Fluoride has been an ally in the fight against bad teeth since 1945.
However, some pregnant women and children may be getting more fluoride than they need because they’re getting it from so many sources, according to a review of published scientific literature by the National Toxicology Program.
In addition to public drinking water, fluoride can be found in water-added foods and beverages, teas, toothpaste, floss and mouthwash.
NTP, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, began studying its effects in 2016.
It has found that high fluoride levels are quote, “consistently associated with lower IQ in children.”
High levels of fluoride are considered to be those with at least 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter.
Past suggestions that the government's effort to prevent tooth decay could have side effects were often written off or dismissed, according to several news outlets including Blaze Media.
Rosemary Stein, M.D. works at International Family Clinic, a pediatric practice in Burlington, North Carolina.
She said she was surprised to see this study, as she's sure most people were.
But she noted the dentist's chair is not the only place where people are exposed to fluoride.
"I'd like to know how long they had been looking at this information because it left, I think, all of us with more questions than what they had answered because if fluoride leads to lower IQs, and we all are getting our fair share of fluoridated water, then I guess we all have lower IQs."
The review was designed to evaluate total fluoride exposure from all sources and was not designed to evaluate health effects of fluoridated drinking water alone. Data was insufficient to determine if the low fluoride level of 0.7 milligrams per liter, which is currently recommended for U.S. community water supplies, has a negative effect on children’s IQ, the NTP said.
Stein said her daughter, who often received fluoride treatments growing up, is now in medical school.
‘Whenever she was at the clinic, which she was raised partially at the clinic, she had her fair share of fluoridated water because the clinic is in the city. I don't know how to think that maybe her IQ could have been better had I not done those things, but all in all, I mean I think she turned out pretty well, and I'm sure that that's the experience that most people will have.”
Stein mentioned a fluoride treatment called the fluoride stain. She said they see a far decreased number of cavities in patients who get it.
So ultimately, she said it comes down to an individual decision from parents. What is more important to you? Would parents choose a treatment to help prevent cavities in children or possibly preserving a higher IQ score?
Other possible culprits
Chances are that fluoride isn’t the main culprit if an IQ is less than desirable.
"I don't think that anybody should be greatly alarmed. There are so many other reasons for it: nutrition, environment, too much time spent on electronics, to be worried that fluoride is one of the causes,” Stein said.
Fluoride likely shouldn’t make anyone’s top 10 list of IQ impediments, Stein said, a child’s mental ability and potential are too important to not take the study seriously.
Most bottled water brands have lower levels of detectable fluoride. That could be an option, Stein said.
“Our children need as much help as they can get, so if there's something that decreases their cognitive abilities, I think that we should consider taking them off the list,” she said.
