Letters and feedback

 Florida Today

Published 8:54 AM EST Dec 5, 2019

Standing firm against fluoridation

I understand water fluoridation is a highly polarized issue with public policy makers and dental associations supporting fluoridation to prevent dental cavities. Despite this, I am strongly opposed to fluoridating public water. 

Allow me to review some findings from a 2015 article in the “Scientific World Journal,” by Stephen Peckham and Niyi Awofeso. 

The claims that ingesting fluoride prevents cavities is based on poor science, according to the authors. More concerning are the negative effects on cognitive impairment, enzyme and electrical derangement, dental and skeletal fluorosis, and uterine cancer. Skeletal fluorosis is associated with arthritis, radiculomyelopathy, quadriparesis, and pathological bone fractures. In a meta-analysis of 27 studies on neurotoxicity from the Harvard School of Public Health and China Medical University, all but one study suggested high fluoride content may adversely affect cognitive development in children. 

What is a high fluoride level? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 1991 noted a six-fold variation in fluoride levels based on water consumption. As Dr. Chris Edwards points out in his Dec. 3 column in FLORIDA TODAY, the child’s parent may be mixing formula with tap water or he/she may be drinking 10 cups of water, coffee or tea daily.

The authors conclude, "Given that most of the toxic effects of fluoride are due to ingestion, whereas its predominant beneficial effect is obtained via topical application, ingestion or inhalation of fluoride predominantly in any form constitutes an unacceptable risk with virtually no proven benefit."

I do not want to drink a potential toxin. Do you?

Joyce Brady, West Melbourne