According to new research, extreme levels of fluoride in drinking water could be associated with lower IQ in children, but according to local water officials, Albuquerque and Bernalillo County’s fluoride levels are still safe for residents.
In its “Monograph on the State of Science Concerning Fluoride Exposure and Neurodevelopment and Cognition,” the National Toxicology Program, an inter-agency effort led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says “with moderate confidence,” that the link is seen at levels above 1.5 milligrams per liter.
“More studies are needed to fully understand the potential for lower fluoride exposure to affect children’s IQ,” the report concludes.
The American Dental Association notes that’s more than double what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.
Bernalillo County Commissioner Eric Olivas, who chairs the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, said it’s not time for a hasty change to the fluoridation program in Bernalillo County. He said last week he’s not in favor of changing policy based on a single study.
“I don’t want to take a deep leap either way,” he said. “We need to hear more information from both sides. I think it’s worth having a discussion.”
David Morris, a spokesperson for the water authority, said the agency’s target is 0.7 milligrams per liter, in keeping with federal guidelines, but actual levels vary depending on location within the system.
In 2023, Morris said, the systemwide average was closer to 0.6 milligrams per liter. Within the system, average fluoride levels ranged from 0.43 milligrams per liter in Zone 9 (roughly bounded by the Rio Grande, Second Street, Montaño Road and Chavez Road) to 0.73 milligrams per liter in Zone 14 (southwest of the Albuquerque city limits, extending beyond Gun Club Road and 98th Street.
Morris said the disparity is due to different amounts of naturally occurring fluoride across the service area. The highest concentration in an individual sample was 0.9 mg/L.
Zone-specific information on water quality, including fluoride levels, is available here.
‘Complex issue’
Olivas said he’ll ask staff to create a report on the matter at an upcoming meeting, perhaps in October.
“It’s a complex issue,” Olivas said. “There’s interplay between the medical community, the dental community and the scientific community. As we get more information, we have to evolve … balance the risks and the good [fluoride] can do.”
This is a discussion that’s happened before in the Albuquerque area. Documents provided by Morris show supplemental fluoridation was the norm in Albuquerque from 1972 until 2011, when the Water Authority temporarily suspended the practice pending new federal recommendations on optimal fluoride levels.
The Centers for Disease Control eventually issued a recommended optimal level of 0.7 milligrams per liter.
The governing board in September 2017 voted to bring back supplemental fluoridation, after months of debate.
Dentists still fluoride fans
The American Dental Association says it has reviewed the monograph and continues to stand behind community water fluoridation, which has been shown to prevent tooth decay in children and adults, even with widespread public access to fluoride from other sources such as toothpaste.
Dr. Scott Tomar, a member of the association’s National Fluoridation Advisory Committee, said the National Toxicology Program report and other recent systematic reviews reinforce that the level of fluoride used in community water fluoridation is safe and not associated with any change in people’s IQ or neurological development.
The dental association criticized the National Toxicology Program, alleging unorthodox research methods, flawed analyses, lack of clarity, failure to follow the norms of peer review and lack of transparency.
“It would be a shame to distract from over 75 years of public health success over a simple matter of communicating the science, which is often more nuanced than a sound bite can convey,” the dental association said in a statement.