Most Massachusetts residents have fluoride in drinking water. Is it really good for us?
NEWBURYPORT – Linda Paulhus adds a substance to each glass of water, because she’s hyper conscious about what she drinks. “It alters the molecular structure of water,” the 81-year-old Newburyport resident tells WBZ.
Would she ever drink a glass straight from the sink? “Never,” she says.
Why? Paulhus has spent the last 39 years fighting to get fluoride removed from Newburyport’s drinking water.
“Targeted as conspiracy theorists”
She writes letters to local newspapers, speaks up at community meetings, and personally, uses non-fluoridated dental products because she believes fluoride is poison. At a recent community meeting, “we were more or less targeted as conspiracy theorists,” she said.
Paulhus’s beliefs come from a number of studies – many debunked or rejected by medical experts – that suggest that fluoride could lead to neurological issues for children.
Her beliefs are now in the mainstream. On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified in front of Congress as he fought to be confirmed as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services federally. Kennedy has, on multiple occasions, suggested that fluoridated water causes neurological issues in kids.
AAP questions NIH report
Earlier this year, the National Institutes of Health’s toxicology program determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The federal agency based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has questioned the validity of the NIH’s report, saying other reviews have come to different conclusions about fluoride’s risks and benefits. The AAP is among the expert groups that continue to recommend using fluoride toothpaste, in combination with fluoridated water, to protect teeth from cavities.
“I do think that it’s dangerous to have people at the highest levels of government, spreading mis and disinformation,” said Dr. Robbie Goldstein, the Commissioner of Public Health in Massachusetts. “My dad is a dentist,” he explained. “I grew up with fluoride in my water, in my toothpaste, and in my vocabulary.” Goldstein says criticism of fluoride comes from flawed studies and misinformation. For 75 years, he said, the state’s health department has recognized its benefits to prevent tooth decay in children.
Fluoridated drinking water in Massachusetts
Whether to add fluoride to tap water is a local decision left to municipalities. About 62% of Massachusetts residents live in a town with fluoridated drinking water. Many who don’t have fluoridated water have well water instead.
“Community water fluoridation has been considered like a holy grail in dentistry,” explained Dr. Athanasios Zavras, a Delta Dental of Massachusetts Professor of Public Health and Community Service at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and the chair of the school’s department of Public Health and Community Service. “It’s one of the most successful public health interventions because it’s so effective. It protects everyone.”
Research shows that adding the optimal level of fluoride to drinking water – 0.7 mg/L – benefits dental health, he explained. “We know even Massachusetts communities that are not fluoridated have almost 50% higher MassHealth claims… Meaning utilization of dental care for children,” he said. “The question to ask is, do we know if the optimum level has any neurotoxic effects? And it in fact does not,” he said.
Water fluoridation became a politically contested issue back in the 1950s. In Worcester, for example, fluoridated water has been rejected four times by voters, most recently in 2001.
In Newburyport, the currently fluoridated water is back up for debate. A public comment meeting is scheduled for early March before the Board of Health meeting on March 20th.
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