Sensational fluoride report finally published

A sensational report from the National Toxicity Program revealed devastating findings about the health effects of water fluoridation on American children.

A review of the literature in the study abstract found substantial evidence in almost every study that there is a strong “inverse association” between children’s fluoride intake and a child’s IQ.

“Eight of nine high-quality studies examining other cognitive or neurodevelopmental outcomes reported associations with estimated fluoride exposure. Seventy-two studies examined the association between fluoride exposure and IQ in children. Nineteen of these studies were rated as high-quality; of these, 18 reported an inverse association between estimated fluoride exposure and IQ in children,” the NTP MGRAPH-08 abstract states.

The summary also pointed out that these findings could be applied to other countries:

“The 18 studies, including 3 prospective cohort studies and 15 cross-sectional studies, were conducted in 5 different countries.”

Furthermore, the vast majority of low-quality studies found similar results to the high-quality studies, as MGRAPH-08 claims:

“46 of the 53 low-quality studies involving children also found evidence of an inverse association between estimated fluoride exposure and IQ in children.”

In the discussion section of the summary, the results are expressed in a somewhat simpler manner.

“Existing animal studies provide little insight into whether fluoride exposure affects IQ. In addition, studies examining fluoride exposure and mechanistic data in humans were too heterogeneous. [sic] and limited in number to make a decision about biological plausibility,” says the discussion section of MGRAPH-08.

In other words, animal studies have not provided clear evidence about the effects of fluoride on humans. Moreover, the results of studies on adults have been too varied to reach a conclusion.

“However, there is considerable evidence of associations between fluoride exposure and IQ in children,” the monograph states. “There is also some evidence that fluoride exposure is associated with other neurological and cognitive developmental disorders in children; however, due to the heterogeneity of findings, there is little confidence in the literature regarding these other effects.”

The report concludes:

“This review concludes with moderate certainty that higher estimated fluoride exposures (e.g., at exposure approximations such as fluoride concentrations in drinking water that exceed the World Health Organization drinking water quality guidelines of 1.5 mg/L fluoride) are consistently associated with lower IQ in children. Further studies are needed to fully understand the potential for lower fluoride exposures to affect children's IQ.”

Medium and low confidence are the second and third highest confidence levels out of five levels. Translated from technical jargon, the report states that there is a credible and plausible association suggesting that fluoride consumption in childhood lowers children's IQ, and that there is reason to suspect that fluoridation may be associated with other cognitive problems in adolescents.

The full report, now available on the NTP website, is more than 324 pages long and has been widely hailed by fluoride opponents as a victory for their side.

“It's about time! Despite many attempts by fluoridation advocates to suppress or whitewash the results, the NTP has declared that a dose of 1.5 mg/L is neurotoxic to the developing brains of infants in the womb. Any woman who drinks 2 liters or more of 'optimally' fluoridated water daily receives that dose,” said fluoride opponent Regina Imburgia of Dallas.

There were internal attempts to stop or delay the publication of the report.Internal U.S. Department of Health and Human Services emails show that Assistant Secretary of Health Admiral Rachel Levine attempted to delay the release indefinitely, although the reason remains unclear. DX I previously asked Levine for a comment or explanation but received no response.

The legal implications of this report could be serious.

A lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency is currently pending in the Northern District of California before the Honorable Edward Cheng. The case is known as Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. EPA. and if the lawsuit is successful, it could force the EPA to ban water fluoridation. The case ended in March, and the last file entry is from April 2nd.

However, many, including Michael Connett, the lead plaintiff's attorney, believe Cheng withheld his judgment until the NTP report was released.

The Dallas Express Connett had previously done an interview on the dangers of fluoridation, which the attorney said include everything from dental fluorosis to hypothyroidism to a drop in IQ in children. After the interview, Connett appeared at a screening of a documentary about water fluoridation and participated in a Q&A with former Senator Don Huffines as moderator.

Regarding the lack of choice most Americans have regarding fluoride intake due to the widespread use of fluoride in tap water, Huffines said: DX“This is about freedom. It's about forcibly administering medication to citizens without their consent.”

Responding to the release of the NTP report, Huffines said: DX:

“Fluoride has always been known to be toxic to humans, and the NTP report concludes that even small amounts of fluoride cause brain damage in children. The City of Dallas and other water utilities that insidiously and intentionally poison their citizens should be held criminally and civilly liable. All water utilities must take responsibility for their mistakes, immediately stop adding fluoride, and apologize to their citizens.”

Nevertheless, the CDC website states: “The CDC has designated drinking water fluoridation as one of the top 10 public health interventions of the 20th century because the number of tooth decay cases has declined dramatically since drinking water fluoridation began in 1945.”

Proponents of fluoride argue that applying it directly to teeth can help fight tooth decay through “remineralization.”

Yet despite the delayed release of the report and the delay in Cheng's ruling, some jurisdictions in Texas have already taken action to ban fluoride in water.

“After careful consideration and a thorough evaluation of scientific research, public opinion, and potential health and environmental impacts, we have concluded that it is in the best interest of our community to discontinue water fluoridation effective December 1, 2023,” Shean R. Dalton, general manager of the Brushy Creek Municipal Utility District, wrote to residents of the small Texas town last fall.