A CDC Fluoridation spokesperson, dentist William Bailey, told the Fairbanks, Alaska, City Council in 2008 that the CDC doesn't do original fluoride/fluoridation safety research. Instead the CDC relies on many reviews and reports from the US and other countries. Some of the studies Bailey cited actually do not support fluoridation's safety and/or efficacy as he professed: Transcript: https://web.archive.org/web/20080531015347/http://fluoridealert.org/bailey1.html
Legislators rely on government officials and rarely fact-check their testimony. But we did.
Here’s the truth about reports Bailey served up (some still listed on the CDC's website under fluoridation safety):
National Research Council (2006)
This isn’t a fluoridation risk/benefit analysis. It found EPA’s current fluoride maximum-contaminant-level-goal (MCLG) for drinking water is not protective of health and must be lowered. EPA has yet to act upon this recommendation. Several members of the NRC panel believe fluoride's MCLG should be as close to zero as possible. (1)
National Research Council (2006)
This isn’t a fluoridation risk/benefit analysis. It found EPA’s current fluoride maximum-contaminant-level-goal (MCLG) for drinking water is not protective of health and must be lowered. EPA has yet to act upon this recommendation. Several members of the NRC panel believe fluoride's MCLG should be as close to zero as possible. (1)
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (2003)
This report says "… subsets of the population may be unusually susceptible to the toxic effects of fluoride and its compounds…the elderly, people with osteoporosis, people with deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, and/or protein." (2)
University of York, UK (2000)
About this report, the Centre for Review and Dissemination writes “We were unable to discover any reliable good-quality evidence in the fluoridation literature world-wide.”(3)
Lewis and Banting, Canada (1994)
“The effectiveness of water fluoridation alone cannot now be determined,” they write.(4)
New York State Department of Health (1990)
Researchers report that fluoride can be harmful to kidney patients, diabetics and those with fluoride hypersensitivity even at “optimal” levels..
The authors concluded, “…it is currently impossible to draw firm conclusions regarding the independent effect of fluoride in drinking water on caries prevalence using an ecologic study design.”(5)
World Health Organization (2006)
This report, not about fluoridation, documents high levels of natural fluoride causing human bone and teeth malformation in many countries.(6)
Medical Research Council, UK (2002)
This report, not a fluoridation risk/benefit analysis, identifies fluoridation health uncertainties such as total exposure and bone effects.(7)
Institute of Medicine (1999)
Since fluoride is not a nutrient, this report set the adequate intake from all sources to avoid children’s moderate dental fluorosis (discolored teeth) and, also, the upper limit to avoid crippling bone damage -- which the IOM admits “is too high for persons with certain illnesses…”(8)
References:
World Health Organization (2006)
This report, not about fluoridation, documents high levels of natural fluoride causing human bone and teeth malformation in many countries.(6)
Medical Research Council, UK (2002)
This report, not a fluoridation risk/benefit analysis, identifies fluoridation health uncertainties such as total exposure and bone effects.(7)
Institute of Medicine (1999)
Since fluoride is not a nutrient, this report set the adequate intake from all sources to avoid children’s moderate dental fluorosis (discolored teeth) and, also, the upper limit to avoid crippling bone damage -- which the IOM admits “is too high for persons with certain illnesses…”(8)
References:
1) Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards," Committee on Fluoride in Drinking Water, National Research Council, Executive Summary, 2006http://www.nap.edu/nap-cgi/report.cgi?record_id=11571&type=pdfxsum
2) US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Toxicological Profile for Fluorides, Hydrogen Fluordie, and Fluorine, (2003) http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp11.pdf
3) "What the 'York Review' on the fluoridation of drinking water really found," October 28 2003,A statement from the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/fluoridnew.htm
4) Lewis DW, Banting DW. Water fluoridation: current effectiveness and dental fluorosis. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1994;22:153–158 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8070242?ordinalpos=4&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
5) Kaminsky LS, Mahoney MC, Leach J, Melius J, Miller MJ. Fluoride: benefits and risks of exposure. Crit Rev Oral Biol Med. 1990;1:261–281 http://cro.sagepub.com/content/1/4/261.full.pdf+html
6) World Health Organization, "New WHO report tackles fluoride in drinking-water," November 2006 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/new/2006/nw04/en/
8) Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Fluoride: Background Information. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D and Fluoride. Report of the Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes. Washington, DC http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309063507
