HYPOTHYROIDISM AND FLUORIDE-INDUCED DEVELOPMENT DISORDERS FOLLOWING MATERNAL EXPOSURE TO COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION

The recent finding that the exposure of pregnant women to optimally fluoridated water may result in an increased risk of hypothyroidism and that this may be one mechanism underlying the previously found association between fluoride exposure in pregnancy and reduced offspring IQ gives support to the hypothesis that hypothyroidism may also be one of the mechanisms for the occurrence of the other fluoride-induced development disorders (FIDDs) of short stature, bone deformities, delayed dental eruption, and dental fluorosis. When the small reduction in dental caries associated with fluoridated water is seen in the context of delayed dental eruption due to hypothyroidism, so that the teeth have a shorter time in the decay-inducing oral environment, and that this comes at the cost of fluoride-induced cognitive impairment, the risk benefit ratio for community water fluoridation takes on a different complexion.