Recently, a US federal agency recognized "with moderate confidence" the existence of a link between high levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children.
This compound has been used for a long time as a preventive measure for tooth cavities due to its feature to replace lost minerals.
Recently, the National Toxicology Program published massive research about the fluoride side effect on children's brains, summarizing dozens of studies from Canada, China, India, Pakistan, and Mexico.
What does this discovery mean for humanity, and is fluoride really so dangerous – we will find out in this article.
Shortest history of fluoride
Grand Rapids, Michigan – the first place in the US where fluoride was added to drinking water in 1945, and then five years later, federal officials endorsed fluoridation in order to prevent tooth decay in Americans and improve national oral health. Research revealed that fluoride's primary source in the US is drinking water, although many alternatives have emerged, such as special toothpaste.
In 2006, the first limited evidence of its harmful impact emerged when the National Research Council – a nonprofit research organization from Washington- received information from Chinese scientists about fluoride's neurological effect on people. Since then, this topic has been researched more precisely.
In 2015, the US government lowered the officially recommended amount of fluoride in water to 0.7 milligrams per liter, as they claimed, because that chemical causes splotchy teeth in kids.
So, what did the National Toxicology Program paper reveal?
This report contains 72 studies of different quality and shows that drinking water with a high amount of fluoride—1.5 milligrams per liter—may cause problems with brain development in children. This is especially interesting considering that 1.5 milligrams is the "safe limit" of that chemical set by the World Health Organization.
Still, this report does not contain any information about health risks associated with a low level of fluoride in water or how its high amount affects adults, meaning that we still need more research.
However, the American Dental Association – the 'main lobbyist' of water fluoridation, still hasn't commented on the National Toxicology Program report – ADA officials said that their experts are still reviewing the situation.
For now, the discussion about fluoride harm is gaining momentum in the scientific community. Let's wait for more opinions from the separate research groups and see where they take us.
And for now, we are inviting you to read our other article about dental chemicals:
