Removing fluoride from the water supply can affect the ears as well as the teeth

Adding fluoride to public water supplies is considered one of the top ten the greatest health achievements of the 20th century, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. This list also includes vaccination, the recognition of tobacco products as health hazards, and improved motor vehicle safety mechanisms such as seat belts, child safety seats, and motorcycle helmets. The presence of fluoride in drinking water supplies has led to a significant reduction in dental caries (caries) in both adult and pediatric populations.

Several large population studies, especially those in areas with lower income households, have shown this addition of fluoride in the public water supply reduces dental disease by more than 25%. People who do not have ready access to preventive dental care, which should include biennial exams and cleanings, as well as access to and use of fluoridated toothpaste, have benefited greatly from adding fluoride to drinking water. Conversely, the absence of fluoride has led to an increase poor dental health in these populations.

Fluoride, which is a which occurs naturally mineral in our water, soil, and air, has been added in strictly regulated concentration to public water supplies for over 7 decades, with remarkable results in both children and adults. In the early to mid-20th century, the elderly usually developed dental caries so severe that it required full tooth extraction followed by dentures by the 7th or 8th decade of life.

In the last years of the 20th century, bottled waterboth flat and carbon, they became all the rage, for both adults and children. Most of these products did not contain fluoride, and children who relied more on bottled water than tap water were found to have an increase in tooth decay. Some of the bottled water products, specially designed for children, started adding fluoride to their products.

Yes, toothpaste for children aged two and over contains fluoride, but unfortunately not everyone can rely on regular tooth brushing and access to fluoride toothpaste. Thus, the addition of fluoride to publicly accessible drinking water has led to a dramatic reduction in dental disease. The incoming administration’s nominee for US health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, said there was no clear evidence that fluoride is beneficialand that there are possible risks of developing cancer due to fluoridated water. Multiple groups including the National Research Council, the Committee on Carcinogen Identification, and the American Cancer Society have found no direct link between fluoride exposure and cancer, especially at the low levels found in drinking water.

A lesser-known benefit of fluoridated drinking water is its effect on people with a condition called otosclerosis. This is a condition where the tiny bones of the middle ear develop excessive bone growth, which impairs the conduction of sound and leads to hearing loss. When the ossicles lack the ability to transmit vibrations from the eardrum to the structures of the inner ear, sound travels more slowly, and a type of hearing loss called conductive hearing loss is the most noticeable type of hearing problem in patients with otosclerosis. This is usually seen in adults after the age of 25 or 30 and can progress with age. Treatments include simple monitoring if the hearing loss is mild, hearing aids, or surgery to repair the tiny hardened bones of the ear.

Several studies have shown that people with otosclerosis who chose not to undergo surgery will have a significantly greater hearing loss if they are in an area with non-fluoridated water compared to those living in areas where fluoride is added to public water supplies.

While the issue of hearing loss and fluoridated water is focused on a small group of people, about 3 million adults in the US, it is yet another independent benefit from the presence of small amounts of fluoride in public drinking water.