Dentists and oral health advocates in Kansas are pushing back against an effort to require cities that put fluoride in their water supplies to notify residents that fluoride lowers the IQ in children.
Kansas Dental Association Director Kevin Richardson pointed out that fluoride reduces tooth decay and has been proved safe, according to an AP story.
State Rep. Steve Brunk (R-District 85) has introduced a bill requiring the IQ notification, which is based on a 2012 Harvard study that found a correlation between slower brain development and increased levels of fluoride in water.
That study focused on children in China, which, unlike the U.S., has high levels of natural fluoride in its water.
Opponents of public fluoridation contend it is unsafe and violates an individual's right to consent to medication.
The ADA calls water fluoridation the single most effective public health measure to prevent dental caries, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hails it as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century, and the 2000 U.S. surgeon general's report on oral health stated that community water fluoridation is an effective, safe public health policy.
