Thread by @DrLimeback

June is #OralHealthMonth.
Oral health's important but don't push #fluoridation.
It saves maybe 1 dental cavity after many years adding extra #fluoride to drinking water.
The evidence of harm from this practice is now overwhelming.
Post a study-I'll start
#IsSaving1CavityWorth.

Can #fluoridation be fatal?
It sure can be.
A study recently published showed increased fluoride in drinking water increased hip fractures in post-menopausal older women.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth Grandma breaking her hip and dying? (survival is low after hip fractures in old age).

Can #fluoridation be fatal?
Yup. Here's another example. A fluoridation overfeed accident killed a truck driver in Ontario Canada involved in a pile up on the highway when he was doused in fluoridation chemical.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth Ian Melville's life?

Can #fluoridation be fatal?
It sure can be when there are accidental overfeeds.
It happened in Hooper Bay Alaska. One person died.
In Chicago, 3 patients on dialysis died from F overdose.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth people dying from fluoridation accidents?

OK, next we look at making babies. Adding #fluoride to drinking water has been suspected of interfering with reproduction. There are several studies showing that. Here's one.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth not being able to have babies, a decline in fertility?

Hey guys-worried about not being able to father kids? Your sperm just not up to it? It could be the #fluoride in the drinking water. I have just the study for you to read.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth not being able to father a child?

Yay. Success. Now you're a happy couple expecting a baby.
Did you know that prenatal #fluoride is linked to lowered IQ when your child is growing up?
Fluoride from #fluoridation is now consider as toxic as lead in water.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth lowering the IQ of your child?

Prenatal #fluoride is also linked to an increase in ADHD in your child later in life.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth your child having problems in school due to ADHD?

Pregnant moms know to avoid drinking alcohol when they are pregnant. But they should know that ingesting too much #fluoride e.g. drinking fluoridated water, dark tea, will hurt their developing babies.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth injuring your developing baby?

Wow. #Fluoridation was only supposed to affect just teeth. Didn't expect negative affects on developing babies. Now there's a study that the baby's weight & length are changed as #fluoride intake increases.
What the hell?
#IsSaving1CavityWorth changing your baby's weight/shape?

So now the baby's born. You're happy about the weight/length. What next? Breast feeding if possible. But for whatever reason, mom decides to use formula. DON'T use fluoridated tap water to make it. Why? Postnatal #fluoride can hurt your child's brain.

Breast milk is naturally very, VERY low in #fluoride. That's to protect the growing baby. Fluoride is toxic to humans, especially developing brains.
The daily dose/kg from formula is HUGE (>140X) in babies & toxic to brain cells.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth injuring your baby's brain?

The @CdnDentalAssoc says limit #fluoride ingestion in babies. This is impossible if #fluoridated tap water is used to reconstitute infant formula. What happens? Dental #fluorosis!
Permanent disfiguration of adult teeth.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth up to $20,000 to fix the damage?

Worried your child will develop intellectually OK & cope in today's world? Check the adult teeth. If there are white spots, it's most likely dental #fluorisis =huge dental bills.
But how do you fix your kid's damaged brain?
#IsSaving1CavityWorth the #fluoride damage in your kid?

On a population basis, saving 1 dental cavity with #fluoridation is such a small savings compared to the expense of fixing dental fluorosis.
The harm >> benefits.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth permanently damaging so many young adult smiles?
It's more than just cosmetic damage!

Studies now show that low levels of daily #fluoride intake delay puberty in boys.
Not nice for your son to watch their buddies grow into young men, and your son is still at the little boy stage.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth boys developing more slowly sexually than the other boys?

So your child has white or orange spots on his front teeth? It's from too much #fluoride intake from birth to age 6.
What's it called?
It's called dental #fluororis (DF).
Here's another study linking DF to lowered IQ.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth lowered IQ in your 12 yr old child?

Can Americans avoid #fluoridation? Nope. 75% of US is fluoridated (+ some regions have natural fluoride). Fluoride is higher in the blood stream of most Americans, increasing damage to human tissues.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth increasing toxic fluoride in most American blood streams?

Is your daughter a little overweight? Consider #fluoridation contributing to the problem.
Can't be you say? Guess again.
There's a study for that too.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth obese girls?

Is dental #fluorosis from #fluoridation a risk for more than lowered IQ or ⬆️ADHD? Yup. Kids with kidney damage had higher fluorosis rates. Failing kidneys cause ⬆️ serum fluoride & ⬆️ fluorosis. Alternatively, F makes kidney damage worse.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth kidney damage?

Have you got #IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease)?
Consider stopping drinking #fluoridated water.
This study linked an increase in IBD to #fluoridation.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth ruined bowel function & not being able to venture too far out away from a toilet?

Those families with 1 or more teens embarrassed about the appearance of #fluorotic teeth know it'll cost dearly to fix the problem.
It took a Chinese research team to use US data to show most American teens have #fluorosis.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth all this fluorosis in the USA?

In 2006 we examined carefully how low daily dose of #fluoride affects bone health. See nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11571/…. Elise Bassin's study should worry every parent. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16596294/
#IsSaving1CavityWorth your son dying from bone cancer?

As bone accumulates #fluoride from #fluoridation it becomes more brittle. This is well established. Our Toronto-Montreal fluoridation and bone study showed changes in bone biomechanics. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20858781/
#IsSaving1CavityWorth brittle bones and hip fracture?

Worsening arthritis can be the result of #fluoridation because #fluoride can kill cartilage cells.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth lifelong sore joints, the first stage of skeletal fluorosis.

Aging is difficult when the body fails.
#fluoride negatively affects teeth, bones, developing brains, kidneys, endocrine glands etc.
It ALSO hurts eyes.
Cataract surgery is common in old age.
Fluoride contributes to cataracts.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth needing eye operations??

Fluoride freely crosses the blood-brain barrier. Lifelong increased #fluoride intake means higher exposure to brains cells.
Fluoride is toxic to brain cells.
Lifelong exposure to #fluoridated water may contribute to Alzheimer's disease.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth losing your memory?

Someone retweeted a 2019 tweet from me that applies even today, except we have more research studies. I was thinking #FetalFluorideSyndrome would be recognized by now as a real syndrome like fetal alcohol syndrome (now Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder- #FASD). Takes time I guess.

Where did I get #IsSaving1CavityWorth? There isn't even a single RCT or randomized controlled trial (standard for drug approval: by definition, fluoride is a drug because it treats human disease-not water). OK, there are some v. weak studies. Let's look at them. 1st this pyramid

THE most common strategy of community water #fluoridation (CWF) pushers: use 'relative % reduction'. In my textbook (wow, now 10 yrs old) I showed what that means in terms of actual dental cavities prevented.
16 yrs CWF = 1 cavity saved in kids <16 yrs. #IsSaving1CavityWorth

No RCTs? The respected Cochrane Library did a review of non-randomized, non-blinded before & after clinical studies anyway. They found only 3 modern studies, then mixed very old studies with new ones to come up with relative reduction (for kids only). Yikes
#IsSaving1CavityWorth

The problem with modern #fluoridation effectiveness studies is that they are not RCTs.
None of the published studies have controlled for all the potential confounders.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth
E.g. this study

Gary Slade previously showed MAYBE one less tooth decayed in Australia after a lifetime of #fluoridation.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth
The claim $1 spent on #fluoridation saves $38 in dental costs is a lie.

If #fluoridation studies were done correctly (eg RCTs) they'd be double-blinded. None were. The claimed relative reduction of 25% in dental decay can actually be explained by not blinding the subjects or the examiners in ANY of the studies.
So does CWF work?
#IsSaving1CavityWorth

In the last 100 yrs there's been a worldwide decline in dental decay. When #fluoridation-CWF was introduced in the 40's it was before all the other major advances in Preventive Dentistry,
#IsSaving1CavityWorth
Today we can't expect more than 1 cavity saved over a lifetime of CWF.

Dr. Steven Levy dentistry.uiowa.edu/directory/stev… has been awarded multi-millions of $ in NIH grants to try to prove #fluoridation is beneficial.
He couldn't find significant benefits.
Here are just some of his group's studies.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth

The often cited Juneau Alaska Medicaid dental study
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
had many weaknesses.
The claims of saving dental decay even in the most vulnerable was exaggerated.
No benefit to kids > 7 yrs of age.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth

Most sources of drinking water already contain natural #fluoride.
There are no studies that adding extra fluoride (phosphate fertilizer smokestack residue) to 0.6 ppm helps reduce dental decay.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth
There's a Danish study, though, that shows 0.2 ppm is optimum.

CWF (Community Water #Fluoridation) pushers claim it reduces day surgeries for rampant dental decay.
That's not supported by the literature.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth
Not 1 study proves fluoridation helps.

Calgarians (#yyc) were misled by dentists testifying at public hearings: exaggerated increased cavities from ending #fluoridation.
The claims of increased hospitalizations after ending CWF were false & unscientific too.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth
CWF would not benefit kids like this.

In 🇨🇦 hospitalizations of children for dental problems after #fluoridation ended in '11 in Calgary (#yyc) actually declined. The same thing happened in Windsor when fluoridation ended in '13. Yet in both cities they were told it increased. Those were lies.
#IsSaving1CavityWorth

The most cited study re: the consequences of ending #fluoridation was by L. McLaren. The study made headlines all over the world, exaggerating the effects of ending #fluoridation. Media outlets failed to report she later admitted she couldn't prove anything!
#IsSaving1CavityWorth

Now >40 tweets. Lots of studies. Does anyone have their fav study to add? @threadreaderapp does a great 'unroll" job. Thank you. You can even download a pdf file. Tell me where I'm wrong. I have a thick skin after 30 years of fighting #fluoridation pushers. #IsSaving1CavityWorth