Vox asks 'Should fluoride be in our water?'

I'm resuming my evergreen posts with Vox asking Should fluoride be in our water?

The science isn’t so straightforward.
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RFK, Jr. has put the decades-old debate over water fluoridation back on the table. As Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, he might be the most powerful public health figure in the US who believes we should take fluoride out of our water.

The US has been fluoridating public water systems since 1945, when the children of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and three other cities became the first to experience how fluoridated water can fight tooth decay. Ever since, other municipalities have followed suit. Today, 63 percent of Americans drink fluoridated water from their taps. The US is one of 11 countries worldwide where more than half the population has fluoridated water. Some countries opt for fluoridating salt or milk instead.

Fluoride is essential for our oral health. But there is a growing debate about whether water fluoridation is still necessary now that most toothpaste has fluoride in it. Right now, epidemiologists are looking into whether US water fluoridation doses are safe for developing brains — and how some levels of fluoride in the water may affect child IQ.

Producer and host Laura Bult added the following in the video's pinned comment.

Hello! Something I didn't get into in the video is that part of the difficulty of the science on fluoride is that when it comes to studying its risks, there has never been a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study — the gold standard in science for proving causation. All of the studies we mention in the video are observational. Observational studies are typical in epidemiology when researching something that could be harmful in some doses. But surprisingly, there’s never been this kind of trial on the benefits of water fluoridation, either. The Undark podcast alerted me to the first study of this kind — studying water fluoridation’s benefits — currently underway at the University of North Carolina.

Vox isn't alone in reporting concern about fluoridation. ABC News uploaded Study on fluoride and kids’ IQ levels raises concerns overseas about the study that was published just as Vox was producing its video.

Medical experts warn that the study’s results shouldn’t be a major concern for parents in the U.S.

As both Vox and ABC News pointed out, the levels of fluoride in the study were double that in U.S. drinking water, so the findings don't necessarily apply to Americans. Arizona's Family (3TV/CBS 5) provided more opportunity for dentists to push back in Arizona experts call latest study on fluoride misleading.

A recent study reportedly found a link between high doses of fluoride and lower IQ scores among children, but experts say that's not the whole story.

Concern about fluoridation has historically been the province of cranks and conspiracy theorists, and RFK Jr. is no exception. That written, a stuck clock is still right twice a day, and RFK Jr. is a stuck clock. Those of us who accept science might have to be prepared that this is one of those times, as unlikely as it is. We also have to be prepared that this will encourage him and his anti-science supporters about vaccines, where science and history have repeatedly shown him to be wrong. I don't want this fight, but I'm willing to wage it against RFK Jr. and his supporters, including and especially the ones I needled in I ask The Archdruid and his readers 'Can you show us on the doll exactly where the educated professionals hurt you?' A Festivus airing of grievances. Yes, them, too.

Speaking of science and history, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has compared RFK Jr. to Soviet agronomist Trofim Lysenko, which The Bulwark has picked up. I think that's an apt comparison and one I plan on using in the future. Stay tuned.