Here’s one way to treat Joseph Ladapo’s advice on fluoride: Ignore it.
Florida’s surgeon general bucked health experts again last month by advising communities against adding fluoride to their drinking water. Ladapo, the state’s top health official, cited studies in Canada and Mexico that found a correlation between high levels of the chemical and lower IQ scores in children. His warning came after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of Health and Human Services, declared that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office.
“The previously considered benefit of community water fluoridation does not outweigh the current known risks, especially for special populations like pregnant women and children,” Ladapo said in a statement.
Let’s get something straight: Major medical organizations in the U.S., including the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, support adding fluoride to the drinking supply. Experts say the chemical reduces tooth decay and helps younger children develop healthy permanent teeth. Water has been fluoridated in the U.S. since the 1940s, and the federal Public Health Service first recommended fluoridation of tap water in 1962.
Advocates rightly pushed back on Ladapo’s guidance, pointing to longtime research establishing that adding fluoride to America’s drinking water is a safe way to boost children’s oral health. Experts also note that the studies Ladapo cites are based on exposure to larger quantities of the substance than the 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water that was set as the U.S. national drinking water standard in 2015.
“It’s disheartening to hear Dr. Ladapo’s misinformed and dangerous comments regarding community water fluoridation,” American Dental Association president Brett Kessler, president of the American Dental Association, said in an email to the Times.
“We find it discouraging to say the least,” Jeff Ottley, president of the Florida Dental Association, said of Ladapo’s new guidance. “Water fluoridation has been proven for over 75 years to be safe at optimal levels to reduce tooth decay by at least 25% in children.”
Ladapo’s guidance on fluoride is not binding; cities and counties decide what goes into their drinking water supplies. Around 73% of the U.S. population, or about 209 million people, have access to fluoridated water, the CDC reports, including more than 70% of communities in Florida.
Still, the state’s messaging can give Floridians pause, especially when it fails to explain the differences between fluoride use in the U.S. and elsewhere. Neither the study from Mexico or Canada called for the end of water fluoridation, and many studies that have raised questions about fluoride took place outside the U.S. and examined chemical contents at sometimes twice the U.S.’ recommended level.
There’s nothing wrong with examining additives for safety, but as one study cautioned: “Politicians/elected representatives should act on evidence before advocating for the removal of fluoride.” This is another example of a state surgeon general flouting conventional advice from the health care community. Floridians looking for guidance on fluoride have a better option: Ask your dentist.
Original article online at: https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2024/12/14/want-advice-fluoride-ask-dentist-editorial/