A new brain study from Harvard (Choi et al. 2015) has prompted Phillipe Grandjean, author of Only One Chance, (Oxford Universtiry Press, 2013) to challenge the spin being used by fluoridation promoters to downplay the studies that have found an association between exposure to fluoride and lowered IQ. This commentary (Mottled fluoride debate) appears on Grandjean’s website (Chemical Brain Drain) and is printed in full below. Grandjean explains that for the children tested,
“Their lifetime exposures to fluoride from drinking water covered the full range allowed in the US. Among the findings, children with fluoride-induced mottling of their teeth – even the mildest forms that appears as whitish specks on the enamel – showed lower performance on some neuropsychological tests. This observation runs contrary to popular wisdom that the enamel effects represent a cosmetic problem only and not a sign of toxicity. At least one of five American children has some degree of mottling of their teeth.” (my emphasis, PC)
I would add that this comment further underlines the “mistake” being perpetrated by the officials at the EPA’s Office of Water who are incorrectly treating severe dental fluorosis as the most sensitive endpoint of fluoride’s toxicity in their risk assessment to determine a safe water goal (the MCLG) for fluoride. The end point of most concern should be lowered IQ.
Grandjean states, “Prevention of chemical brain drain should be considered at least as important as protection against caries.”
This very important commentary from Grandjean has more than justified the nearly 19 years effort by the Fluoride Action Network to draw the world’s attention to fluoride’s neurotoxicity (see www.FluorideAlert.org/issues/