Earlier this month, Portlanders convened in the Smith Memorial Student Union to hear Dr. Yolanda Whyte present a talk on the health risks of water fluoridation. Opponents and proponents alike gathered to begin warming up for the heated debate that will play out over the next three months.
This May, Portland voters will decide whether to add fluoride to the city’s drinking water.
Portland is the largest city in the nation that does not fluoridate its water.
Although Portland City Council members unanimously approved a water fluoridation plan, opponents were able to gather more than 30,000 signatures from the public, leading to a referendum.
“The more people find out about the issue, the more they are concerned about it,” said Frances Quaempts-Miller, a chief petitioner with Clean Water Portland, an organization that opposes water fluoridation. Miller thinks voters will reject fluoridation in May.
“But people are a lot less educated [about fluoride] than one might expect,” Miller said.
Whyte underscored the broad lack of awareness.
“I grew up on fluoridated water in Brooklyn, N.Y. My first visit to the dentist was at age 17—I had 13 cavities and needed three root canals,” Whyte said.
An Atlanta, Georgia-based pediatrician who sits on the National Medical Association’s Environmental Health Task Force, Whyte speaks nationally on children’s health issues. She was brought to speak at Portland State by Clean Water Portland.
Whyte never questioned the safety or effectiveness of fluoride during her academic education. The medical community did not consider it a noteworthy concern, Whyte explained.
“And I was a biology major and a chemistry minor!” Whyte said. “So I decided to go back into books, back into school, and did my own research.”
According to Whyte, fluoridated water has potentially adverse effects on a wide swathe of the population. Seniors exposed to fluoride, she said, are susceptible to higher rates of arthritis and hypothyroidism, because fluoride is an endocrine disrupter.
But Whyte was most concerned about the way fluoridated water affects children.
“Children are at risk both in terms of the dose [of fluoride] and the timing,” Whyte said. “From age 6 to 8, secondary tooth development is occurring. Their organs are still developing.”
Whyte said that fluorine’s small molecular size and electronegativity causes it to bind to calcium, leading to changes in bones and the pineal gland. Fluoride, she explained, is able to easily cross the blood-brain barrier.
“Fluorine has very strong chemical properties. It is so corrosive it can etch glass,” Whyte said. “It can affect teeth, bones, kidneys.”
The National Institutes of Health classifies fluoride as a toxin, Whyte said, distinguished from the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of sodium fluoride.
Whyte projected an image of decaying, pigmented teeth.
“These aren’t stains. Blueberries leave stains,” Whyte said. “This is hypomineralization.” Fluoride, she said, makes teeth more susceptible to fractures even while protecting against cavities.
But some audience members disagreed with Whyte’s conclusions.
“She spoke about dental fluorosis as a disease and it being a sign of toxicity. It is not. There is no reputable scientific organization that backs that allegation,” said Dr. Kurt Ferre, a retired dentist.
“She overstated fluorosis when she showed slides of moderate fluorosis and called it mild fluorosis,” said Ferre, who cited a report that found that when fluoride concentration is reduced slightly, severe fluorosis virtually disappears.
Audience members could submit questions on index cards to be read by a moderator. Despite the divisions of opinion in the room, a debate format was not chosen for the event. Members from Healthy Kids, Healthy Portland, a pro-fluoridation group, were present.
“Anti-fluoridationists use scare tactics and pseudo-science to support their claims that fluoride in any amount is dangerous,” said Kristi Jo Lewis, a spokesperson for Healthy Kids, Healthy Portland.
“Over 3,000 scientific studies and 65 years of experience have reliably demonstrated that community water fluoridation at the optimal amount of 0.7 ppm is safe and effective,” Lewis said.
Whyte concluded that the risks of fluoridation outweigh the benefits.
Whyte recommended alternative forms of cavity prevention through dental hygiene and dental care access.
Miller praised Whyte’s presentation as she addressed the audience, saying, “[Whyte] is an inspiration because she has the courage to speak out.”