GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — All eyes are on Washington D.C. Monday as the expected Health and Human Services Secretary nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., meets with top officials.
RFK Jr. is known for his criticism of vaccines and fluoride in drinking water, among other things.
This comes as the city of Grand Rapids celebrates the national 50th anniversary Monday of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The act was applauded as the cornerstone for ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water for all Americans until recently.
Last month, RFK Jr. posted on social media that come Jan. 20, the “Trump White House will advise all U-S water systems to remove fluoride from public water.”
Community water fluoridation gained popularity in the late 1940s after the city of Grand Rapids became the first in the nation to add it to its drinking water. After 11 years, researchers found cavity rates had dropped by 60% among kids in Grand Rapids.
“We as the city continue to follow the best practice recommendations that come from the CDC, the DHHS, the American Dental Association and many other respected agencies across the board that have the public health in mind,” said Wayne Jernberg, water system manager for the city. “We’re going to monitor the situation.”
Low dosages of fluoride are believed to help reduce tooth decay, according to the CDC.
But recent critics cite studies that link high fluoride exposure to lower IQs, bone density loss and other adverse neurological effects.
“Really, it’s too much of a good thing is the issue and the toxicity levels that people are concerned about is virtually impossible to reach in the human body without taking it straight,” said dentist Brockton Willey with The Dental House GR.
While fluoride is more of a protective for your teeth, oral hygiene is what protects everything else, Willey said.
“First your teeth and then your health,” he said. “If we lose those and we lose those supporting factors, the beginning of digesting for our body, it really affects everything down the line.”
Almost all water contains some naturally occurring fluoride, Jernberg said. Which is why the city continues to monitor and adjust its additive monthly.
“About 10, 12 years ago there was actually a modification to the fluoride concentration levels, the dosage rates. It used to be 1 part per million in terms of the dosage rate and it’s been reduced to .7 parts,” he explained.
Original article online at: https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/going-to-monitor-the-situation-gr-official-says-as-talk-of-fluoride-regulations-loom/