Tomorrow, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) will be sharing some incredible news about the unprecedented progress being made ending fluoridation at the local level throughout the U.S., but before we share all of our campaign success it’s important to make clear that the proponents of fluoridation haven’t backed down, they’re doubling down. The fight is definitely moving in our favor but it isn’t over. I want you to see what we’re still up against and the mindset of those individuals who continue to advocate for expansion of the fluoridation despite the overwhelming evidence of harm.
DONATIONS DOUBLED FOR LIMITED TIME – Please Help Us Defend Our Children
The staff and volunteers at FAN work tirelessly throughout the year to give each and every person around the world the gift of cleaner and safer water, untainted by fluoridation chemicals. Our work has become more urgent with each passing year as a large and growing body of research, much of it government-funded, has exposed the dangers posed to our children, especially with respect to fluoride’s impact on the development of their brains.
Please help us push back against the advocates of fluoridation. We need your help to bring the truth to light.
In the past 48 hours, we’ve raised $1,165 from 23 supporters in an effort to raise the necessary funds for our 2026 operating budget. This amount is doubled due to our $5,000 doubling-challenge from our long-time supporter in Colorado. This brings our current total to $29,911 from 224 supporters. Our current goal is $150,000 from 600 donors by midnight Pacific Time on December 31st. All donations, large and small, are crucial to us and are tax-deductible. Let’s finish this together!
DONATIONS STILL DOUBLED: The next $3,835 donated will still be doubled. Donate now for double the impact.
How to Make a Tax-Deductible Donation:
- You can make your donation online using our new secure fundraising page: https://fluoridealert.networkforgood.com/projects/176427-everyday-giving
- If you should experience difficulty donating online, please email us for assistance: donate@fluoridealert.org
You can also mail checks to:
Fluoride Action Network
PO Box 85
North Sutton, NH 03260
Two Recent Examples
After the federal court ruled that “optimally” fluoridated drinking water poses an unreasonable risk to the health of children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) put out a statement reaffirming their support for fluoridation chemicals. It’s riddled with misinformation, which we will be tackling in a future bulletins separating the science from the fiction found in pro-fluoridation talking points, but today I want to focus on one of AAP’s messengers.
The primary spokesperson quoted by AAP in their statement was Dr. Charlotte W. Lewis, a member of the AAP Section on Oral Health. She says:
“There is nothing about the current [court] decision that changes my confidence in the safety of optimally fluoridated water in the U.S.”
As part of our lawsuit in federal court, our attorneys deposed Dr. Lewis. Once you watch this short video of her under oath, I think you’ll see why the court decision, the National Toxicology Program’s systematic review on fluoride neurotoxicity, and the 10 consecutive National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded studies linking developmental neurotoxicity to fluoride at exposure levels found in fluoridated communities haven’t changed her “confidence in the safety” of the practice.
In her own words, Dr. Lewis testified that she would not withdraw her support of fluoridation even if the evidence convinced her that it’s reducing IQ by five points in 5 to 10 percent of the population and that it would be an “appropriate trade-off” for fluoridation. Watch below:
Keep in mind that because of advocates like Dr. Lewis, over 2 million pregnant women and over 300,000 exclusively bottle-fed infants are still being exposed to high levels of fluoride in their tap water, added voluntarily by municipalities based on erroneous statements like hers in the AAP press release affirming safety.
Dr. Lewis isn’t alone. Her statements seem to be representative of the mindsets of those at the American Dental Association, the American Fluoridation Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the three industry lobbying groups still defending fluoridation.
ADA “Subject Matter Expert”
The second video is a public hearing from a city council meeting in Rolla, Missouri. The video features testimony from both pro-fluoridation dentists and FAN representatives. One of the proponents of fluoridation is the American Dental Association’s fluoridation “subject matter expert,” Dr. Elizabeth Lense, DDS, who gave a presentation full of mis-information. I’d like to highlight a few moments that really stuck out and show exactly what we’re up against.
1.) At the 1:20:06 minute mark, Dr. Lense describes the conclusions made in the NTP report and the 64 peer reviewed studies showing neurotoxicity–including 10 NIH funded studies–as “fear mongering” and “inflammatory headlines” that aren’t to be believed.
2) At the 1:22:21 minute mark, Dr. Lense is asked if the ADA’s own clinical supplementation guidelines allow for dentists or pediatricians to prescribe ingestible fluoride to children under 6 months of age. Dr. Lense acts as though she doesn’t know the answer, which shows that she either isn’t an expert at all or is lying to the committee so as not to point out a clear contradiction between water fluoridation–which exposes children consuming formula made with tap water under 6 months of age to massive amounts of fluoride–and how dentists treat fluoride ingestion when they’re names are attached to the prescription. As you can see in the ADA’s guidelines below, they don’t recommend fluoride ingestion for children under 6 months of age. More on this topic in a future bulletin on how FAN successfully worked to get the FDA to ban the marketing of fluoride supplements to children under 3 years of age.
3) At the 1:24:36 minute mark, Dr. Lense is asked directly if there is any benefit to the fetus from the mother ingesting fluoride. She says that ingesting fluoride during pregnancy is recommended, despite no science existing whatsoever showing benefit to the fetus. She’s then asked if she’s aware that fluoride passes through the placenta to the unborn child, and she responds, “yes, that’s why they recommend it.” She’s then asked, “are you aware that it passes the blood brain barrier” for the fetus? Her response, “YES, again, YES, I am aware of that.” She says it with a giggle. Then she’s asked if she’s aware that boys are affected more than girls in the IQ studies, to which she responds with laughter and a joke about how girls are smarter anyway.
After watching these videos, you’re likely just as disgusted as we are by the callous disregard displayed by fluoridation proponents for the truth and for the safety of our children. Our opponents are not stopping, they’re not backing down, they’re doubling down. Their latest strategy is to outright lie at public hearings.
FAN is fighting back, as we have for the past 25 years, but we need your help to ensure that the truth is exposed and not laughed away by deceptive lobbyists.
Thank you,
Stuart Cooper
Executive Director