Fluoride in the Water Isn't Going to Hurt You

CORRECTION at 0:29. The text should read, "...people who were exposed to high levels of fluoride had a standardized mean difference in IQ scores which was lower by 0.45 points..."

Every once in a while chain emails or Facebook posts make their way back into prominence. It happened last year with HPV killing girls. Recently, it seems to be Fluoride. A number of you have been forwarding me a post from last year which features a meta-analysis published a few years ago on Fluoride and IQ. So let's talk about Fluoride!


John Green -- Executive Producer
Stan Muller -- Director, Producer
Aaron Carroll -- Writer
Mark Olsen -- Graphics

[erikvanvelzen]

I don't see the point of putting it in the water supply when it's both more effective and less wasteful to put it in toothpaste.

My teeth may need fluoride but my skin, car and lawn surely do not.

And you avoid any controversy because you don't ingest it.

[tetsubo]

I predict that this video will not change the mind of a single person.

[carlhays]

This guy has never read "The Case Against Fluoride" by Paul Connett, et al. It pretty much demolishes all the pro-fluoride propaganda, and it's written by an expert in environmental toxicology, as well as including references to hundreds of peer reviewed studies. He also doesn't know the meaning of the term "good scientific studies." The York review and other scientific reviews, including one from the Cochrane Collaboration, shows that most fluoride supporting research is of poor quality. For instance, there's never been a randomized controlled double blind study proving drinking fluoridated water even works. Simply using the term "optimal fluoride" levels is a big red flag. Are there water police monitoring how much fluoride we consume? There is a wide variation in how much water people drink. Athletes, kidney disease patients, diabetics, construction workers, thyroid patients (like myself) drink far more water than the so-called "optimal" amount of 1 liter per day, which contains the "optimal" amount of fluoride. So the "optimal fluoride" meme the pro-fluoride lobby tosses around is, and has always been, pure nonsense.

[unseenabyss]

The toothpaste tube says if i swollow more than a small glob... I'm poisoned and should call poison control... what's the allowed concentration of floride in toothpaste as apposed to how much is in our water?

[ctraver]

I've had a comment on my blog claiming that flouride was the primary cause of cognitive dissonance.  Among other things.

[lucillecawthra]

notice how he doesnt mention the concentration of flouride required to impare the pineal gland in the brain. funny how that is.

[Josue-xdru]

The real question is why does our government want flouride so bad in our water in the first place?? its not like they care about our dental health 😂 if anything it would benefit them more if we had decaying teeth, and one thing to remember is that the same people who did these studies are the same people who tell us that GMO's are safe

[Biohalomonster]

"In point of fact, fluoride causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster than any other chemical."Dean Burk
Congressional Record 21 July 1976

[eloiseb]

Meanwhile, back in 2008 over 600 scientists and doctors were lobbying against fluoride and I'd like to know how many are now. Oh but you have 113 studies to support that fluoride is safe, even though it's been proven to destroy the body? Who did you sell out to boy?

[joshafool]

but why consume it? i brush my teeth, use mouth wash and floss. justify why i would want to drink fluoride. not saying its bad for me just asking why should i drink something that should be put on my teeth.

also can we follow the money here? who is the manufacturer of all this fluoride. every water supply in north america sounds like a big contract that id like to hold onto if i was the manufacturer of fluoride. 

and what about my pets and my lawn/plants?
 
with access to cheap dental products in north america why are we still putting fluoride in our watter?

[TheRoyJames]

Indoctrination does not equal education. As we can see here, this man repeats what he's heard from others and has not done any independent research. Forcing medication on the populous through drinking water is absolutely unethical.

[alexis]

regardless of how you feel about fluoride, don’t you think it’s unethical to put it in the drinking water? those defending the safety of this product are missing the point. medicating the american public through drinking water is a bizarre notion that should not be defended. if you want fluoride in YOUR diet, you are welcome to take it as a supplement.

[davidgreen]

There is a mistake repeated in this video that the meta-analysis showed a .45 IQ point drop. It actually showed a drop of .45 of a standard deviation, which is about 7 IQ points. Unfortunately the NY Times has defended fluoridation with a link to this video and, so far, neither they nor this doctor seem inclined to correct the error.

[jonathanlehmann]

As a chemist, it was almost painful to read the comment section. Kudos to the rational people on here explaining the difference between HF, F-, and SiF6^2-.

[alexsmith]

If fluoride was so good for people, you wouldn't have to force them to drink it. They would happily pay for it.

If LSD was that bad for people, you wouldn't have to put people in jail for having it. People would refuse to do it.

[blanknone]

You said it yourself, toothpaste is more than enough fluoride to keep teeth strong and healthy. Then why put it in the water supply? Would you drink your sunscreen lotion? Besides that, am I supposed to believe that the government cares that much about my teeth when the government ignores much bigger problems. It’s not adding up.

[gregbernard]

Fluoride "eats" the cell membrane of bacteria because it contain the most-reactive element Fluorine. Sometimes, it contain 5 atoms of Fluorine that want to get the last electron needed to have a full valence shell.
Fluoride comes in many forms that are chemical different. It also likes to bond with positively charged Aluminum.
Fluoride is even used to get aluminum out of bauxite ores.

[sweetlorikeet]

A lot of improvement could be made in society if more people ignored chain emails.

[markstewart]

WOW....this guy really wants me to drink Fluoride.

Is it ok if I say, "no thanks"?

MAYBE, people don't want to be forced.

[RubberTrampsReviews]

Who is doing these studies, and who is funding them ?