Water Fluoridation Battle Heats Up Despite Federal Court Ruling

Following the landmark federal court victory by the Fluoride Action Network against the EPA, several towns and cities have begun the process of stopping the addition of fluoride to the community water supply. Dental associations, meanwhile, have doubled down on their support for the neurotoxic chemical linked with reduced IQ in children.

The American Dental Association (ADA) posted a tweet on platform X stating “The ADA stands firm in its support for community water fluoridation following a court ruling on September 24, 2024.” The Michigan Dental Association (MDA) retweeted a post from “Fluoride for Smiles” to state that the cost of water fluoridation per person is only $43 for a lifetime, while the average cost of one dental filling is $224. The MDA also stated that removing fluoride from the water supply will be like stopping vaccines, but they removed that post.

The Fluoride Action Network has a page titled “Follow the Money” that discloses the ties the ADA and other dental associations have with pharmaceutical companies that produce oral hygiene products with fluoride as the main active ingredient. These companies pay money to the ADA to gain its “seal of approval.” Companies that sell fluoride products have a vested interest in making sure the public feels that fluoride is a safe chemical. The ADA has an interest to support fluoridation so that the pharmaceutical toothpaste companies can justify the money they pay to gain the ADA’s seal of approval.

However, the fluoride guidelines of the ADA seem contradictory. The ADA will only provide the seal of approval to toothpastes that contain fluoride, but advise children to be supervised to ensure they do not swallow too much fluoride. A quarter teaspoon of fluoride toothpaste is likely to have about 1.3 mg based on the typical concentration. The levels of fluoride in community drinking water is set at 0.7 mg per liter.

A liter is between 33 and 34 ounces. Children ages 1-3 are recommended to have 32 ounces of water per day based on four cups of eight ounces each. Colgate Kids Toothpaste, which has a seal of approval from the ADA, has a warning label that states “Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age.  If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.” The amount of fluoride a child would drink from fluoridated water in 1-2 days would equal the same amount a child would swallow if using the recommended amount of toothpaste.

During the trial, Dr. Charlotte Lewis of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) was asked on the stand if she would still support community water fluoridation if the evidence showed a five point drop in 5-10% of the population. Dr. Lewis stated that it would be an appropriate trade-off.

ADA President Linda Edgar said, “Oral health should not be a luxury; it’s essential. Optimally fluoridated water is accessible to communities regardless of socioeconomic status, education or other social variables.” Edgar added a frequently cited statistic that community water fluoridation reduces cavities by 25%.

The Cochrane Review was published this month, analyzing the water fluoridation and cavities data. The study authors wrote, “Adding fluoride to water may slightly increase the number of children who have no tooth decay in either their baby teeth or permanent teeth. However, these results also included the possibility of little or no difference in tooth decay.”

Calley Means, a health advocate and author of Good Energy with Casey Means, told users on X to throw out their child’s toothpaste if it contains fluoride. “I cannot explain to you how damning and conclusive this evidence has to be for the government to admit that it lied to us like this. Parents were ridiculed for asking questions.” Means posted a screenshot of the National Toxicology Report, which concluded that fluoridated water at 1.5mg is associated with lower IQ. Means appeared on The HighWire last month.

Fluoride advocates have denounced the NTP’s report by saying the tested fluoride concentrations are significantly higher than the recommended community water concentration of 0.7. The report indicates that the study intended to evaluate the risks associated with fluoride exposure from all sources, including toothpaste and mouthwash. The 1.5mg per liter concentration is about twice as high as the water fluoridation levels nationwide.

Siri and Glimstad attorney Michael Connett, who led the seven-year case against the EPA, has said it may take years for the EPA to take meaningful action following the ruling. Connett and others have encouraged local towns and cities to take the necessary steps to stop adding fluoride to community water supplies to protect the public.

Several towns have taken the advice, including Abilene, Texas, Yorktown, New York and Somers, New York. Lynden, Washington voted to remove fluoride in July with a 4-3 vote, but the measure was vetoed by Mayor Scott Korthuis who said there was insufficient evidence to indicate the chemical is harmful. The town is attempting to restart the process following the landmark federal court ruling.

Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich celebrated the fluoride case ruling and referred to a repeated violation of informed consent against the American people. “We continue to discover this over and over again while the impact on human health causes greater and greater misery, cutting short people’s lives, creating disabilities,” Kucinich said. “In the 1950s, city after city in America had referenda that intended to stop fluoride being put into water systems. Even though people voted against it, the industry and government came together to shove it down peoples’ throats. This kind of a victory cannot be static. We have to tear away the veil and look … at how these policies were pushed on the American people without their informed consent, without an ability to challenge it.”

In 2015, the CDC named community water fluoridation one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century. This is another bullet point that has been used by dental associations as they continue to support the practice of fluoridating water for the general public. Despite the clear verdict in the federal court case, the battle rages on. Those concerned with health impacts on children say that towns and cities should stop adding the neurotoxic chemical to the water supply. The dental associations are compelled to double down on the practice regardless of the evidence that it is harmful to human health and has very minimal public health benefits.