- Adding fluoride to the water supply prevents tooth decay, but women who drink fluoridated water during pregnancy may also trim the IQs of their male children by a few points, according to a Canadian study that suggests a serious drawback to a long-established public health intervention.
"We're talking about the fetus and right now there is absolutely no benefit derived for the fetus" from fluoride, senior author Christine Till of York University in Toronto told Reuters Health in a telephone interview."If anything, there is a potential for risk." Adding fluoride to drinking water to promote dental health has been a fixture of municipal drinking water systems as far back as the 1950s. About two thirds of people in the U.S. now have tap water that is fluoridated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rates are lower in other countries.
Dr. Bellinger said the I.Q. decline seen in the new study is comparable to what other tests have shown.