WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – The Wausau Water Works Commission met on Tuesday morning to discuss the effects of fluoride in drinking water as the city looks at the possibility of removing it.
During the meeting, a presentation was provided by Dr. Griffin Cole, a biologic dentist with over 20 years of experience in mercury-safe dentistry, who spoke about the issue of the effects fluoride can have on the body during the meeting, cited studies from organizations such as the CDC that found that high levels of fluoride in drinking water can cause health issues such as dental fluorosis (tooth discoloration) and skeletal fluorosis (bone damage and osteoporosis).
“New Hampshire and Vermont, two states with the lowest childhood tooth decay in the country, are two of the least fluoric places, and if you look at these areas like Washington D.C. which is 100% fluoridated they have a very high 60% tooth decay rate as does Kentucky at a 99.% fluoridated rate,” Dr. Cole said during the presentation.
Fluoride and ten other industrial chemicals, including lead, arsenic, toluene, and methylmercury, were identified in 2014 as neurotoxins that may be harmful to a child’s development. In addition to cardiovascular difficulties, high blood pressure, myocardial damage, cardiac insufficiency, and heart failure, fluoride exposure has also been connected to reproductive problems, including early puberty and decreased fertility in girls.
The American Dental Association (ADA) asserts that fluoride in water is beneficial to communities because it is a safe and effective naturally occurring mineral that can reduce tooth decay by 20 to 40 percent, according to a 2015 Cochrane review. The study also found that fluoride use reduces the number of decayed, missing, or filled baby teeth in children by 35 percent and that the proportion of children with no decay in their permanent teeth rose by 14 percent.
The recommended fluoride level for avoiding tooth decay, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), is 0.7 ppm, or 0.7 milligrams (mg) per liter of water. The previous figure, which was in effect from 1962 to 2015, was 1.2 ppm.
The commission took no action on the topic during Tuesday’s session and will meet again on January 7th to discuss it further.
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