Consider mass fluoridation of water, says health body

Adding fluoride to water should be considered by councils in England to improve dental health, the government's public health advisory body says.

Public Health England urged councils to act after reviewing the impact of water fluoridation on children in areas where it has been introduced. (“Fluoride seems to fit in with lead, mercury, and other poisons that cause chemical brain drain,” Grandjean says. “The effect of each toxicant may seem small, but the combined damage on a population scale can be serious, especially because the brain power of the next generation is crucial to all of us.”) (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/fluoride-childrens-health-grandjean-choi/) ( Background: Although fluoride may cause neurotoxicity in animal models and acute fluoride poisoning causes neurotoxicity in adults, very little is known of its effects on children’s neurodevelopment. Objective: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies to investigate the effects of increased fluoride exposure and delayed neurobehavioral development. Methods: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Water Resources Abstracts, and TOXNET databases through 2011 for eligible studies. We also searched the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database, because many studies on fluoride neurotoxicity have been published in Chinese journals only. In total, we identified 27 eligible epidemiological studies with high and reference exposures, end points of IQ scores, or related cognitive function measures with means and variances for the two exposure groups. Using random-effects models, we estimated the standardized mean difference between exposed and reference groups across all studies. We conducted sensitivity analyses restricted to studies using the same outcome assessment and having drinking-water fluoride as the only exposure. We performed the Cochran test for heterogeneity between studies, Begg’s funnel plot, and Egger test to assess publication bias, and conducted meta-regressions to explore sources of variation in mean differences among the studies. Results: The standardized weighted mean difference in IQ score between exposed and reference populations was –0.45 (95% confidence interval: –0.56, –0.35) using a random-effects model. Thus, children in high-fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ scores than those who lived in low-fluoride areas. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses also indicated inverse associations, although the substantial heterogeneity did not appear to decrease. Conclusions: The results support the possibility of an adverse effect of high fluoride exposure on children’s neurodevelopment. Future research should include detailed individual-level information on prenatal exposure, neurobehavioral performance, and covariates for adjustment. ) (Read More: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1104912/) About 6m people - 10% of the country - currently live in areas with fluoridated water supplies.PHE said it was a "safe and effective" public health measure. Its review found it had reduced tooth decay and hospital admissions for dental problems.In fluoridated areas, there were 45% fewer children aged one to four admitted to hospital. According to the BBC Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in water in varying amounts. It is also present in certain foods, such as fish and tea. In the early 20th century, lower levels of tooth decay were found to be associated with certain fluoride levels in drinking water - it is thought to toughen the surface of the teeth. This discovery lead to fluoride being added to toothpastes and the introduction of fluoridation schemes. The first major scheme was in Birmingham in 1964. Since then parts of the north west, north east and Yorkshire and the Humber have followed suit as have large swathes of the Midlands. Some areas - mainly the east coast - have naturally occurring high levels of fluoride in water. Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26729484?SThisFB

Fluoride, teeth, and an argument that's full of holes Bill Etherington MP calls fluoride "poison". Nazis supposedly used it to subdue people in concentration camps. According to a former Guardian alternative health columnist, fluoride is "in the same league as lead and arsenic" You'll find fluoride in tea, beer and fish, which might sound like a balanced diet to you. But this week Alan Johnson announced a new push for putting it in our drinking water. Read More: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/feb/09/medicalresearch.health Hard to swallow truth Documentary