Banning fluoride in drinking water is another obsession of the nominee (at the time of writing) for US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. (RFK) and his allies – RFK even had Donald Trump jump on the bandwagon during the election campaign. The main assertion is that fluoride in drinking water reduces children’s IQ.
They often quote a review a few years ago which looked at the available studies and came to that conclusion.
The problem with the review is that it contained studies which weren’t carried out well, sometimes in places with high levels of fluoride naturally in their water supply. They also didn’t take account of possible water contaminants in inadequately regulated water supplies in poor countries.
When you look at the high-quality studies in that review, in well-regulated countries, there was no effect of fluoridation on kids’ IQ.
More recently, one of the world’s best conducted studies – which happens to be Australian – has published their findings. The researchers from Queensland and South Australia have been following children and their dental health and development for many years. They know how much fluoride they’ve consumed, not just in drinking water but from toothpaste and fluoride applications at the dentist. They also allowed for the drinking of filtered water.
The researchers were also ultra careful about how they measured IQ, which is notoriously difficult to do.
The first phase of the study looked at dental caries (dental decay) and showed conclusively that there was a significant reduction, especially in disadvantaged kids.
The next phase looked at neurodevelopmental problems such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD and found no effect of regulated fluoride in drinking water.
The latest phase has reported on IQ when the kids were adolescents and found – again – no effect.
Some people argue that fluoride should be removed so that people can be free to choose. The trouble with that argument is that we’re not free to choose in some public health areas. We must wear seatbelts. We can’t drive if we’re over 0.05, and we cannot smoke in restaurants. What these researchers and others have shown in relation to fluoride is that if you stop adding it, there will be an increased dental health gap between families which are better off and better educated and kids in disadvantaged families which find it harder to find the time and effort to follow public health recommendations. Dental surgeons will tell you that the kids where they must give them a general anaesthetic to remove their rotten teeth, almost invariably come from non-fluoridated areas.
Prevention works best when we don’t have to take action ourselves; it’s done without having to think about it.
References
Sexton CT, Ha DH, Le T, Lalloo R, Ford P, Do LG, Stormon N. Socio-economic status and access to fluoridated water in Queensland: an ecological data linkage study. Med J Aust. 2024 Feb 5;220(2):74-79. doi: 10.5694/mja2.52196. Epub 2023 Dec 27. PMID: 38149410.
Do LG, Sawyer A, John Spencer A, Leary S, Kuring JK, Jones AL, Le T, Reece CE, Ha DH. Early Childhood Exposures to Fluorides and Cognitive Neurodevelopment: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study. J Dent Res. 2024 Dec 18:220345241299352. doi: 10.1177/00220345241299352. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39692252.
Do LG, Spencer AJ, Sawyer A, Jones A, Leary S, Roberts R, Ha DH. Early Childhood Exposures to Fluorides and Child Behavioral Development and Executive Function: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study. J Dent Res. 2023 Jan;102(1):28-36. doi: 10.1177/00220345221119431. Epub 2022 Oct 9. PMID: 36214232.
