Fluoride Wars

R. Allan Freeze is one of North America's leading researchers in the field of environmental water quality, and has acted as the consulting engineer on drinking water quality at a number of sites across North America. He was a member of the University of British Columbia's engineering faculty in Vancouver for twenty years and is the author of over 150 technical articles and the coauthor of several books.Jay H. Lehr is Senior Scientist with The Heartland Institute and Chief Scientist for EarthWater Global, an international water supply company. A graduate of Princeton University, he developed the first PhD program in hydrology at the University of Arizona and was on the faculty at The Ohio State University. Lehr has authored or coauthored over twenty books, hundreds of journal and magazine articles, and is an internationally renowned expert who speaks worldwide on environmental topics.

"The authors have put an enormous effort into acquiring the data in this book and... it is a very interesting and stimulating read." (Chromatographia, June 2010) “The authors should be commended for providing all of the facts of the controversy in one place. Their call for both sides to get together to study the health issues with reason and respect is also a worthwhile goal because, as they point out; perhaps then ‘this long-standing and somewhat silly dispute could finally he laid to rest.’” (Chemical and Engineering News, September 2009)

• Acknowledgments ix1 A Story of Our Times 1Grand Rapids, Michigan, Four O’Clock Eastern Wartime 1The Longest-Running Circus in Town 3Pro or Con? 6References 82 A Clash of Absolutes 9Dueling Websites 9Quack, Quack 14The $100,000 Cash Offer 16As One Voice 19Who Drinks Fluoridated Water and Who Doesn’t 25Fear and Loathing 30Fluoridation Facts, Dr. Y, and the Lifesaver’s Guide 32What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate 36References 403 A Tale of Two Cities 44Spokane, Washington 46Cumberland, Maryland 52Fluoridation, 2000 56The Push for Statewide Mandates 59On the Phone and in the Booth 60The Early Studies: Social Dynamics and Pop Psychology 61The Later Studies: Just Plain Politics 64Spokane and Cumberland: Reprise 67References 684 Two Women 71Darlene Sherrell: The Canary in the Mine 72Jackie Speier and the Legacy of Jonestown 78The California Mandate 83San Diego, Escondido, and the Golden Fleece 87References 905 The Road to Fluoridation 92Beautiful Women and Black Teeth 92Frederick McKay and the Mystery of the Colorado Stain 94H. Trendley Dean and the Towns without Toothaches 98Lathered Up to Go 102Little Girls in Gingham Dresses 106Fluoride on Trial 111Blind Examiners and Confounding Factors 116The Mavericks Emerge 120References 1226 Fluorophobia 127Satan’s Metal 128ALCOAnoia 133Toxic Coup? 137The Donora Death Fog 138Project F 141The Far Side 145Let There Be Light: An Assessment of Anti-fluoridation Conspiracy Claims 146The Perils of Obsession 164References 1657 Look, MA. No Cavities: Fluoride and Teeth 170Teeth 172The People’s Disease 175Reversal of Misfortune 178The Fluoride Cycle: From Apatite to Apatite 185How Fluoride Works 187More Studies and Diminishing Returns 191The Halo Effect 197Flossers and Cheeseheads 201The Back of the Coin: The Increase in Dental Fluorosis 204The Bottom Line on Fluoride and Teeth 209References 2128 Fluoride and Health 219Exposure, Intake, and Dose 219The Roots of Contention 221Acute Fluoride Poisoning 223Kaj Roholm’s Legacy 224The Tragedy of Crippling Skeletal Fluorosis 225Fluoride as Medicine: The Osteoporosis Experiments 227Bone Health and Hip Fractures: Legitimate Questions and Equivocal Answers 228The Special Case of Kidney Dialysis 230Allergic Reactions and Psychological Distress 231Affairs of the Heart 234Fluoride and Genetics 235Fluoride, Cancer, and Credibility 238The Osteosarcoma Controversy 242Alzheimer’s, Intelligence, Crime, and Addiction 245References 2489 EPA and the MCLs 255Fluoride as Jekyl and Hyde 256Brinksmanship 259Amicus Curiae 263The Marcus Affair 266A Question of Allegiance 269A Question of Motive 271References 27510 Riding the Tiger: The Dosage Issue 278The Concept of a Maximum Acceptable Daily Dose 279Fluoride Intake in Our Diet 282Do Not Swallow 285Contesting Conventional Wisdom 287Too Much of a Good Thing? 290References 29411 Science and Not Science 298Junk Science: Values and Bias in Scientific Research 299Single-Minded Science: The ISFR and the Journal Fluoride 302The Shunning of Phyllis Mullneix 307John Colquhoun Falls Off the Wagon 310Science, Funding, and Self-Interest 312Fluoridation in the Courts: The Anti-fluoridationists’ Last Stand 315The Congressional Pulpit 321References 32512 Money, Motive, and Risk 329The Uneasy Science of Risk–Cost–Benefit Analysis 329The Cost of Fluoridation 331The Wrangle Over Benefits 333The Ultimate Battleground 338Engineered Systems and Human Error 340The Concept of Acceptable Risk 344The Precursors 346Public Health or Home Remedy? 349The Bottom Line on the Economics of Fluoridation 351References 35213 the Light at the End of the Tunnel 356Teeth 356Health Risk 357Dosage 360Credibility 361The Need for Civil Discourse 364Index 365