“Fluoride, when used in the...prevention of disease in man or animal, is a drug that is subject to Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.”

Sources:

• FDA letter to Congress, Dec 21 2000  [FDA-1963]

• FDA Dec 2001  [FDA-2000a]

 

“Fluoride is no longer considered an essential factor for human growth and development.” 
“The FDA does not list Fluoride as an essential Nutrient.”

Sources:

• National Research Council  [1989]

• Letter from the Food &  Drug Administration, October 1990  [FDA-1990]

 

“The emerging picture from all risk assessments conducted on fluoride is that there exists a narrow margin between the recommended intakes for the prevention of dental caries and the upper limits of exposure.”

Source:

• Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks Critical Review of Any New Evidence on the Hazard Profile, Health Effects, and Human Exposure to Fluoride and the Fluoridating Agents of Drinking Water. [accessed on 22 February 2016]. Available online: http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/environmental_risks/docs/scher_o_139.pdf

“It is important to recognize that a relatively narrow margin of safety may exist for the development of dental fluorosis among children consuming fluoridated drinking water or consuming fluoride supplements.” 

Sources:

• American Academy of Family Physicians
   

• Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks Critical Review of Any New Evidence on the Hazard Profile, Health Effects, and Human Exposure to Fluoride and the Fluoridating Agents of Drinking Water. [accessed on 22 February 2016]. Available online: http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/environmental_risks/docs/scher_o_139.pdf

 

“In light of the collective evidence on various health end-points and total exposure to fluoride, the committee concludes that EPA’s MCLG of 4mg/L should be lowered.”

Source:

• National Research Council; Fluoride in Drinking Water:
  A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards  [2006]
  https://www.nap.edu/catalog/11571/fluoride-in-drinking-water-a-scientific-review-of-epas-standards

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“Virtually all authors have noted that some children could ingest more fluoride from toothpaste alone than is recommended as a total daily fluoride ingestion.”

Sources:

• Levy SM, Guha-Chowdhury N. [1999]. Total fluoride intake and implications for dietary fluoride supplementation. Journal of Public Health Dentistry 59: 211-23.  [Abstract on pubmed]
   

• D.G. Pendrys, J.W. Stamm  [February 1, 1990];
  Relationship of Total Fluoride Intake to Beneficial Effects and Enamel Fluorosis 
  Journal of Dental Research 69(Spec 155):529-538  [JDentRes69-1990] 

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Examples of mild dental fluorosis  – BMC Public Health Study

Sources:

• Peered review Study:  BMC Public Health 201212:366
  “Quantitative light fluorescence (QLF) and Polarized White Light (PWL) assessments of dental fluorosis in an epidemiological setting.”
  http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-12-366
   

• [From the study above]
  “These changes can result in dental fluorosis, which in its mildest forms presents as areas of white striations following the developmental lines of enamel.” 

  • Ref: 5. Thylstrup A, Fejerskov O: Clinical appearance of dental fluorosis in permanent teeth in relation to histologic changes. Commun Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1978, 6 (6): 315-328. 

 

“41 % of American teenagers have some form of fluorosis.”

Source:

• NCHS Data Brief No 53 Nov 2010
  Prevalence and Severity of Dental Fluorosis in the US, 1999-2004 (data)
  https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db53.htm

 

“Fluoride’s predominant effect is posteruptive and topical.”

Source:

• Center for Disease Control (CDC)
  https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5014a1.htm

 

 “We are unaware of data… about the additional protection from tooth decay that could result [from consumption of fluoridated drinking water].”

Source:

• In a May 15, 2012 letter to Senator Barbara Boxer, the CDC wrote: “We are unaware of data . . .  about the additional protection from tooth decay that could result from [intakes greater than 10 micrograms/day of fluoride].” See: www.fluoridealert.org/uploads/cdc-2012.pdf

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 “The optimum fluoride intake for babies under 6 months of age is just 0.1 mg PER DAY.”  

Sources:

• The National Research Council
   

• Most recent reviews on fluoride dosage seem to indicate that “nil” is the consensus on proper dose for infants; http://fluoridealert.org/wp-content/uploads/Infant-Warning-Overview.pdf
   

• Fluoride Supplement Dosage Schedule [2010], Approved by the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs

  • For infants 0-6 months, the schedule indicates “none” as the recommend dosage of fluoride supplements regardless of levels of fluoride in the drinking water, see image below;

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