From Brenda Staudenmaier

Green Bay

To the Editor:

In October 2024, more than 20 Monroe dentists, dental hygienists and other dental professionals sent a letter to the Monroe Common Council urging them to continue adding fluoride to the city’s drinking water. Their letter told the Council that fluoridation was safe, effective and supported by the best available science. That was not an accurate picture of the evidence.

The science did not suddenly change in 2026. Evidence raising concerns about fluoride exposure and the developing brain was already available when they wrote their letter. They chose to emphasize evidence supporting fluoridation while dismissing or minimizing evidence that raised legitimate concerns.

Now there is more evidence Monroe should consider. A new Columbia University study of 2,514 U.S. children found that higher estimated fluoride exposure during pregnancy was associated with lower scores on tests of fluid cognition. These tests measure problem solving, memory, attention and the ability to understand and adapt to new information. The association appeared at about 675 micrograms per liter, or 0.675 mg/L, which is very close to the 0.7 mg/L level recommended for fluoridated water.

The study does not prove fluoride caused the lower scores. It was observational, and more research is needed. But when a large U.S. study finds a potential concern involving children’s developing brains at levels so close to what we intentionally add to drinking water, it deserves serious consideration.

There is also a Wisconsin voice that did not exist in this discussion in 2024. The Wisconsin Environmental Health Network, made up of physicians and other health professionals, has issued a statement raising concerns about water fluoridation and potential effects on the developing brain. Its members include physicians with backgrounds in public health, pediatrics, maternal fetal medicine and environmental health.

The Monroe Council was given a one-sided presentation in 2024. The letter claimed that no credible health or scientific organization opposed fluoridation. That statement should be reconsidered.

Public health decisions should not be based on cherry-picked evidence or talking points. Dental health matters. So does protecting children during pregnancy and early development.

Monroe made a mistake keeping fluoridation. The Council should take another look at the evidence and reconsider whether adding fluoride to everyone’s drinking water remains the right policy in 2026.