Fluoride is known to prevent tooth decay, however, the amount of fluoride one ingests has to be regulated. This subject has been polarizing for years as some believe that fluoride can be harmful to one's health.

A federal judge has issued an order for the EPA to take regulatory action on the levels of fluoride in drinking water in the U.S., according to NBC news on Monday.

Does Fluoride lower IQ?

Findings of a study were published to the U.S. national toxicology program website in August.

The NTP monograph concluded that higher levels of fluoride exposure, such as drinking water containing more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter, are associated with lower IQ in children. The NTP review was designed to evaluate total fluoride exposure from all sources and was not designed to evaluate the health effects of fluoridated drinking water alone. It is important to note, however, that there were insufficient data to determine if the low fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L currently recommended for U.S. community water supplies has a negative effect on children’s IQ. -ntp.gov

Fluoride is in water naturally.

Small amounts of fluoride are found naturally in water, however in the 1940's, scientists made a remarkable discovery about cities and towns that had more naturally occurring fluoride in their water supply.

Helmut Seisenberger

The dental health of folks living in places where fluoride was at a certain level was much better than where the opposite was the case.

In the 1940s, scientists discovered that people who lived where drinking water supplies had naturally occurring fluoride levels of approximately 1 part fluoride per million parts water or greater (>1.0 ppm) had fewer dental caries (cavities) than people who lived where fluoride levels in drinking water were lower. Many more recent studies have supported this finding (1).

It was subsequently found that fluoride can prevent and even reverse tooth decay by inhibiting bacteria that produce acid in the mouth and by enhancing remineralization, the process through which tooth enamel is “rebuilt after it begins to decay. -cancer.gov

About 75% of the country adds fluoride to the water supply in order to bring it up to optimal levels of dental health contribution. Some states want to mandate fluoridation, some want to leave it up to local municipalities and public vote.