,” Community Healthy Services, XI 85-90, 1987.

search Council (NRC), fluoride can damage the brain. Animal studies conducted in the 1990s by EPA sci-entists found dementia-like effects at the same concentration (1 ppm) used to fluoridate water, while hu-man studies have found adverse effects on IQ at levels as low as 0.9 ppm among children with nutrientdeficiencies, and 1.8 ppm among children with adequate nutrient intake. In 1995, neurotoxicologist andformer Director of toxicology at Forsyth Dental Center in Boston, Dr. Phyllis Mullenix, stated that, basedon her research, fluoride acts in a way that lowers the I.Q. of children.

Small levels of fluoride can create“histologic lesions in [a child’s] brain similar to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.” According to a studyconducted by Varner et al., exposure to fluoride caused “damage to the blood brain barrier.” Studies dat-ing back to the 1950s have shown links between Down's Syndrome and natural fluoridation. Ionel Rapa- port showed how the age of women bearing Down's Syndrome children decreased in direct relation to theincrease of fluoride in the water supply. The more fluoride that was in the water, the younger the age of the women bearing Down's Syndrome children.If aluminum compounds are added to the water supply, they may also interact with fluoride to damage brain health. Aluminum may be absorbed by the body by combining with the fluoride. A study found thatlow levels of aluminum fluoride and sodium fluoride contained in “optimally” fluoridated water causedlesions to the brain similar to those found in Alzheimer's disease (in addition to severe kidney damage).Dr. Robert Isaacson, State University of New York, found that when aluminum fluoride is added to thefood of rats, the rats developed short-term memory problems, smell sensory loss and other characteristicsof Alzheimer's disease.

Fluoride ingestion also risks the health of the thyroid gland. According to the NRC, fluoride is an “endo-crine disrupter,” and has warned that doses of fluoride of 0.01-0.03 mg/kg/day may reduce the function of the thyroid among individuals with low-iodine intake. “...[F]luoride affects normal endocrine function or response; the effects of the fluoride-induced changes vary in degree and kind in different individuals.Fluoride is therefore an endocrine disruptor in the broad sense of altering normal endocrine function or response... The mechanisms of action remain to be worked out and appear to include both direct and indi-rect mechanisms, for example, direct stimulation or inhibition of hormone secretion by interference withsecond messenger function, indirect stimulation or inhibition of hormone secretion by effects on thingssuch as calcium balance, and inhibition of peripheral enzymes that are necessary for activation of thenormal hormone.”

“Fluoride exposure in humans is associated with elevated TSH concentrations, in-creased goiter prevalence, and altered T4 and T3 concentrations; similar effects on T4 and T3 arereportedin experimental animals...”

Fluoride was used for decades to suppress the thyroid gland in patients suf-fering from hyperthyroidism. Medicated dosages were frequently below the current “optimal” intake of 1mg/day. Reduction of thyroid activity can lead to loss of mental acuity, depression and weight gain.In addition to thyroid suppression, fluoride ingestion has been linked to thyroid cancer. Gladys Caldwelland Philip Zanfagna, MD, wrote in their book, Fluoridation and Truth Decay (1974), “A report in the1955 New England Journal of Medicine shows a 400 percent increase in thyroid cancer in San Franciscoduring the period that the city has had fluoridated drinking water.” Also in 1974, Leo Kinlen of Oxfordcompared the occurrence of cancers in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas. 100 thyroid cancer caseswere observed compared to 81 expected ones, which represented an 18% increase.2

“Neurotoxicity of Sodium Fluoride in Rats,” Mullenix, P. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 17 (2), 1995

Isaacson, R. “Rat studies link brain cell damage with aluminum and fluoride in water” State Univ. of New York, Binghampton, NY, Wall Street Journal article by Marilyn Chase; Oct. 28, 1992, p. B-6.

National Research Council. “Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards.” Na-tional Academies Press, Washington D.C. (2006) p. 223.

Id. at 218.

Fluoride-ingestion also endangers bone health. Fluoride builds up in the bones and causes adversechanges to bone structure. According to the NRC, fluoride can diminish bone strength and increase therisk of bone fracture. The NRC noted that the best available information suggests that fracture risk may beincreased at levels as low 1.5 ppm, which is only slightly higher than the concentration (0.7-1.2 ppm)added to water for fluoridation. Animal and human studies – including a study from a team of Harvardscientists – have found a connection between fluoride and a serious form of bone cancer (osteosarcoma)in males under the age of 20. Dr. William Marcus believes that a study conducted by Battelle for the Na-tional Toxicology Program on the toxicology of fluoride shows that there were dose-related increases in bone cancer in male rats. The Department of Health in New Jersey found that bone cancer in male chil-dren was between two and seven times greater in areas where water was fluoridated. U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) researchers confirmed the bone cancer-causing effects of fluoride at low levels.The connection between fluoride and osteosarcoma has been described by the National Toxicology Pro-gram as “biologically plausible.”Fluoride also negatively affects enzymes, which can increase auto-immune diseases. Fluoride destroysenzymes by changing their shape. Enzymes (proteins) are necessary for various essential cellular func-tions. One way they do this is by having the exact sha pe necessary to fit like a key in a lock. Fluoridechanges the shape of the enzymes so that they no longer fit. Once the enzymes have been changed, theyappear foreign, and the body attacks them. This is an autoimmune reaction, since

the body is attackingitself.Fluoridated water is not recommendedfor babies or kidney patients. In November of 2006, the AmericanDental Association (ADA) advised that parents should avoid giving babies fluoridated water. Other dentalresearchers have made similar recommendations over the past decade. Babies exposed to fluoride are atrisk of developing dental fluorosis. Other tissues in the body may also be affected by exposure to fluoride.According to a recent review published in the medical journal, The Lancet, fluoride may damage the de-veloping brain, causing learning deficits and other problems. There is also a risk to kidney patients. Peo- ple with kidney disease have a heightened susceptibility to fluoride toxicity. The heightened risk stemsfrom an impaired a bility to excretefluoride from the body. As a result, toxic levels of fluoride can accu-mulate in the bones, intensify the toxicity of aluminum build-up, and cause or exacerbate a painful bonedisease known as r enal osteodystrophy.By forcing fluoride on everyone, many infants and other at-risk populations are harmed. Many people arenow being over-exposed to fluoride. Americans are receiving fluoride from many other sources, such asfluoride dental products, fluoride pesticides, fluorinated pharmaceuticals, processed foods made withfluoridated water, and tea. As a result, many people are now exceeding the recommended daily intake, putting them at elevated risk of suffering toxic effects. According to the Journal of Public Health Den-tistry, “Virtually all authors have noted that some children could ingest more fluoride from [toothpaste]alone than is recommended as a total daily fluoride ingestion.” Because of the increase in fluoride expo-sure from combined sources, the rate of dental fluorosis has increased significantly over the past 50 years.Whereas dental fluorosis used to affect fewer than 10% of children in the 1940s, the latest national surveyfound that it now affects over 30% of children.Fluoridation is particularly burdensome and harmful to low-income communities. For example, low-income families are the least able to avoid fluoridated water due to the high costs of buying bottled water (which contributes to pollution) or expensive water filters. As a result, low-income families are least ableto follow the American Dental Associaton’s (ADA) recommendation that infants should not receivefluoridated water. This may explain why African-American children have been found tosuffer the highestrates of disfiguring dental fluorosis in the US. These low-income families are also at greater risk of fluo-ride toxicity. It has been established that individuals with inadequate nutrient intake have a significantlyincreased susceptibility to fluoride’s toxic effects. Since nutrient deficiencies are most common in low-income communities, and since diseases known to increase susceptibility to fluoride are most prevalent inlow-income areas (e.g. end-stage renal failure), it is likely that low-income communities will be at great-3