News Archive

A new study commissioned by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences looked at the effect that high fluoride consumption can have on children’s IQ scores. Recently published in JAMA Pediatrics, the study found that children who had the highest levels of fluoride exposure were also more likely to have lower IQs than those who […]

Water fluoridation is often touted as one of the great public health successes of the 20th century, celebrated for reducing dental decay and saving billions in dental costs.1 It’s widely accepted that adding fluoride to water prevents tooth decay, with studies showing around a 25% reduction in cavities among those who drink fluoridated water—a lifeline […]

Fluoridating the public water supply has been common practice for nearly 80 years in the U.S. It’s an acclaimed public health intervention that helps prevent cavities. For just as long, some have raised concerns about the practice that can veer from evidence-based to unsubstantiated conspiracy. An analysis by government researchers, published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, […]

A growing number of jurisdictions are ending water fluoridation — an act long overdue, many parents, scientists, pediatricians, dentists and lawmakers would argue. According to some estimates, this toxic chemical can lower the IQ of children at an exposure level of 1.5 mg/L or above. But even at lower levels, neurotoxicity risk remains. Not to […]

Water fluoridation is widely seen as one of the great public health achievements of the 20th century, credited with substantially reducing tooth decay. But there has been growing controversy among scientists about whether fluoride may be linked to lower I.Q. scores in children. A comprehensive federal analysis of scores of previous studies, published this week […]

In a recent review article in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers systematically analyzed epidemiological studies that investigated the relationship between exposure to fluoride in the prenatal or postnatal period and children’s intelligence quotient (IQ) scores. Existing research appears to indicate that fluoride exposure in urine and drinking water is inversely associated with children’s IQ scores and suggests […]

The debate over fluoride in public water supplies, reignited by figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, has once again brought this decades-old public health initiative into the spotlight. Fluoridation, celebrated as one of the 20th century’s greatest public health achievements, drastically reduced cavities nationwide. But as […]