More research on the impact of fluoridation should be undertaken

I wish to respond to some of the comments and misrepresentations made by Professor June Nunn, Prof Martin Kinirons, Dr John Walsh and Dr Peter Gannon, President of the Irish Dental Association, in their letter published in the Irish Examiner (Oct 1).

The authors suggest children eating fluoride toothpaste is the primary cause of dental fluorosis among children in Ireland.

This view is incorrect. In 2005, the European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry reported that children, who always received a fluoridated water supply, were 38 times more likely to have fluorosis, while children who began using toothpaste between 12 and 18 months were two times more likely to have fluorosis. They should also be aware Irish dental research has demonstrated the prevalence of dental fluorosis is up to 25 times higher in Ireland among children in fluoridated communities compared to non-fluoridated communities.

In 1984, the WHO acknowledged fluorosis only occurs when excess fluoride in ingested during the first seven years of life. In 2004, an Irish study, published in the international journal Caries Research, estimated the infant dietary exposure to fluoride during the first four months of life for infants in fluoridated communities living across Ireland.

The exposure exceeded the adequate intake level recommended by the US Institute of Health by a staggering 1700%, as well as exceeding the Tolerable Upper Intake Level for healthy adults, as recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In 2006, the EFSA reported that the fluoride dose given to babies fed formula milk, prepared with fluoridated tap water, (at Irish levels), would be 100 to 500 times greater than that of breast-fed infants. Perhaps, Prof Nunn and her colleagues are not aware of these facts?

Prof Nunn and her colleagues claim that decades of vigilance examining the potential side

effects of community water fluoridation on the general health of populations have documented no medical side effects. This is perhaps correct, because in Ireland there has been no scientific or medical evaluation of the wider health effects from mass fluoridation.

As the WHO and other experts have noted, the only measure by which one can examine fluoride intake and exposure effectively is to measure individual exposure by measuring the fluoride level in plasma or urine. But one must also measure the fluoride content of medications, foods and beverages consumed. The only published study was published in 2010 in the UK. The vast majority of Irish subjects were noted to have excessive and potential harmful levels of fluoride exposure.

Declan Waugh

Scientist and Fluoride Researcher

Riverview, O’Doherty’s Rd, Bandon, Co Cork