Mancuso:  Mancuso, who recently served as chairman of a committee appointed by the town of Natick, Massachusetts, to examine the evidence and decide whether Natick should fluoridate its water.  The committee as stated in its report, "reached the firm conclusion that the risks of overexposure to fluoride far outweigh any current benefit of water fluoridation."

Dr.Weil:  Weil is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and the author of several best-selling books about natural healing.
He is director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
 

On the subject of the fluoridation of public water:

Mancuso:  "...after three months of diligent study by five qualified and objective scientists, we arrived at a unanimous and emphatic opinion that fluoridation is unwarranted today.  Our conclusions were based primarily on the fact that there is essentially no difference in the incidence of dental cavities in fluoridated and unfluoridated communities and on the fact that the evidence suggests that there are a number of very deleterious side effects which result from fluoridation."

Weil:  "I think that fluoride supplementation, both topical and systemic, is of great benefit to young children and that it makes and enormous difference in the rate of dental cavities.  This seems just very obvious looking at kids today compared to kids when I was growing up.  I believe fluoride is the chief reason for this difference.....I do not think there is evidence that fluoride supplementation is beneficial for adults....
    ...there is a risk-to-benefit ratio that has to be looked at and I think that the dose range at which fluoride is given is crucial.  There is no question that in not-very-high doses of fluoride can be toxic, but I think there is a low-dose range in which it is beneficial....if it (fluoridation) is not producing benefits for people out of childhood, is the risk that is then produced by putting it in public water something that we should be concerned about?  I am certainly open to that possibility.

On the subject of the risks found in his (Mancuso) research:

"As for the risks, children, for one thing, are going to be subjected to dental fluorosis, which is going to be anywhere from two to five times more prevalent, for example, in the children in Natick as a result of fluoridation.  It is a question of going from approximately 5 to 6 percent now, to between 10 and 30 percent.  This is what we estimate based upon past experience in other communities.  Approximately 1 percent of the total population of children will have moderate to sever dental fluorosis.

The first thing that happens in fluorosis is you notice very white spots which apparently do not reflect light....it doesn't reflect light because it is the porosity that we are looking at.    The light is scattered instead of reflected because the enamel is not there.  In worse cases,...where there is a very high fluoride concentration naturally (as in Colorado Springs), many of the people there have tremendously low levels of cavities and their teeth are very strong.  Sometime around middle age, however, they fall out.

It has been determined that fluoride adversely affects the central nervous system, which causes behavioral changes and cognitive deficits in subjects.  These effects are observed at doses that occur widely in the United States,....

There is also good evidence that fluoride is a developmental neurotoxicant, which manifest as lower IQ and behavioral changes.  Now clearly, here is a substantial area where research needs to be done before we willy-nilly rush about adding fluoride to an environment that already has an abundance of fluoride from other sources.

In older people, there is a positive correlation between water fluoridation and increased hip fracture in people 65 years of age and older.  This is based on two epidemiological studies, one of which is very extensive, amounting to somewhere on the order of 700,000 individuals.

Another recent study of the impact of fluoride on human reproduction raises serious concern.  It showed a correlation between decreasing annual fertility rate and increasing levels of fluoride in drinking water....( he indicates the ability of fluoride to inhibit testosterone synthesis)."

Weil responds to the risks Manusco sited:

" Some of those risks are purely speculative.   For instance, there is a question as to whether there is, ...a decline in sperm production around the world.  If that is documented, there could be any number of causes for it.  The usual cause put forward is an increasing pollution of the environment from all sorts of chemicals.  So that needs to be tested; that is just a hypothesis.  We don't know.

The other question I have is about the dose relationship of all these effects. Is there a dose of fluoride that produces dental benefits which is below the dose that may increase the risk of the other problems?  And even if there isn't, the question remains of how the benefits of fluoridation stack up against the risks."

Weil discusses his opinion of how fluoridation and fluoride supplementation might benefit growing children who are prone to dental cavities:

"Let me give my personal opinion on this.  I grew up in the 1940's and '50's...before fluoride was available....  I have a mouthful of cavities and fillings....I look at kids today,... who grow up eating plenty of sugar and not in any other way changing their habits, who have not a single cavity.  That is primarily attributable, I believe, to fluoride supplementation.  I think if I were given the choice of that benefit and the possibility, an unknown possibility, of an increase of deficit in IQ, or of a possible hip fracture in later life, I would go for  the fluoride, even if those risks were known.  I would because I know what the alternative is.

I am totally convinced of the benefits of fluoride supplementation, and I recommend it to pregnant women in the latter part of pregnancy because I think at that time it can have a maximal effect on the developing teeth in the fetus and in early childhood.  I  think the benefits of fluoride supplementation greatly outweigh the risks in developing teeth, especially if you get the dose right."

Mancuso replies to Weil's opinions:

"First of all, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend any fluoride supplements for women in pregnancy.  And, in fact, they don't even recommend fluoride supplements for children under the age of six months at all, period, regardless of the fluoridation status of the community water supply there.  And their recommendations for children under the age of three have been reduced markedly, primarily, I believe, as a result of recognizing the fact that fluoride has become pandemic in the world.

The other fact I want to bring up is that your arguments ignore the evidence that says that there is no essential difference between the dental health of children in fluoridated as opposed to unfluoridated communities.  This is something that has been raised not only by the antifluoridationists, but also by research that has been published and largely sponsored by the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) and the U.S. Public Health Service, groups that would hardly be classified as antifluoridationist."

Weil rallies back:

"Well, how do you explain this day-and-night difference in the children of the '50's and those of today?"

Mancuso replies:
" That's the point! You say it is a day-and-night difference.  It's not.

We're talking about fifty years ago and I think there are  a number of factors that could be raised here.  For example, nobody wants to consider that there is research which suggests that the prevalence of dental caries was declining rapidly before fluoridation even started.

None of the research took into account the following information:  the widespread enhanced standard of living, the increased consumption of dairy products, recognition of proper dental hygiene, widespread use of antibiotics, and certainly an increased awareness for the benefits of vitamins and nutritional supplements.  There has been substantial research showing that the prevalence of dental caries was decreasing rapidly before fluoride was introduced as a dental regimen."

...Another issue that never seems to be raised is that a number of individuals who brush two or three times a day, floss every night, who take all sorts of good care of their teeth, just don't have good teeth.  But we don't have any of the research in place to be able to know who has bad teeth, who doesn't have bad teeth, what effect does it have.

Going back to the 1940's and '50s there were ten-year programs of various research that were supposed to have been undertaken in sister cities in both New York state and in Michigan.  At the end of five years, everybody was so enthralled about getting on the fluoride bandwagon that the rest of the experiments, the long-term experiments that should have been followed up and should have continued to have been followed up on, were abandoned.

People have said that fluoridation is the greatest controlled experiment that ever took place.  But in point of fact, it was almost totally uncontrolled.  Any good scientist does not publish his paper before he has done the research.  But that is really what has been done.  And now so many government agencies have gotten on the bandwagon of supporting fluoridation that there is now a severe energy barrier for these people to turn around and say, 'Let's stop and before we fluoridate any more, let's make sure that what we were doing is really right.' "
 
 

The question is asked  about data  showing what some of the immunological or neurological effects might be, and possible long term effects of fluoridation (fluorosis)

Mancuso:  "Well, there certainly is no shortage of hypotheses.  That's the problem.  One of the real difficulties is that an awful lot of research that ought to be funded is not being funded.  There have been speculations about cancer-producing aspects of fluoride and for all of the speculation, there has never been a widespread study of this.

Depending upon where you get your figures, somewhere between a half and two-thirds of the population in the United States is served by fluoridated public water supplies and one would think that the experience of these communities would be able to provide some information about this.  But unfortunately, a lot of that information is only marginally useful because, again, the proper controls were never implemented."

Weil:  (Essentially agrees)

Dr. Andrew Weil's final thoughts:  "  I am certainly not a proponent of fluoridation of public water supplies.  I think it exposes adults to possible risks.  It may increase the total fluoride load that people are getting on top of other sources and it doesn't give people a choice about what they do there.

My personal feeling based on the literature that I have reviewed is that there are benefits to fluoride supplementation for developing teeth and that if fluoride is given in appropriate dosages in the appropriate way at the appropriate time, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks."

Norman Mancuso's final thoughts:  "My position is that there are just too many potentially negative effects of fluoridation to justify its continued use in any community.  I feel that fluoridation is unwarranted.  Those people who wish to receive fluoride, I believe, are going to receive a good percentage of what their body requires (if such a thing can even be spoken of)  by their normal dietary activity.  Certainly for those who want to avail themselves of supplements, fluoride supplement tablets can be made available as cheaply as the cost of water fluoridation."

The debate may be found in its entirety in the magazine Natural Health, April-May 1998
 

We urge you, as parents, to contact your local water supply to find out if they fluoridate the water.  If your water is fluoridated and you are concerned about fluorosis you may want to switch to distilled water.  Carefully check any kind of bottled water that hasn't gone through a distillation process; often the sources of these bottled waters are a municipality that may fluoridate its water supply.

Teach your child good dental hygiene, however, use caution when choosing a toothpaste for small children who are just learning to brush teeth.  They often have not mastered the spitting part of the routine and may be ingesting sodium fluoride this way as well.

Your child's diet plays an important role in the maintenance of their teeth.  Include mineral rich foods and beverages  daily in their diet;  foods high in (calcium-)fluoride, calcium, magnesium, silica, vitamin D, vitamin A are important not only for sound teeth, but also for strong bones for children AND adults.  Crunchy foods such as apples, carrots, celery, radishes, etc. are great foods for "exercising" and "toning" the gums and tissues around the teeth.

We believe that the  teeth are alive, including the enamel, and that you can  improve the quality of your teeth by improving your diet and dental hygiene.  However, it takes a very long time of practicing good eating habits and being consistent with your vitamin and mineral uptake to improve your teeth.

We have noticed with some children who have received fluoride treatments (prophylactics) from dentist,  that the teeth have a mottled appearance.  No cavities, but the teeth are gray with white spots.  Please share with us any of your observations regarding you or your child's dental/fluoride experience   A lack of anything noticeable following fluoride treatment is also significant . 

From Natural Mom's Mineral Guide:
Calcium protects the bones and teeth from lead by inhibiting absorption of this toxic metal.  If there is a calcium deficiency, lead will be absorbed by the body and deposited in the teeth and bones.  This may account for the higher levels of lead in children who have a higher incidence of cavities.  Adequate calcium in the diet will discourage the uptake of toxic metals (cadmium and mercury) as well as radioactive strontium-90.

Fluorine is part of the synthetic compound sodium fluoride (the type added to drinking water) and calcium fluoride (a natural substance).  Fluorine decreases chances of dental caries and strengthen bones, though too much can discolor teeth.

Additional Information:

In his Report on Water, H.W. Holderby, M.D., discusses the effects of fluoride on health.
Fluoride, which is derived from the deadly chemical fluoride, is not dangerous in small amounts; however, a government investigation of 156 cancer deaths over the past three years suggests that fluoride accumulates in the human body and may eventually cause cancer and /or other fatal illnesses.    This may in  part be due to the fact that when hard water is fluoridated, the fluoride bonds with magnesium in the blood, forming insoluble magnesium fluoride.  Although both animal and human epidemiology studies have been conducted with fluoride, they have not been extensive enough to arrive conclusively at whether or not fluoride is a carcinogen.   Water is the number one source of fluoride, and toothpaste is the second.  A copy of Dr. Holderby's report is available from Natural Food Associates, Atlanta, TX 75551.  Enclose thirty-five cents or a SASE.