Who is Looking After Our Kid's?
CHAPTER 9
Fluoridation: pros and cons
Fluoride may now be added to the list of potentially neurotoxic chemicals as indicated by a recent study conducted at Harvard Medical School, Eastman Dental Center, Iowa State University and Forsythe Research Institute. According to this study, the first of its kind, fluoride carries the potential for "motor dysfunction, IQ deficits and/or learning disabilities in humans." (1)
Fluoride began to be added to municipal water supplies that were low in fluoride in the 1940s after a study sponsored by the US Public Health Service indicated that adding one part per million of fluoride reduced tooth decay. Today, approximately half of the population in the United States drinks water from municipal supplies that have been artificially fluoridated. (2) Additional sources of fluoride include fluoride containing toothpastes, vitamin and mineral supplements with fluoride for children, and dental applications.
There has been a decline in tooth decay in recent decades, but the role of fluoride in this decline remains controversial. The American Dental Association, which has steadfastly promoted fluoridation, credits fluoridation with the decline. However, in the text, Fluoride, The Aging Factor, Dr. John Yiamouylannis, extensively reviewed the subject. He pointed out extensive studies showing that fluoridation of water been ineffective in preventing dental decay with equal incidence in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities. (3,4) As reported by Yiamouylannis, scientists at the US Environmental Protection Agency have come out against water fluoridation because they have confirmed that fluoridation does not reduce tooth decay and that there is clear evidence that fluoridation causes cancer. (5) Animal studies showing fluoride linked increases in bone cancer and oral cancer have been confirmed by human studies. (6) He also points out that the US Centers for Disease Control and the British Health Ministry admit that no laboratory study has shown that the amount of fluoride added to drinking water is effective in reducing tooth decay. (7)
The only form of fluoride that may be effective in reducing dental decay, according to Yiamouyiannis, is that found in toothpaste. (8) Fluoride's principal decay preventive action is on the surface of the teeth. (9) The downside of fluoridated toothpaste is that, according to a study at the Madras Dental College, India, even small amounts of fluoridated toothpaste are quickly absorbed into the general circulation. (10)
Even if topical applications of fluoride to teeth do reduce dental caries, what adverse health effects are there from fluoride accumulations in the body as a result of multiple exposures as is commonly the case, especially for children? The Yiamouylannis text, always well documented, points out the following complications:
· Cancer: Epidemiologic surveys consistently have shown increased incidence of cancer in fluoridated cities as compared with non-fluoridated cities. (11)
· Defective bone formation: Although fluoride-stimulated bone is denser, it is structurally unsound and more prone to fractures. A variety of medical studies have reported increased hip fractures in the elderly in communities with fluoridated water. (12-15)
· Premature aging of skin, arteries, and other tissues: By damaging or disrupting connective tissue and collagen, fluoride tends to promote calcification (hardening) of arteries and ligaments and wrinkling of skin. (16)
· Disarming the immune system: Researchers studying fluoride tissue levels in patients living in fluoridated areas, have found distortions in the body's proteins resulting in autoimmune or allergic responses. There was also reduced migration of white blood cells (the body's immune defense system) and reduced ability of white blood cells to attack invading organisms. (17)
· Genetic damage: It is clear that fluoride is capable of causing genetic damage, according to Yiamouyiannis, although the exact mechanism cannot be pinpointed because fluoride interferes with a number of physiologic processes. (18)
· Impaired memory: The ability of fluoride to interfere with enzyme activity at I ppm or less is not a point of controversy. The US National Academy of Sciences, the World Health Organization (WHO) and others have published lists of enzymes that are inhibited at I ppm or less. One of these is the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. (19) This enzyme produces the neurotransmitter, acetyl choline, which transmits nerve impulses in the brain and peripheral nervous system and therefore is involved in learning and memory. Because fluoride inhibits the enzyme, acetylcholinesterase, there would be less thought and less memory. The situation is analogous to an electrical circuit. The bigger the wire (more acetyl choline), the less the electrical resistance. The smaller the wire (less acetylcholine due to fluoride), then more electrical resistance (slower thought).
In conclusion, one of the surveys showing no benefit from water fluoridation in tooth decay came from New Zealand. (20) The authors commented that a decline in tooth decay had commenced before the introduction of any form of fluoride. The decline was attributed to changes in diet, such as increased consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, and cheese, which is known to be tooth decay inhibiting. One might surmise there was also a reduction in sugar with its well-recognized decay-causing propensities.
In our opinion, the adverse effects of fluoridation far outweigh the meager benefits of its purported reduction in tooth decay. Instead, we should rely primarily on a healthy diet.
References
1. Mullenix Pl, et al. Neurotoxicity of sodium fluoride in rats. Neurotox & Teratol. 1995; 17: 169- 177.
2. Disendorf M. Have the benefits of water fluoridation been overestimated? Int Clin NutrRev. 1990;10(2):292-303.
3. YiamouyIannis 1. Fluoride, The Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:Chap 14.
4. Diesendorf M. The mystery of declining tooth decay. Nature. 1986;322:125-129.
5. Yiamouylannis 1. Fluoride, The Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:204-208.
6. Yiamouyiannis 1. Fluoride, The Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993: 123.
7. Yiamouylannis 1. Fluoride, The Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:132.
8. Werbach MR. Nutritional influences in Illness - fluoride. Townsend Letterfor Doctors. Aug/Sept 1994:853.
9. Douglas WC. Second Opinion. 1994; IV(4): I .
10. Yiamouylannis 1. Fluoride, The Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:85-87.
11. Yiamouylannis 1. Fluoride, The Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:Chap 9.
12. Lindsay R. Fluoride and bone - quantity versus quality. N Engl J Med. Editorial. 1990;322(12):845-846.
13. Colquhoun 1. Fluoridation: new evidence of harm to young teeth and bones. Int Clin Nutr Rev. 1992; 12(10): 1-8.
14. Iacobsen S, et al. Regional variation in the incidence of hip fracture. IAMA. 1990;264:500-502.
15. Riggs BL. Effect of fluoride treatment on the fracture rate in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. N Engl J Med. 1990; 322 :802-809.
16. Yiamouyiannis 1. Fluoride, The Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:Chap 7.
17. Yiamouyiannis 1. Fluoride, The Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:Chap 3.
18. Yiamouyiannis 1. Fluoride, The Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:Chap 8.
19. Yiamouylannis 1. Fluoride, the Aging Factor. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:91 -92.
20. Colquhoun 1. Fluorides and the decline in tooth decay in New Zealand. Fluoride. 1993;26(2):125-134.1. Delaware, OH:Health Action Press; 1993:204-208.