House hearing addresses community water fluoridation
On March 17, Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institutes of Health and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, responded to questions from House members at a House Labor-HHS Appropriations Oversight Hearing, according to a news article from Medpage Today.
During the hearing, Michael Simpson, D.M.D., U.S. representative for the 2nd Congressional District of Idaho and a former practicing dentist, emphasized the safety and efficacy of community water fluoridation in improving oral health.
“The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research pioneered the use of epidemiology and preventative approaches to demonstrate that dental cavities are an epidemic disease and community water fluoridation is a safe, effective, equitable and economical way to prevent and reduce tooth decay,” Dr. Simpson underscored.
He then asked Dr. Bhattacharya about recent comments in which he suggested needing to balance the proven dental caries prevention benefits of fluoride with data from recent studies indicating the neurologic and developmental risks of ingesting higher levels of fluoride. Dental experts have long touted the oral health benefits of community water fluoridation at safe levels recommended by the CDC and noted that the data in the recent studies linking fluoride exposure to neurologic harm was low quality and came from foreign countries with levels far exceeding the limits set by federal agencies in the United States.
When asked to clarify the role the NIH will play in objectively assessing the risks of fluoride exposure, Dr. Bhattacharya recognized that fluoride is essential for oral health and stated that the NIDCR will work to establish what levels of fluoride exposure may pose a health risk, what the impacts of this exposure are and how the agency can work to mitigate the effects.
“It’s a … very small fraction of the country, but we want to make sure that that part of the country isn’t overexposed,” Dr. Bhattacharya responded.
“Let’s bring the fluoride policy in line with what the data are starting to show, and the NIH’s equity in this is not to pass legislation, but to make sure that whatever we end up deciding is excellent science,” he added.
Dr. Simpson’s questions followed decisions from federal agencies to reassess water fluoridation practices. In January, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to review the potential health effects of fluoride among mothers, infants and children. In response, the ADA issued a letter raising concerns regarding the EPA’s proposed methodology and urging the agency to strengthen the scientific rigor of its protocols. The ADA emphasized that community water fluoridation has been practiced for 75 years and has been recognized as one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.
Read more: Medpage Today
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