USA - STUDIES SHOW FLUORIDATED TAP WATER CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECT ON HEALTH

Andreas Yilma - Special to the Southern News 

Most toothpaste boxes have a portion that reads drug facts on the back. Underneath that it states sodium fluoride. Elsewhere on the box it states if you swallow more than used for brushing teeth, get medical help or contact Poison Control right away. According to the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, New Haven has fluoridated water. However there are studies that raise concern over the safety of fluoride people’s tap water.

The reason why certain communities or countries fluoridate their public water is because they want to help prevent tooth decay. There are over three dozen scientific studies that correlate high fluoride exposure to low IQ levels in children. All of these studies were done in China, India, Mexico, and Iran.

“Correlation,” said SCSU professor, Jeffrey A. Webb, “is not causation.”.

Professor Webb, who has a doctorate in chemistry, viewed these studies for the first time. Afterwards the idea to fluoridate people’s tap water wasn’t completely sold. He believes there’s enough out there that it’s worth looking into.

“There should be a bigger study,” Webb said. “There might be something here.”

Based on a graph from the World Health Organization, tooth decay declined more in many non-fluoridated developed countries than in the United States. About 97 percent of Western Europe does not fluoridate their water...............