The Case Against Fluoride

by Paul Connett

  17. National Research Council of the National Academies, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006), http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11571.

  18. American Dental Association, “Interim Guidance on Reconstituted Infant Formula, ” ADA eGRAM, November 9, 2006, http://www.fluoridealert.org/scher/ada.egram-2006.pdf.

  19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Statement on the 2006 National Research Council Report on Fluoride in Drinking Water, ” posted originally March 28, 2006, last updated August 24, 2009, http://www.cdc.gov/FLUORIDATION/safety/nrc_report.htm.

  20. E. D. Beltrán-Aguilar, B. F. Gooch, A. Kingman, et al. , “Surveillance for Dental Caries, Dental Sealants, Tooth Retention, Edentulism, and Enamel Fluorosis—United States, 1988–1994 and 1999–2002, ” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 54, no. 3 (August 26, 2005): 1–44, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5403a1.htm.

  21. S. Fisher, “Dangerous Fluoride?” Health Alert report, CBS-TV (Atlanta, Georgia), March 8, 2010. See also transcript “Fluoride: Friend or Foe?” by Stephany Fisher, http://www.cbsatlanta.com/health/22776266/detail.html.

  22. “Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, ” WHO/HPR/HEP/95. 1, First International Conference on Health Promotion, Ottawa, cosponsored by the Canadian Public Health Association, Health and Welfare Canada, and the World Health Organization, November 21, 1986, http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/.

  23. Council of Europe, “Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with Regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, ” CETS no. 164 (1997), http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=164&CL=ENG.

  Chapter 2

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Achievements in Public Health, 1900–1999: Fluoridation of Drinking Water to Prevent Dental Caries, ” Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Review 48, no. 41 (October 22, 1999): 933–40, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4841a1.htm. Note: The authors of this report were Scott Tomar and Susan Griffin, as cited in Tomar’s curriculam vitae, paper number 27 on page 27, http://fluoridealert.org/re/tomar.scott.cv.ref.27.pdf.

  2. O. Fejerskov, A. Thylstrup, and M. J. Larsen, “Rational Use of Fluorides in Caries Prevention: A Concept Based on Possible Cariostatic Mechanisms, ” Acta Odontologica Scandinavica 39, no. 4 (1981): 241–49.

  3. J. P. Carlos, “Comments on Fluoride, ” Journal of Pedodontics 7, no. 2 (1983): 135–36.

  4. J. S. Wefel, “Effects of Fluoride on Caries Development and Progression Using Intra-Oral Models, ” Journal of Dental Research 69, special no. (1990): 626–33, 634–36.

  5. D. H. Leverett, “Appropriate Uses of Systemic Fluoride: Considerations for the ’90s, ” Journal of Public Health Dentistry 51, no. 1 (1991): 42–47.

  6. D. T. Zero, R. F. Raubertas, J. Fu, et al. , “Fluoride Concentrations in Plaque, Whole Saliva, and Ductal Saliva after Application of Home-Use Topical Fluorides, ” Journal of Dental Research 71, no. 11 (1992): 1768–75, http://jdr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/71/11/1768.

  7. J. Ekstrand, S. J. Fomon, E. E. Ziegler, and S. E. Nelson, “Fluoride Pharmacokinetics in Infancy, ” Pediatric Research 35, no. 2 (1994): 157–63.

  8. J. D. B. Featherstone, “Prevention and Reversal of Dental Caries: Role of Low-Level Fluoride, ” Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 27, no. 1 (1999): 31–40.

  9. H. Limeback, “A Re-examination of the Pre-eruptive and Post-eruptive Mechanism of the Anti-Caries Effects of Fluoride: Is There Any Caries Benefit from Swallowing Fluoride?” Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 27, no. 1 (1999): 62–71.

  10. B. A. Burt, “The Case for Eliminating the Use of Dietary Fluoride Supplements for Young Children, ” Journal of Public Health Dentistry 59, no. 4 (1999): 260–74.

  11. S. M. Adair, “Overview of the History and Current Status of Fluoride Supplementation Schedules, ” Journal of Public Health Dentistry 59, no. 4 (1999): 252–58.

  12. D. Locker, Benefits and Risks of Water Fluoridation: An Update of the 1996 Federal-Provincial Sub-committee Report, prepared under contract for Public Health Branch, Ontario Ministry of Health First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada (Ottawa: Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, 1999), http://fluoridealert.org/re/locker.1999.pdf.

  13. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Achievements in Public Health, 1900– 1999” (n. 1 above).

  14. M. S. McDonagh, P. F. Whiting, P. M. Wilson, et al. , “Systematic Review of Water Fluoridation, ” British Medical Journal 321, no. 7265 (2000): 855–59, http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7265/855. Note: The full report that this paper summarizes is commonly known as the York Review and is accessible at http://fluoridealert.org/re/york.review.2000.pdf.

  15. D. Carnall, “Water Fluoridation, ” British Medical Journal 321, no. 7265 (October 7, 2000): 904. Carnall’s statement appeared on the British Medical Journal Web site on the day (October 7, 2000) the journal published a review of the York Report (n. 14 above), http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7265/904/a.

  16. Michael Connett’s video interview of Dr. Arvid Carlsson, October 2005. This interview is included on the DVD Professional Perspectives on Water Fluoridation, produced by Fluoride Action Network, http://fluoridealert.org/prof.dvd.html.

  17. J. Colquhoun, “Education and Fluoridation in New Zealand: An Historical Study, ”’ Ph. D. diss. , University of Auckland, New Zealand, 1987.

  18. David L. Biles, “When It Comes to Fluoride, Education Is Better Than Medication, ” Santa Cruz Sentinel (California), March 7, 2010, http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_14528191?source=most_emailed.

  19. Ibid.

  20. CNN-TV, “Diabetes Cases Could Double by 2034, ” news broadcast, November 27, 2009, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0911/27/cnr.02.html.

  Chapter 3

  1. Florida Institute of Phosphate Research, “Public & Environmental Health, ” 2003–2004, http://www.fipr.state.fl.us/research-area-public-health.htm.

  2. Letter from Rebecca Hanmer, deputy assistant administrator for water, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, to Leslie A. Russell, D. M. D, March 30, 1983, http://fluoridealert.org/re/hanmer1983.pdf.

  3. J. W. Hirzy testimony on behalf of the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 280, before the Subcommittee on Wildlife, Fisheries and Drinking Water, U. S. Senate, Washington, DC, June 29, 2000. Video of testimony, “EPA Union Calls for Moratorium on Water Fluoridation, ” at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8903910725020792574#; transcript of testimony at http://www.fluoridealert.org/testimony.htm.

  4. Department of Human Services, Water Fluoridation: Questions and Answers, pamphlet distributed by the Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia, February 2009, http://fluoridealert.org/re/australia.2009.victoria.pamphlet.pdf.

  5. Letter from Stan Hazan, general manager, National Sanitation Foundation International’s Drinking Water Additives Certification Program, to Ken Calvert, chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, Committee on Science, U. S. House of Representatives, July 7, 2000, http://www.keepers-of-the-well.org/gov_resp_pdfs/NSF_response.pdf.

  6. C. Wang, D. B. Smith, and G. M. Huntley, “Treatment Chemicals Contribute to Arsenic Levels, ” Opflow (a journal of the American Water Works Association), October 2000.

  7. R. D. Masters and M. J. Coplan, “Water Treatment with Silicofluorides and Lead Toxicity, ” International Journal of Environmental Studies 56, no. 4 (1999): 435–49.

  8. R. D. Masters, M. J. Coplan, B. T. Hone, and J. E. Dykes, “Association of Silicofluoride Treated Water with Elevated Blood Lead, ” Neurotoxicology 21, no. 6 (2000): 1091–99.

  9. E. T. Urbansky and M. R. Schock, “Can Fluoridation Affect Lead (II) in Potable Water? Hexafluorosilicate and Fluoride Equilibria in Aqueous Solution, ” International Journal of Environmental Studies 57, no. 5 (2000): 597–637.

  10. E. T
. Urbansky, “Fate of Fluorosilicate Drinking Water Additives, ” Chemical Reviews 102, no. 8 (2002): 2837–54.

  11. W. F. Finney, E. Wilson, A. Callender, et al. , “Reexamination of Hexafluorosilicate Hydrolysis by Fluoride NMR and pH Measurement, ” Environmental Science &Technology 40, no. 8 (2006): 2572–77.

  12. R. P. Maas, S. C. Patch, A. M. Christian, and M. J. Coplan, “Effects of Fluoridation and Disinfection Agent Combinations on Lead Leaching from Leaded-Brass Parts, ” Neurotoxicology 28, no. 5 (2007): 1023–31.

  13. R. M. M. Sawan, G. A. S. Leite, M. C. P. Saraiva, et al. , “Fluoride Increases Lead Concentrations in Whole Blood and in Calcified Tissues from Lead-Exposed Rats, ” Toxicology 271, no. 1–2 (2010): 21–66.

  14. Ibid.

  15. R. D. Masters and M. J. Coplan, “Water Treatment with Silicofluorides and Lead Toxicity” (n. 7 above).

  16. R. D. Masters et al. , “Association of Silicofluoride Treated Water with Elevated Blood Lead” (n. 8 above).

  17. L. Hendricks, “Feds Note Fluoride Problems, ” The Daily News (Newburyport, Massachusetts), January 25, 2010, http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_024222057.html#disqus_thread.

  18. L. Hendricks, “Town Halts Use in Water Supply, Seeks Solutions, ” The Daily News (Newburyport, Massachusetts), January 19, 2010.

  Chapter 4

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Division of Oral Health, ” list of personnel, March 2008, http://www.fluoridealert.org/bailey3.html.

  2. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Toxicological Profile for Fluorides, Hydrogen Fluoride and Fluorine (Atlanta, GA: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, September 2003), http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp11.pdf.

  3. National Research Council of the National Academies, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006), http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11571.

  4. R. J. Carton, “Review of the 2006 United States National Research Council Report: Fluoride in Drinking Water, ” Fluoride 39, no. 3 (2006): 163–72, http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/epa/nrc/carton-2006.pdf.

  5. The deposition of Stan Hazan was taken in a San Diego County Superior Court case titled Macy v. City of Escondido, case no. GIN015280, on March 9, 2004. The lawsuit sought to have the addition of hexafluorosilicic acid (HFSA) to the water declared unconstitutional under California law. The lawsuit was dismissed, and the dismissal was affirmed on appeal by the Fourth District Court of Appeals. The deposition is online at http://fluoridealert.org/re/hazan-2004.deposition.pdf.

  6. NSF Joint Committee on Drinking Water Additives, Drinking Water Treatment Chemicals—Health Effects, NSF International Standard/American National Standard NSF/ANSI 60—2009 (Ann Arbor, MI: NSF International, 2009).

  7. Ibid.

  8. Ibid.

  Chapter 5

  1. National Health and Medical Research Council, The Effectiveness of Water Fluoridation (Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1991), 142.

  2. National Research Council of the National Academies, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006), http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11571.

  3. D. Fagin, “Second Thoughts on Fluoride, ” Scientific American 298, no. 1 (January 2008): 74–81; excerpts at http://www.fluoridealert.org/sc.am.jan.2008.html.

  4. M. S. McDonagh, P. F. Whiting, P. M. Wilson, et al. , “Systematic Review of Water Fluoridation, ” British Medical Journal 321, no. 7265 (2000): 855–59, http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7265/855. Note: The full report that this paper summarizes is commonly known as the York Review and is accessible at http://fluoridealert.org/re/york.review.2000.pdf.

  5. Open letter from Professor Trevor Sheldon, DSc, FMedSci. , of the Department of Health Sciences, University of York, Heslington, York, UK, January 3, 2001, http://www.appgaf.org.uk/archive/archive_letter_shel/.

  6. “Regulations and Ethical Guidelines: Directives for Human Experimentation, ” Office of Human Subjects Research, National Institutes of Health, http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/nuremberg.html. Reprinted from Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals under Control Council Law, no. 10 (1949): 181–82.

  7. UK Water Act, “The Drinking Water Inspectorate. Fluoridation of Water Supplies”: “90 (2) The Secretary of State may also, with the consent of the Treasury, agree to indemnify any licensed water supplier in respect of liabilities which it may incur— (a) In supplying water to which fluoride has been added by a water undertaker by virtue of any such arrangements. . . ” 2003, http://www.opsi.gov.uk/2003/37/section/58.

  8. Letter from Dr. B. Havlik, DrSc, Ministerstvo Zdravotnictvi Ceske Republiky, to A. R. Smith and C. A. Smith, England, October 14, 1999, http://www.fluoridealert.org/czech.jpeg.

  9. World Health Organization, “EURO incl. DMFT for 12-year-olds, ” WHO Oral Health Country/Area Profile Programme, WHO Headquarters Geneva, Oral Health Programme (NPH), WHO Collaborating Centre, Malmo University, Sweden, http://www.whocollab.od.mah.se/euro.html. Last update March 3, 2010. Note: WHO has changed and updated its Web site several times over the last five years. This online site gives statistics by European country for DMFT (decayed/missing/filled teeth) for twelve-year-olds; http://www.whocollab.od.mah.se/euro.html.

  10. C. Neurath, “Tooth Decay Trends for 12 Year Olds in Nonfluoridated and Fluoridated Countries, ” graph in Fluoride & Tooth Decay (Caries) section at Fluoride Action Network Web site, 2004, http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/teeth/caries.

  11. L. Seppä, S. Kärkkäinen, and H. Hausen, “Caries Trends 1992–1998 in Two Low-Fluoride Finnish Towns Formerly with and without Fluoridation, ” Caries Research 34, no. 6 (2000): 462–68.

  12. W. Künzel, T. Fischer, R. Lorenz, and S. Brühmann, “Decline in Caries Prevalence after the Cessation of Water Fluoridation in Former East Germany, ” Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 28, no. 5 (2000): 382–89.

  13. W. Künzel and T. Fischer, “Caries Prevalence after Cessation of Water Fluoridation in La Salud, Cuba, ” Caries Research 34, no. 1 (2000): 20–25.

  14. G. Maupomé, D. C. Clark, S. M. Levy, and J. Berkowitz, “Patterns of Dental Caries Following the Cessation of Water Fluoridation, ” Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 29, no. 1 (2001): 37–47.

  15. American Dental Association, Fluoridation Facts, an update commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of community water fluoridation, 2005, http://www.ada.org/sections/professionalresources/pdfs/fluoridation_facts.pdf.

  Chapter 6

  1. M. S. McDonagh, P. F. Whiting, P. M. Wilson, et al. , “Systematic Review of Water Fluoridation, ” British Medical Journal 321, no. 7265 (2000): 855–59, http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7265/855. Note: The full report that this paper summarizes is commonly known as the York Review and is accessible at http://fluoridealert.org/re/york.review.2000.pdf.

  2. H. T. Dean, F. A. Arnold Jr. , and E. Elvove, “Domestic Water and Dental Caries. V. Additional Studies of the Relation of Fluoride Domestic Waters to Dental Caries Experience in 4425 White Children, age 12-14 years, of 13 Cities in 4 States, ” Public Health Reports 57, no. 32 (1942): 1155–79, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1968063/pdf/pubhealthreporig01481-0001.pdf.

  3. H. T. Dean, F. A. Arnold Jr. , and E. Elvove, “Domestic Water and Dental Caries. II. A Study of 2, 832 White Children, Aged 12 to 14 Years, of 8 Suburban Chicago Communities, Including Lactobacillus Acidophilus Studies of 1, 761 Children, ” Public Health Reports 56 (1941): 761–92.

  4. World Health Organization, “EURO incl. DMFT for 12-Year-Olds, ” WHO Oral Health Country/Area Profile Programme, Oral Health Programme (NPH), WHO Collaborating Centre, Malmo University, Sweden, http://www.whocollab.od.mah.se/euro.html. Last update March 3, 2010. Note: WHO has changed and updated its Web site several times over the last five years. This online site gives statistics by European country for DMFT (
decayed/missing/filled teeth) for twelve-year-olds; http://www.whocollab.od.mah.se/euro.html.

  5. C. Neurath, “Tooth Decay Trends for 12 Year Olds in Nonfluoridated and Fluoridated Countries, ” graph in Fluoride & Tooth Decay (Caries) section at Fluoride Action Network Web site, 2004, http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/teeth/caries/.

  6. K. K. Cheng, I. Chalmers, and T. A. Sheldon, “Adding Fluoride to Water Supplies, ” British Medical Journal 335, no. 7622 (2007): 699–702.

  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Ten Great Public Health Achievements: United States, 1900–1999, ” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 48, no. 12 (April 2, 1999): 241–43, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056796.htm.

  8. C. Neurath, “Tooth Decay Trends for 12 Year Olds in Nonfluoridated and Fluoridated Countries, ” Fluoride 38, no. 4 (2005): 324–25, at http://fluoridealert.org/re/neurath-2005.pdf.

  9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Achievements in Public Health, 1900–1999: Fluoridation of Drinking Water to Prevent Dental Caries, ” Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Review 48, no. 41 (October 22, 1999): 933–40, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4841a1.htm. Note: The authors of this report were Scott Tomar and Susan Griffin, as cited in Tomar’s curriculum vitae, paper number 27 on page 27, http://fluoridealert.org/re/tomar.scott.cv.ref.27.pdf.