Recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed his plans to: Recommends U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public waters. As someone expected to influence the incoming administration's public health policy, his comments sparked a huge debate over the risks and benefits of fluoride in drinking water.
of The history of fluorine begins in 1901 When a dentist noticed that his patients in Colorado Springs, Colorado, often had brown stains on their teeth, they were less likely to have cavities, a discovery he and colleagues later discovered naturally contaminated in seawater. I understand that this is due to high levels of fluoride. rock and soil. Over the next 40 years, research on the issue showed that adding fluoride to drinking water Prevents many cavities And it's good for your dental health.
[Since1945[1945年以来、Grand Rapids, Michigan was the first city. There is a movement around the world to add fluoride to public drinking water, and water fluoridation has become an inexpensive strategy that has helped people in communities across the country.
Preventing cavities has many benefits beyond avoiding pain and the cost of a dental visit. Add cavity billions of dollars each year Medical costs may increase and risks such as: heart disease Later in life, this results in premature death.
Currently, about two-thirds people living in the usa Use water that contains fluoride. The addition of fluoride to water systems is therefore one of the great public health achievements of recent years. But new research is raising important questions about the safety of fluoride.
new the study Fluoride has been shown to affect the fetal brain during pregnancy. Many of the studies were from countries outside the United States, and fluoride exposure among pregnant women in Canada was associated with: Children between the ages of 3 and 4 have low IQ.. Similarly, fluoride intake among pregnant women in Mexico was associated with: low IQ, Increase in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorderand Decline in brain function Among children aged 6 to 12 years.
Finally, new article A paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that fluoride intake among pregnant women living in the United States was associated with nearly twice the odds of developing behavioral problems in preschool children.
Many questions remain. How much fluoride is safe for pregnant women and their babies? At what age do the effects of fluoride occur? Policy makers are trying to understand the benefits of preventing tooth decay, which can lead to serious infections and death, and the benefits of preventing tooth decay that can lead to serious infections and death. How can and should we weigh the risks of brain function decline?
Many of these questions remain unanswered, but the debate over water fluoridation has become dangerously politicized. This division is similar to past debates over mandatory vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic. And just like COVID-19, the science surrounding fluoride in water is changing.
This means that more research is likely to be done on how fluoride affects infant brains, and we may need to change our perspective again. But now we have mounting evidence that things that once seemed very safe may be harming children, and we need an election to address this issue. must rely on elected officials.
The fact that chemicals can harm children is not new. Skin care products marketed to children include harmful compounds Just recently, this year. Lead-based paints and gasoline were widely used until it became clear that lead caused learning problems. Cough suppressants were prescribed to young children for decades until studies showed they were not very effective. serious side effects.
You cannot expect to avoid all dangerous chemicals. But we can and must review the science and change public policy as soon as possible. Public health officials, policy makers, scientists, and community health activists need to work together to decide whether and how much to add fluoride to water.
Effective dialogue depends on trust. Policy makers and public health officials must trust each other and be trusted by the public. But trust in medical and public health institutions was another issue. Victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Restoring that trust is difficult, but framing public health issues along political battle lines makes it even more difficult, if not impossible, to gain the trust of people with different political persuasions. Further research is needed to understand the risks and benefits of adding fluoride to drinking water. A calm and balanced dialogue is urgently needed for the health of children.
Lao Tzu Alan Blitz, MD, MPH, is a pediatrician and adult medicine specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School. Jeffrey D. Klausner, MD, MPH, is a professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He is a former CDC medical employee.
