What is Water Fluoridation?
"Fluoridation goes against all principles of pharmacology. It’s obsolete." - Dr. Arvid Carlsson, Nobel Laureate in Medicine/Physiology.
Overview
Water fluoridation is the practice of using the public’s drinking water as a delivery system to increase the amount of fluoride all residents ingest on a daily basis. This is done by adding industrial waste by-products known as silicofluorides (i.e., hydrofluorosilicic acid and sodium fluorosilicate) to public water systems during the treatment process in either liquid or powder form to artificially elevate the fluoride content to 0.7 ppm (parts per million) with the intention of preventing tooth decay.
Throughout North America and the world, most fresh ground and surface water naturally contains very low “trace” levels of fluoride, with an average concentration of less than 0.1 ppm. This is 7 to 10 times lower than the levels added by water department personnel in fluoridated communities, which typically fluctuate between 0.7 and 1.0 ppm depending on the injection equipment used, the variation in water usage throughout the day, and the water temperature at the treatment plant. This increase is neither a small adjustment nor typical of the naturally occurring levels found in most water sources. One of the little-known facts about this practice is that the United States, which fluoridates over 70% of its water supplies, has more people drinking fluoridated water than the rest of the world combined. Most developed nations, including all of Japan and 97% of western Europe, do not fluoridate their water.
In the United States, the Oral Health Division of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) hails fluoridation as one of the “top ten public health achievements of the 20th century.” However, comprehensive data from the World Health Organization reveals that there is no discernible difference in tooth decay between the minority of western nations that fluoridate water, and the majority that do not. In fact, the tooth decay rates in many non-fluoridated countries are now lower than the tooth decay rates in fluoridated ones.
As is becoming increasingly clear, fluoridating water supplies is an outdated, unnecessary, and dangerous relic from a 1950s public health culture that viewed the mass distribution of chemicals much differently than scientists do today. The few nations that still fluoridate their water should end the practice immediately.
- Medical Ethics
- Fluoridation Chemicals
- Fluoridation Accidents and Overfeeds
- Benefits?
- Who Opposes Fluoridation?
- A Response to Pro-Fluoridation Claims
Three Reasons to End Water Fluoridation
Reason #1: Fluoridation Is an Outdated Form of Mass Medication
Unlike all other water treatment processes, fluoridation does not treat the water itself, but the person consuming it. The Food & Drug Administration accepts that fluoride is a drug, not a nutrient, when used to prevent disease. By definition, therefore, fluoridating water is a form of medication. This is why most western European nations have rejected the practice — because, in their view, the public water supply is not an appropriate place to be adding drugs, particularly when fluoride is readily available for individual use in the form of toothpaste.
Reason #2: Fluoridation Is Unnecessary and Ineffective
Unlike all other water treatment processes, fluoridation does not treat the water itself, but the person consuming it. The Food & Drug Administration accepts that fluoride is a drug, not a nutrient, when used to prevent disease. By definition, therefore, fluoridating water is a form of medication. This is why most western European nations have rejected the practice — because, in their view, the public water supply is not an appropriate place to be adding drugs, particularly when fluoride is readily available for individual use in the form of toothpaste.
Reason #3: Fluoridation Is Not a Safe Practice
The most important reason to end fluoridation is that it is simply not a safe practice, particularly for those who have health conditions that render them vulnerable to fluoride’s toxic effects.
First, there is no dispute that fluoridation is causing visible side-effects from overexposure. The evidence is visible in over 70% of adolescents in the U.S. Millions of children have developed dental fluorosis, a discoloration of the teeth that is caused only by excessive fluoride intake. Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control have even acknowledged that fluoridation is causing “cosmetically objectionable” fluorosis on children’s front teeth–an effect that can cause children embarrassment and anxiety at an age when physical appearance is the single most important predictor of self-esteem.
Second, it is known that fluoridated water caused severe bone disease in dialysis patients up until the late 1970s (prior to dialysis units filtering fluoride). While dialysis units now filter out the fluoride, research shows that current fluoride exposures are still resulting in dangerously high bone fluoride levels in dialysis patients and patients with other advanced forms of kidney disease. It is unethical to compromise the health of some members of a population to obtain a purported benefit for another — particularly in the absence of these vulnerable members’ knowing consent.
And, finally, a growing body of evidence reasonably indicates that fluoridated water, in addition to other sources of daily fluoride exposure, can cause or contribute to a range of serious effects, including arthritis, damage to the developing brain, reduced thyroid function, and possibly osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in adolescent males.
Communities Are Rethinking Fluoridation
In recent years, communities throughout the United States and Canada have started to reassess the conventional wisdom of fluoridating their water. In fact, the most recent fluoridation statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control show that the percentage of the U.S. population served by community water systems receiving fluoridated water is decreasing steadily, from 74.6% in 2012 down to 72.7 in 2020 (see stats). The percentage of the U.S. population receiving so-called “optimally fluoridated” water from either natural or artificial sources combined also decreased, from 67.1% to 62.9%.
The stats show that 1,413 communities stopped adding fluoridation chemicals between 2010 and 2020, with many more ending it since 2020. These communities reached the obvious conclusion: when stripped of its endorsements, well-meaning intentions, and PR-praise, fluoridation simply makes no sense.
Europe reached this conclusion a long time ago. It is now time for the U.S. and other English-speaking nations to follow suit.
More Information
- 10 Facts About Fluoride – Fluoride Action Network
- 50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation – Dr. Paul Connett, FAN’s Executive Director (Updated August 2012)
- The Absurdities of Water Fluoridation – Dr. Paul Connett, FAN’s Executive Director
- Why EPA’s Headquarters Professionals Union Opposes Fluoridation – Dr. J. William Hirzy, Senior Vice President, EPA HQ Union