Meryl Horn (Senior Producer, PhD)

Is fluoride really the hero that we once thought it was? And so now fluoride is being taken out of the water in some places in Australia and now Utah in the U.S.

Is fluoride really the hero that we once thought it was? And so now fluoride is being taken out of the water in some places in Australia and now Utah in the U.S.

Yeah, that's the question. And just to say that, like, the research on this was, like, not at all what I was expecting it to be.

Yeah, that's the question. And just to say that, like, the research on this was, like, not at all what I was expecting it to be.

Well, I mean, like a lot of stuff, at really high levels, fluoride can kill you. So the most dramatic example that I found of this was in the 90s, there was a town in Alaska that accidentally dumped like way too much fluoride into the water supply. And like dozens of people got really sick. Someone even died.

Well, I mean, like a lot of stuff, at really high levels, fluoride can kill you. So the most dramatic example that I found of this was in the 90s, there was a town in Alaska that accidentally dumped like way too much fluoride into the water supply. And like dozens of people got really sick. Someone even died.

The case study said that, quote, after 24 hours of intractable vomiting, a 41-year-old man was found dead at home.

The case study said that, quote, after 24 hours of intractable vomiting, a 41-year-old man was found dead at home.

It was way more than we normally put in. So like that water that that guy drank had roughly like 350 times more than what we aim for when we fluoridate water.

It was way more than we normally put in. So like that water that that guy drank had roughly like 350 times more than what we aim for when we fluoridate water.

And at really high levels, it can stop your heart. Okay, right.

And at really high levels, it can stop your heart. Okay, right.

Yeah, that's the thing that everybody's fighting about with, you know, some people saying that it's not safe, some people saying that it is. But there is one downside that kind of everyone agrees is happening, even at these low levels of fluoride that we're putting in the water. And that's the thing that we mentioned at the top of the show where fluoride can stain your teeth.

Yeah, that's the thing that everybody's fighting about with, you know, some people saying that it's not safe, some people saying that it is. But there is one downside that kind of everyone agrees is happening, even at these low levels of fluoride that we're putting in the water. And that's the thing that we mentioned at the top of the show where fluoride can stain your teeth.

And that can happen even at lower levels, too. And at that case, it's not like the photos that I showed you of like these brown teeth. It's just kind of like a whitish stain. Right. But like 10 years ago, we checked to see how many kids in the U.S. have this, and it was 70%.

And that can happen even at lower levels, too. And at that case, it's not like the photos that I showed you of like these brown teeth. It's just kind of like a whitish stain. Right. But like 10 years ago, we checked to see how many kids in the U.S. have this, and it was 70%.

And so the government took that seriously enough that they changed the recommendation for how much fluoride should go into the water. It was lowered 10 years ago.

And so the government took that seriously enough that they changed the recommendation for how much fluoride should go into the water. It was lowered 10 years ago.

Yeah, let's dive into that one since people are really worried about that and it's also where a lot of the research has been. So to walk us through this, I called up epidemiologist Ashley Mallon, an assistant professor at the University of Florida.

Yeah, let's dive into that one since people are really worried about that and it's also where a lot of the research has been. So to walk us through this, I called up epidemiologist Ashley Mallon, an assistant professor at the University of Florida.