Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Fluoridation but Were Afraid to Ask
by Jenny Miller
1. Doesn’t fluoride occur in the water naturally anyway?
The fluoride products used in water fluoridation (sodium fluoride or fluorosilicic acid) are classified as
hazardous waste products of the fertilizer, aluminum, and nuclear industries. They are even more toxic than
naturally-occurring fluoride, since they contain other components, such as arsenic and lead. However, even
naturally-occurring fluoride, in areas with high concentrations (over 1 ppm) has been been found to have
extremely adverse health effects. Some parts of Cotati, in Sonoma County, already have over 1 ppm in
groundwater. In addition to the natural fluoride in groundwater, most people are exposed to multiple sources
of fluoride (pesticides in wine and food, tea, some ceramics, anti-depressants, manufacturing, soft drinks,
toothpaste etc.), and already are absorbing well over the equivalent of 1 ppm before the water is fluoridated.
2. Don’t all advanced countries fluoridate their water? And hasn’t it been proven that countries that do
fluoridate their water have better dental health than countries that don’t?
No. Fluoridation has been almost completely abolished in Europe. Recently other countries, such as Israel and
many parts of Australia, have banned fluoridation. Statistics gathered by the World Health Organization do
not show any difference in rates of dental caries in fluoridated vs. non fluoridated countries. In the U.S., the
state of Kentucky, which has been fluoridating the longest, and has 99% fluoridation of its water supply, has
the worst dental health of any state in the country. Similar results were found by John Colquhoun, the Chief
Dental Officer in Auckland, NZ, who studied the effects of fluoridation around the world. He discovered, much
to his astonishment, that people in countries with fluoridation had the worst teeth. Other studies also indicate a
decrease in dental caries after water fluoridation had been discontinued in that locality. (See “Sources.”)
Since 1990, 144 cities have rejected water fluoridation, including several in California.
3. Where did the idea of fluoridating the water come from?
Industrialists in the aluminum and nuclear industries were under fire because of the harmful effects of the
fluoride waste products being emitted from their plants–plants and animals were dying for miles around. They
hired Edward Bernays, who was the grandaddy of mass public relations campaigns (Bernays also happened to
be the nephew of Sigmund Freud) to convince the American people that putting toxic waste in our water supply
was good for us. He also organized a successful campaign to convince American women that smoking was both
glamorous and liberating. The Nazis made use of Bernays’ ideas in perfecting their mind control.
4. Maybe fluoridation hasn’t been proven to be effective in improving dental health, but what harm can it do
to add it to our water supply?
First there is the cost factor. At a time when there is no money for schools, dental treatment for kids, health
care, transportation, support for the disabled, basic community infrastructure, counties will be spending
millions of dollars to fluoridate the water. Even worse, fluoridation has been associated with increased rates of
criminal activity, kidney disease, Alzheimers, bone cancer, damage to the thyroid, increased bone fractures, and
decreased IQ in children. (See http://www.robertgammal.com/PDFs/SciFactsFluoride.pdf.) Although adding
hazardous waste to our water is not beneficial to anyone, it is particularly harmful to people with kidney disease
(who can’t excrete it properly), infants (when mixed with formula it far exceeds the safe amount of fluoride), and
people who drink lots of water such as diabetics, athletes, and manual laborers. It is form of mass medication,
but unlike drugs your doctor prescribes, there is no informed consent to treatment, and there is no regulation
of the amounts received. For many children, fluoride in the water supply can cause a disfiguring condition
called fluorosis or mottling of the teeth. You probably have a friend, neighbor, or relative whose family has
experienced this. Because black and Hispanic children are more susceptible to fluorosis, major civil rights
organizations and leaders have come out against fluoridation.
5. It’s not like fluoride is really poisonous is it?
Sodium fluoride, the exact same chemical that is added to many water supplies, is the principle and only
poisonous ingredient in Sarin nerve gas, recently in the news as a reason for the U.S. to start bombing Syria.
(Though Sarin contains other ingredients, the only one poisonous to humans is fluoride.) Less than half a tube of
candy-flavored fluoride toothpaste is enough to kill a small child. The FDA requires a warning on all tubes of
flouride toothpaste–to immediately call Poison Control– in the event a small amount of FL is swallowed.
6. Shouldn’t we leave it to the experts? Don’t they all support water fluoridation?
Experts in almost every country around the world concluded that the practice is harmful and supported its
elimination (or else their countries never started fluoridation in the first place). Although the head of the
Sonoma County Dept. of Health touts the fact that fluoridation is still being done in Spain and the UK, if you
look at the actual record, only 11% of those countries’ water is fluoridated. The figure is 3% for all of Europe.
When the top water toxicologist in the Environmental Protection Agency, William Marcus, disclosed that the
reports showing the safety of fluoridation had been doctored to hide its harmful effects, he was immediately
fired. A judge later ordered him to be reinstated, since there was no basis for the firing other than his refusal to
hide the facts. His union, which represents hundreds of scientists and professionals who work for the EPA, came
out with a strong position against fluoride as well, due to its documented toxicity.
Write and call your Board of Supervisors and City Council. Tell them: No toxic fluoride in our water!
Sources
1. The level of fluoride in non-fluoridated water in some parts of Sonoma County (e.g. parts of Cotati) is
already equal to the amount of naturally-occurring fluoride that has been found to cause skeletal fluorosis in
other countries (http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5118/ ) “Skeletal fluorosis in India and China has been reported to
occur when the fluoride concentration in water exceeds one ppm, and has been found to occur in communities
with only 0.7 ppm.” Source: Gupta R, Kumar AN, Bandhu S, Gupta S. (2007) Skeletal fluorosis mimicking
seronegative arthritis. Scandanavian Journal of Rheumatology 36(2):154-5. See fluoridealert.org for numerous
other sources re crippling fluorosis in India and China from naturally-occurring fluoride. Dr. Silver Chalfin, head
of the Sonoma County Dept. of Health, is pushing the idea of adding Fluoride to bring SC water up to 0.9 ppm,
more than the level that has been found to cause skeletal fluorosis.
2. For World Health Organization statistical comparison of rates of dental caries in 12 year olds, showing
equivalent amounts in fluoridated vs. non-fluoridated countries, see WHO Collaborating Center for
Education, Training, and Research in Oral Health, Malmo Univ., Sweden, 2012. Where fluoridation has been
discontinued in communities like Canada, the former East Germany, Cuba and Finland, dental decay has not
increased but has generally continued to decrease (Maupomé 2001; Kunzel & Fischer, 1997, 2000; Kunzel 2000;
Seppa 2000).
KY residents have worst teeth of any state: “(Governor) Beshear said Kentucky led the nation in 2004 in terms
of the number of people age 65 or older who had lost teeth. About 27 percent of Kentuckians of all ages had lost
six or more teeth to decay or gum disease, compared with 18 percent in the rest of the nation, he said.” Source:
“Kentucky Launching Kids’ Dental Health Project,” by Jack Brammer, Lexington Herald Leader, 10/14/ 2009.
KY m or e flu or id a te d th a n a n y oth e r sta te : “In 2 0 0 4 , 9 9 .6 % of Ke n tu cky’s p u b lic w a te r
syste m s w e r e p r ovid in g flu or id a te d w a te r to th e ir cu stom e r s. Th is r a n ke d Ke n tu cky fir st
a m on g a ll sta te s.” Ke n tu cky Ep id e m iolog ic N ote s a n d Re p or ts, Vol. 4 0 . N o. 8 , De p t. of
Pu b lic H e a lth . (KY w a te r h a s b e e n flu or id a te d sin ce th e 1 9 5 0 s.)
S im ila r r e su lts r e p or te d in Te xa s: “Afte r 9 ye a r s a n d $ 3 m illion of a d d in g flu or id e ,
r e se a r ch sh ow s tooth d e ca y h a sn ’t d r op p e d a m on g th e p oor e st of Be xa r Cou n ty’s
ch ild r e n , it h a s on ly in cr e a se d —u p 1 3 p e r ce n t th is ye a r .”
fr om : Con g e r J. (2 0 1 1 ) S a n An ton io: Ad d e d to ou r d r in kin g w a te r : a ch e m ica l ‘m or e
toxic th a n le a d ?’ KEN S 5 N e w s For the best article analyzing the research on fluoridation worldwide,
see: John Colquhoun (former Chief Dental Officer of Auckland, NZ) “Why I changed my mind about water
fluoridation,” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 41 29-44 1997, University of Chicago Press, available
online.
3. See Wikipedia, Edward Bernays. Also “The Fluoride Deception” video at youtube.com and book with the
same name by Christopher Bryson.
4. For an extensive compilation of medical journal citations documenting fluoride’s harmful effects re
kidneys, thyroid, bone cancer, diminished IQ, infant health, Alzheimers, bone fractures, and more, see http://
www.robertgammal.com/PDFs/SciFactsFluoride.pdf.
On July 1, 2011, The League of Latin American Citizens, the largest Hispanic organization in the U.S. passed a
resolution strongly opposing the practice of fluoridating water supplies, in part because of the disproportionate
harmful effects on Hispanic members of the community. (see www.fluoridealert.org for text of LULAC
resolution.) Numerous studies, including a national survey by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), have
found that black children suffer significantly higher rates of dental fluorosis than white children. (Martinez-Mier
2010; Beltran-Aguilar 2005; Kumar 2000, 1999; Williams 1990; Butler 1985; Russell 1962). Not only do black
children suffer higher rates of fluorosis, they suffer the most severe forms of the condition which are marked by
dark brown staining and deterioration of the enamel. Black civil rights leaders in Georgia campaigned against
water fluoridation due its harmful effects on black children. (See Letter from Andrew Young to Chip Rogers,
Senate Majority Leader, Georgia State Capitol, March 29, 2011.)
Fluoridation chemicals used to make Sarin nerve gas: from The Independent, Sept. 3, 2013: “The Business
Secretary… will today be asked by MPs to explain why a British company was granted export licences for
the dual-use substances for six months in 2012 while Syria’s civil war was raging and concern was rife that
the regime could use chemical weapons….The disclosure of the licences for potassium fluoride and sodium
fluoride, which can both be used as precursor chemicals in the manufacture of nerve gas…” This is the same
sodium fluoride that is listed as an ingredient in Colgate toothpaste, and added to some municipal water
supplies for fluoridation. Paul Connett, a Phd biochemist, demonstrates the math regarding how much candyflavored fluoridated toothpaste is required to kill a small child: e.g. 43% of a Colgate tube for a two year old (at
www.fluoridealert.org). Bottled “Nursery Water” for babies, sold in grocery stores everywhere, also has sodium
fluoride added. According to the Material Safety Data Sheet for Mallinkrodt Chemcials, sodium fluoride has an
“extreme danger” classification, and can be fatal if ingested. (See www.greenmedinfo.com).
6. The sad episode in American history of William Marcus’ firing from, and re-instatement to, the EPA is
documented in the film “Fluoridegate,” available at www.youtube.com. Includes interviews with Marcus.