by Asgeir Hoem in Issue 5: Sustainable (3 April 2009)
Water fluoridation has been advocated by the U.S. Department of Health, the World Health Organization, and, as an effect, dental associations and national health councils all over the world. It has been argued that fluoride is a nutrient mineral that is essential for human health, and the optimum concentration is just under one milligram per litre. The WHO claims that “Any public water supplies with fluoride levels below 0.1 mg/l (ranging up to 0.3 for cooler climates) need to be fluoridated with artificial fluoride.” Yet no evidence supports that fluoride is an essential nutrient for humans, or that it has any oral health benefits.
Systematic fluoridation of drinking water started in the U.S half way through the 20th century. It was believed that it would prevent tooth decay. The last half of the century saw a steep decline in tooth decay in the U.S, which was credited to the fluoride. Interestingly, the same decline was seen in nations where water fluoridation did not occur. Later research has conclusively shown that fluoridation of public drinking water has no health benefit. Still it is in many nations common to keep a fluoride level of 0.5-1 mg/l. This is public medication, without public consent.
Robert Boyd-Boland is the Chief Executive for the Australian Dental Association. In an interview with the ABC in 2007, he claimed that the ADA “advocate the consumption of fluoridated water. We think that is the drink of preference if you’re focusing on your oral health.” This was seven years after a Canadian study found that “The prevalence of caries decreased over time in the fluoridation-ended community while remaining unchanged in the fluoridated community.”
Professor of Chemistry at St. Lawrence University, Paul Connett, PhD, argues that no disease has ever been found to have any connection to fluoride deficiency, and that there is no reason to suggest that fluoride can improve dental health. The people at the National Cancer Institute aren’t fuzzed, though, and insist that “Fluoride can prevent and even reverse tooth decay”.
Keep reading: supporting views, opposing views.
