John Bucher, MS, PhD., DABT,
Associate Director, National Toxicology Program
Director, National Toxicology Program Division

As quoted in the Press of Atlantic City, New Jersey:

3-27-15: Egg Harbor votes to keep fluoride in its water
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/egg-harbor-city-votes-to-keep-fluoride-in-its-water/article_daf3206e-d42e-11e4-9eb5-6f118b865ae3.html

…Some studies have found lowered IQs in children in villages in China and India who have been exposed to high levels of naturally occurring fluoride. But those levels start at many times the levels in fluoridated water, and there are also other explanations for the neurological defects, John Bucher, associate director of the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health, said in a phone interview.

In China, for example, there is also a high level of fluoride in coal that is burned for heat in homes, he said.

Health organizations, such as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and scores of other medical and dental organizations, say fluoride has no medical downside in the proper amounts.

Bucher said the NIH has a draft document, recommending reducing to no more than .7 parts per million the amount used for water fluoridation, because fluoride is in so many dental products. The concern isn’t about health problems, but because of cosmetic problems. Dentists have been reporting more fluorosis of teeth — a discoloring caused by slightly elevated fluoride levels…

3-26-15: Fluoride supporters dominate in Egg Harbor City
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/fluoride-supporters-dominate-in-egg-harbor-city/article_c726c69a-d356-11e4-ad10-7364b4ad3ab9.html

… Some studies have found lowered IQs in children in villages in China and India who have been exposed to high levels of naturally occurring fluoride. But those levels start at more than 10 times the levels in fluoridated water, and there are also other explanations for the neurological defects, said John Bucher, Associate Director of the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health, in a phone interview.

In China, for example, there is also a high level of fluoride in coal that is burned for heat in homes, he said.

Health organizations say fluoride has no medical downside in the proper amounts.

Bucher, who said he gave fluoride supplements in vitamins to his children when they were young because he didn’t live in an area with fluoridated water, said fluoride is known to have a sharp dose response. That means the amount that can be toxic is not very far apart from safe levels, so it is important to carefully control the amount going into the water.

He said the NIH has a draft document, recommending reducing to no more than .7 parts per million the amount used for water fluoridation, because fluoride is in so many dental products today. He said it isn’t because of concerns about health problems, but because of cosmetic problems. Dentists have been reporting more fluorosis of teeth — a cosmetic discoloring caused by slightly elevated fluoride levels…

3-25-15: Fluoridate the water or not? Egg Harbor City asks residents tonight
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/fluoridate-the-water-or-not-egg-harbor-city-asks-residents/article_2718c236-d313-11e4-9112-438403135076.html

… Some studies have found lowered IQs in children in villages in China and India who have been exposed to high levels of naturally occurring fluoride. But those levels start at more than 10 times the levels in fluoridated water, and there are also other explanations for the neurological defects, said John Bucher, Associate Director of the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health.

In China, for example, there is also a high level of fluoride in coal that is burned for heat in homes, he said.

Health organizations say fluroide, which is naturally occuring in much of the nation’s water supply, has no medical downside in the proper amounts.

Bucher, who said he gave fluoride supplements in vitamins to his children when they were young because he didn’t live in an area with fluoridated water, said fluoride is known to have a sharp dose response. That means the amount that can be toxic is not very far apart from safe levels, so it is important to carefully control the amount going into the water.

He said the NIH has a draft document, recommending reducing to .7 parts per million the amount used for water fluoridation, because fluoride is in so many dental products today. He said it isn’t because of concerns about health problems, but because of cosmetic problems. Dentists have been reporting more fluorosis of teeth — a cosmetic discoloring caused by slightly elevated fluoride levels…