The CDC's Idea of "Mild" Dental Fluorosis

CDC’s stated reason was to cut down on dental fluorosis, or stained teeth, which today afflicts over 40% of U.S. youngsters aged 12-15.  They’ve known about it for years. Why pick this particular moment to announce a change?  Who knows? What’s important is their two monumental concessions.  After a half-century of denial and stonewalling, the agency has finally admitted that fluorosis—previously dismissed as a minor, strictly cosmetic issue—is a huge problem which needs to be addressed.  They also recognized, for the first time, the cumulative overload of fluoride people are getting from other sources, including food and toothpaste.  What they failed to acknowledge was that fluoride harms the entire body, not just teeth.   Their new “optimal” standard is as arbitrary as the old one, with no way to know or control individual dosage.  The only appropriate standard for added fluoride is zero.  

CDC’s surprising announcement comes on the heels of equally explosive news out of China:  namely, the release of a report linking fluoride ingestion with lowered intelligence.  It’s actually the 24th such report.  What makes this one key is it directly connects reduced IQ’s to blood serum fluoride levels that result from drinking water fluoridated at concentrations far below the 4 ppm the EPA calls safe.  Fluoride acts like lead in the body, crossing the blood-brain barrier in utero and in small children.  No one denies lead is bad for children.  This chart from a standard chemical reference book, shows the relative toxicities of lead, fluoride and arsenic. You can see fluoride is more toxic than lead, yet the EPA allows vastly more of it in our water.  Go figure.

There’s a change in the wind regarding fluoridation policy.  Austin can and should be in the vanguard of abandoning the practice.  I urge you to open your minds to that possibility. Thank you. 

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