'Leave fluoride alone’: North Alabama removes fluoride from drinking water, sparking controversy
‘Leave fluoride alone’: Madison Utilities removes fluoride from drinking water, sparking controversy
Updated: 8:36 PM CDT Apr 28, 2025
FROM ANY ONLINE HARM. AND AN ERA OF FLUORIDATED FLUORIDATED TOOTHPASTE AND MOUTHWASHES. IT MAKES NO SENSE TO HAVE FLUORIDE IN OUR WATER. THE EVIDENCE AGAINST FLUORIDE IS OVERWHELMING. THE HEALTH SECRETARY, ROBERT F KENNEDY JR, CALLING ON MORE STATES TO JOIN UTAH IN BANNING FLUORIDE FROM PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES. KENNEDY SAYS ITS USE CAN LEAD TO IQ LOSS, BONE WEAKNESS, LIVER PROBLEMS. JOINING US RIGHT NOW IS DOCTOR TODD ELLERIN. HE’S THE VICE CHAIR OF MEDICINE AT SOUTH SHORE. HOW YOU JUST HEARD THE SECRETARY. YES. I MEAN, HE’S FIRM IN HIS COMMITMENT WITH THIS. RIGHT. AND WRITER, WHETHER WE COULD ARGUE THAT. SO LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT QUESTION ONE ARGUMENTS AGAINST FLUORIDE IN THE WATER. BUT HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS, WHAT ABOUT 62% OF PEOPLE LIVE IN COMMUNITIES THAT DO HAVE IT? DO YOU THINK THAT THAT THAT THOSE 62% OF THE COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE HAVE SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT? DEFINITELY NOT. NOT. WHAT WE’VE SHOWN OVER MANY YEARS, DECADES IS THAT FLUORIDE IN THE WATER LEADS TO BETTER ORAL HEALTH. FLUORIDE HELPS. ESSENTIALLY, THE ENAMEL OF OUR TEETH AND PREVENTS DECAY. SO WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FLUORIDE IS THAT YOU CAN GET WORSE CAVITIES AND AND BACTERIAL INFECTIONS. BAD ORAL HEALTH. BUT YOU DON’T WANT TO GET TOO MUCH. YOU DON’T HAVE TOO MUCH FLUORIDE IN THE WATER. AND BASICALLY THE CURRENT THE GOLDILOCKS NUMBER RIGHT NOW IS 0.7. AND THAT NUMBER WAS REDUCED BACK IN 2015. IT WAS BETWEEN 0.8 AND 1.2. AND SO I THINK THIS STRIKES THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN GOOD ORAL HEALTH AND NOT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT A REDUCED IQ. AND THAT AND THAT NUMBER YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT IS THE IS THE AMOUNT IN WATER, RIGHT. THAT’S RIGHT. 0.7 TO 1. THAT’S RIGHT. BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES THAT HAVE SHOWN IF YOU HAVE TOO HIGH OF A DOSE, YOU CAN REDUCE IQ A BIT IN CHILDREN, BUT THAT’S MORE THAN TWICE THE LEVELS THAT ARE IN THE YOU’RE NOT BUYING THE JUMP TO IQ, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU DON’T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS AFFECTING THAT. NOT AT THE CURRENT LEVELS. I GOT YOU. SO LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR SPECIALTY INFECTIONS. THERE ARE NEW CONCERNS THIS WEEK ABOUT GROUP A STREP. DO I HAVE THAT RIGHT? GROUP A STREP. IS THAT THE SAME BACTERIA THAT CAUSES STREP THROAT? IT IS. IT’S THE SAME BACTERIA THAT CAUSES STREP THROAT. BUT IT’S NOT. THERE WAS A STUDY THAT WAS JUST PUBLISHED TODAY THAT SHOWED THAT FROM 2013 TO 2022, THERE HAS BEEN A DOUBLING OF INVASIVE GROUP B STREP INFECTIONS. THAT’S NOT JUST STREP THROAT, OKAY. AND AND THIS WAS IN POPULATIONS LIKE OVER 65. YEAH OKAY. AND INJECTION DRUG USERS HOMELESS AND ALASKAN NATIVES AND AMERICAN INDIANS. WHAT ABOUT CHILDREN. INTERESTING. YOU SAY THAT EVEN THOUGH SOME PEDIATRICIANS HAVE SEEN THINK THEY SEE ANECDOTALLY MORE CASES, THIS STUDY DID NOT SHOW AN INCREASE IN INVASIVE GROUP A STREP INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN. AND I WANT TO POINT SOMETHING OUT. IT’S SCARY TO HEAR ABOUT A DOUBLING, BUT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE 3.6 PER 100,000 PATIENTS IN 2013 TO 8.2 PER 100,000 PATIENTS IN 2022. SO YES, IT’S A DOUBLING, BUT STILL THE ABSOLUTE RISK IS LOW. IT’S A DOUBLING, BUT THE NUMBER IS SMALLER IN COMPARISON WITH THE LARGER SCALE. WE ALSO WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE BIG CHANGE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. THE CDC CLOSES A NATIONAL LAB TO TRACK SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES. DOES THAT HAVE A LOCAL IMPACT? IT DOES. WELL, THE PROBLEM IS WE’RE TALKING ABOUT A LAB AT THE CDC THAT IS ESSENTIALLY LOOKING FOR RESISTANCE IN THINGS LIKE GONORRHEA. AND THE PROBLEM IS, RIGHT NOW, WE ONLY HAVE ONE ANTIBIOTIC LEFT THAT RELIABLY TREATS GONORRHEA. SO WITHOUT THIS LAB, WE CAN’T MEASURE AND THEN MONITOR TRENDS IN RESISTANCE OF THIS IMPORTANT ORGANISM. AND AND THAT’S A PROBLEM NOT AND THEY DON’T JUST MONITOR BUT THEY ALSO HELP WITH GUIDELINES AND HELP WITH TESTING. AND HELP, YOU KNOW, WITH WITH NOVEL THERAPEUTICS. SO IT’S IT’S IT’S A S
‘Leave fluoride alone’: Madison Utilities removes fluoride from drinking water, sparking controversy
Updated: 8:36 PM CDT Apr 28, 2025
Video above: What are the public health implications of removing fluoride from drinking water? Starting June 16, Madison Utilities will no longer add fluoride to the water supply, causing dentists to speak out against the decision.Dr. Robin Pruitt is a dentist at Vestavia Family Dentistry. He said the amount of fluoride in drinking water is typically comparable to one drop in a bathtub full of water.”We’re not talking a tremendous amount, but of course, the push is out there to remove fluoride from all the water systems,” Pruitt said. “That small amount of fluoride they’re getting in their everyday normal drinking water is going to make a huge difference in the number of cavities these kids and adults are getting.”The push he’s talking about comes from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy is calling for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to end recommending fluoride in water.It’s a push Pruitt doesn’t agree with.”The department of Health and Human services since 1945 hasn’t seen it as a problem, so it seems like it’s one person seeing it as a big problem,” he said.The dentist said he’s worried about the effects of removing the fluoride, especially in poorer communities.”This is also communities where their access to care to a dentist isn’t what most people are used to every six months,” Pruitt said. “Maybe they’re only going in when they get a bad toothache every three or four or five years. So, a constant source of fluoride in their water is a benefit and decreases the number of visits.”Pruitt said if fluoride is removed from the drinking water in your area, you can still get the needed mineral from certain toothpastes and oral rinses.
Video above: What are the public health implications of removing fluoride from drinking water?
Starting June 16, Madison Utilities will no longer add fluoride to the water supply, causing dentists to speak out against the decision.
Dr. Robin Pruitt is a dentist at Vestavia Family Dentistry. He said the amount of fluoride in drinking water is typically comparable to one drop in a bathtub full of water.
“We’re not talking a tremendous amount, but of course, the push is out there to remove fluoride from all the water systems,” Pruitt said. “That small amount of fluoride they’re getting in their everyday normal drinking water is going to make a huge difference in the number of cavities these kids and adults are getting.”
The push he’s talking about comes from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy is calling for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to end recommending fluoride in water.
It’s a push Pruitt doesn’t agree with.
“The department of Health and Human services since 1945 hasn’t seen it as a problem, so it seems like it’s one person seeing it as a big problem,” he said.
The dentist said he’s worried about the effects of removing the fluoride, especially in poorer communities.
“This is also communities where their access to care to a dentist isn’t what most people are used to every six months,” Pruitt said. “Maybe they’re only going in when they get a bad toothache every three or four or five years. So, a constant source of fluoride in their water is a benefit and decreases the number of visits.”
Pruitt said if fluoride is removed from the drinking water in your area, you can still get the needed mineral from certain toothpastes and oral rinses.