Those who have grown up in the U.S. have been drinking fluoridated water for quite some time. For as long as I can remember fluoridation of my drinking water has been a fait- accompli. I haven’t thought much about it until just recently when questions concerning the safety of automatic fluoridation of water has come up.
The standard line has been:
“Community water fluoridation is a practical, cost-effective, and equitable way for communities to improve oral health regardless of age, education, or income by preventing cavities. This results in less mouth pain, fewer fillings or teeth pulled, and fewer missed days of work and school,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Now let’s be clear, I am not doubting the effectiveness of water fluoridation as is pointed out in the above CDC statement.
However the issue is not about its effectiveness, but rather about the possible neurotoxic side-effects of such.
Note that this has nothing to do with the opinion of RFKJr.
A landmark ruling in September that directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address the “unreasonable” risk fluoride in drinking water poses to lowering IQ in children has become a tipping point. The decision has motivated large numbers of local and state governments to ban fluoride in their water supplies.
Utah is set to be the first state to ban fluoride in drinking water. At the same time, at least 50 communities nationwide have removed fluoride from water—representing about 4.5 million people—according to the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Florida is considering legislation to prevent local governments from adding it to water supplies, and several states are considering reversals of fluoridation mandates.
On the legal front, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco issued an 80-page ruling in September, which stated “the risk to health at exposure levels in United States drinking water is sufficiently high to trigger a regulatory response by the EPA.”
All of my kids and grandkids have been raised with the ubiquitous fluoridation of their drinking water, and as best I am aware there has been no adverse consequences, and I have passively gone along with the opinion of those who know best … “don’t worry, it’s quite safe.”
My children and my grandchildren are not in the potential adverse target group as the neurotoxic effects of fluoride are more prevalent in formula-fed infants, African Americans, and undernourished people.
At present I am keeping an open mind, at present am not agreeing 100% with “don’t worry, it’s quite safe.”
3/29/25