Benefits of adding fluoride to water may be waning, new research suggests

NBC- The widespread use of toothpaste and mouthwashes with added fluoride in recent decades appears to have diminished the known public health benefits of water fluoridation, a new study suggests.

But it would be a mistake for municipalities to interpret the findings as a reason to pull back on adding the cavity-fighting mineral to their water systems, researchers said.

“There’s no evidence to suggest that where water fluoridation programs are in place, that they should necessarily be stopped,” said Anne-Marie Glenny, a co-author of the study and a professor of health sciences research at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Hundreds of U.S. communities, from Amery, Wisconsin, to Union County, North Carolina, are opting out of water fluoridation. City leaders often cite medical freedom as a reason, saying it should be up to voters, not governments, to decide what is and what isn’t added to the municipal water supply. Groups opposed to fluoride also raise concerns that it may affect children’s IQ levels.

Just last month, a federal judge in California ruled that even though he couldn’t conclude with certainty that fluoridated water was a danger to public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should strengthen water fluoridation regulations. more here