Unbelievably, two cities that decided to remove fluoride from their water supply have seen concerning effects on oral health almost 14 years later. Dentist Warren Loeppky emphasizes that tooth decay is becoming a major problem, especially for youngsters. He voiced his worries, adding, ” Seeing a small child suffer always breaks my heart. Dental disease is mostly avoidable, hence it hurts to see young children struggle with eating.”
Many studies have found that fluoride is safe and efficient in lowering tooth decay. But the inclusion of fluoride into public water supplies has generated a lot of discussion both in the United States and elsewhere. While unsubstantiated worries about fluoride causing bone cancer persist, critics have expressed concerns over possible adverse effects, including tooth discoloration.
The Calgary City Council of Canada decided 2011 to cut fluoride from its water source. Lindsay McLaren, a fluoride studies expert, later carried out some unexpected investigations. About two thousand second-graders were polled seven years after Calgary’s water’s fluoride was removed. According to the findings, shockingly, 65 percent of these children had developed dental decay.
In Edmonton, a city still fluorinating its water, just 55 percent of second-graders experienced similar problems to put this into perspective. “Calgary kids are now far worse off in terms of dental health than their peers in Edmonton,” McLaren said.
This pattern isn’t exclusive to Calgary. Local officials in Juneau, Alaska, stopped fluoridation several years ago, and the results were equally alarming. After fluoride was removed from the water system, expert Jennifer Meyer and her colleagues discovered that the number of dental procedures needed to cure tooth decay in children under six years old skyrocketed.
These results emphasize the possible effects of fluoride’s absence from public water systems and beg significant issues regarding its function in preserving tooth health. The consequences for children’s dental health remain a major issue as societies work through these challenges.
Meyer added, “when politicians decide to deny access to a proven public health measure like fluoridation, they are basically placing an invisible tax on the health of everyone in their state or community.”
Despite alarming numbers, some people are pushing for the elimination of fluoride from drinking water. According to a recent evaluation set for 2024, children’s IQ scores may suffer if water with more than 1.5 mg of fluoride per liter is consumed.
Juneau does not yet have fluoride in her water source. By contrast, Calgary restored fluoride in 2021 following a political vote, reflecting a change in public health policy.
Meyer noted, “More people favored restoring fluoride than those who voted for the mayor. Public health wins this one-handed. But America is moving into an alarming period“.
In March Utah made news when it became the first state in the US to entirely ban fluoridation. This difficult issue still causes great debates on the right course of action for community health among many local governments all around the country.
Communities should evaluate the scientific findings against popular opinion given the well-accepted benefits of fluoridation—such as a significant reduction in dental decay, which affects over 20% of children aged 5 to 11. The health and well-being of the following generations depend much on continuous discussions.