Fluoride

When the EPA tried to deny the Citizen’s Petition filed by the Fluoride Action Network, IAOMT and other groups, a complaint was filed, and a judge ruled in favor of FAN, the IAOMT, and others. Follow this link to read more: http://fluoridealert.org/wp-content/uploads/tsca.1-5-18.opposition-brief-to-epa-motion-to-limit-record.pdf

The results of the first ever US government funded study of fluoride and IQ have just been published. A team of researchers found a statistically significant association between fluoride exposure in women during pregnancy and a lowering of IQ in their children, reports the Fluoride Action Network. The study was published in Environmental Health Perspectives by scientists from the University of Toronto, University of Michigan, Harvard, McGill, and the national public health agency of Mexico. It was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, with over $3 million in grants. Click here to read more.

In November 2016, the IAOMT joined the Fluoride Action Network and other groups to petition the EPA regarding the neurotoxic risks posed by fluoride chemicals in drinking water under Section 21 of TSCA. Click here to read the detailed citizen’s petition.

ScientificWorldJournal.  2014 Feb 26;2014:293019. doi: 10.1155/2014/293019. eCollection 2014. Water fluoridation: a critical review of the physiological effects of ingested fluoride as a public health intervention. Peckham S, Awofeso N. Abstract Fluorine is the world's 13th most abundant element and constitutes 0.08% of the Earth crust. It has the highest electronegativity of all elements. Fluoride is widely distributed in the environment, occurring in the air, soils, rocks, and water. Although fluoride is used industrially in a fluorine compound, the manufacture of ceramics, pesticides, aerosol propellants, refrigerants, glassware, and Teflon cookware, it is a generally unwanted byproduct of aluminium, fertilizer, and iron ore manufacture. The medicinal use of fluorides for the prevention of dental caries began in January 1945 when community water supplies in Grand Rapids, United States, were fluoridated to a level of 1 ppm as a dental caries prevention measure. However, water fluoridation remains a controversial public health measure. This paper reviews the human health effects of fluoride. The authors conclude that available evidence suggests that fluoride has a potential to cause major adverse human health problems, while having only a modest dental caries prevention effect. As part of efforts to reduce hazardous fluoride ingestion, the practice of artificial water fluoridation should be reconsidered globally, while industrial safety measures need to be tightened in order to reduce unethical discharge of fluoride compounds into the environment. Public health approaches for global dental caries reduction that do not involve systemic ingestion of fluoride are urgently needed. PMID: 24719570 Read the whole article here.

Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Anna L. Choi, Guifan Sun, Ying Zhang, Philippe Grandjean Abstract Background: Although fluoride may cause neurotoxicity in animal models and acute fluoride poisoning causes neurotoxicity in adults, very little is known of its effects on children’s neurodevelopment. Objective: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies to investigate the effects of increased fluoride exposure and delayed neurobehavioral development. Methods: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Water Resources Abstracts, and TOXNET databases through 2011 for eligible studies. We also searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database, as many studies on fluoride neurotoxicity have been published in Chinese journals only. In total, we identified 27 eligible epidemiological studies with high and reference exposures, endpoints of IQ scores or related cognitive function measures with means and variances for the two exposure groups. We estimated the standardized mean difference (SMD) between exposed and reference groups across all studies using random effects models. We conducted sensitivity analyses restricted to studies using the same outcome assessment and having drinking water fluoride as the only exposure. Cochran test for heterogeneity between studies, Begg’s funnel plot and Egger test to assess publication bias were performed. Meta-regressions to explore sources of variation in mean differences among the studies were conducted. Results: The standardized weighted mean difference in IQ score between exposed and reference populations was -0.45 (95% CI -0.56 to -0.35) using a random-effects model. Thus, children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ scores than those who lived in low fluoride areas. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses also indicated inverse associations, although the substantial heterogeneity did not appear to decrease. Conclusions: The results support the possibility of an adverse effect of high fluoride exposure on children’s neurodevelopment. Future research should include detailed individual-level information on prenatal exposure, neurobehavioral performance, [...]