Fluoride: Should it Be in Our Tap Water?

Today, we’re talking about everyone’s favorite controversial topic, fluoride. Specifically, the fluoridation of America’s tap water. Ok so maybe it’s not everyone’s favorite topic but what’s the deal here and what does the current body of science show us?

Woman filling a glass of water from a tap

Why fluoride is such a hot topic as of recent:

Recently RFK Jr. set to head the Dept of HHS, and one of the controversial things he is talking about doing is removing fluoride from the water supply. Now, leaving aside whether he’ll actually do this, or even can do it, we’d like to discuss some of the arguments and studies behind this effort.

Is the fluoride in tap water natural?

Some say that fluoride is a natural mineral already present in groundwater, but what they leave out is it’s sodium fluoride they put into our tap water, not fluoride in its natural form. Sodium fluoride is an industrial byproduct (waste) that comes from aluminum, fertilizer, and iron ore manufacturing. Are we ingesting a toxic industrial byproduct so manufacturers don’t have to properly pay for disposal? If they really did it for our health, wouldn’t they put in a natural form like calcium fluoride, which would help our teeth far more than sodium fluoride?

Are tap water levels safe?

Even if there was a safe level of ingestion (there are many on both sides of the argument), the amounts found in many US municipalities still exceed safe levels set by the WHO. This contributes to dental and skeletal fluorosis. The CDC reports prevalence of dental fluorosis among children aged 6–11 is 33.4% and 40.6% among those aged 12–15.

Other effects

As you may know, enzymes are crucial for our bodies to function properly, as they contribute to chemical reactions for digestion, respiration, muscle function, etc. Fluoride is a known enzyme disrupter. In fact, it negatively affects at least 66 enzymes in the body.

The Experts Don’t Always Agree:

Now we do know there are many dentists who disagree with this move, as the official position of the American Dental Association (ADA) is to keep adding sodium fluoride to water.

However, a federal judge ruled “the compound poses an unreasonable potential risk to children at levels that are currently typical nationwide” and that the EPA must strengthen regulations for fluoride in drinking water (at the very least lower the levels we’re adding).

While ADA hasn’t changed its stance following the ruling, this shows that the case against water fluoridation was proven to be solid in a federal court. So even if your mind is not made up on the matter, you can at least err on the side of caution until they come to a consensus.

What my family personally does:

Chris and I do not drink tap water. We have a system that filters out chlorine and fluoride and a bunch of other elements, and if we need fluoride topically for our teeth, we get it from toothpaste. The main reason is the pile of studies that show reduction in IQ and cognitive development in children when fluoride is ingested via tap water. A recent review by the National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Dept. of HHS found that 52 of 55 studies showed decreases in child IQ with increased fluoride ingestion.

What should you look out for in a water filter?

It is true that Brita water filters don’t really filter out that much. You definitely want to upgrade to a better filter!