WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | Fluoride in drinking water could be harmful to those with chronic kidney disease
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The National Kidney Foundation no longer supports adding fluoride to drinking water. Just this month, the foundation asked the American Dental Association to remove its name from the list of organizations that recognize the public health benefits of adding fluoride to community water.
The water that comes out of your tap has fluoride added to it, but could that be harmful for those chronic kidney disease? News7 turned to Dr. Ryan Evans at Valley Nephrology for some answers.
"It can be a problem in kidney patients because the kidney filters all toxins from the body," says Evans. "Fluoride can build up with a patient in kidney failure, and it can actually get abnormal bone deposition and increase their risk for fractures."
It's a rare condition known as skeletal fluorosis, where the bones harden from too much fluoride.
"I've never seen it, and I think most people have never seen skeletal fluorosis from the amount of fluoride put into the water supply," says Dr. Alfred Durham, an orthopedic surgeon with Lewis-Gale Physicians.
But in a new position paper on the topic, the National Kidney Foundation concluded "individuals with chronic kidney disease should be notified of the potential risk of fluoride exposure" by providing information on its web site. The foundation says, however, there is not enough evidence to recommend fluoride-free drinking water.
"The disease can stop it's progression if you stop the intake, but the damage that is caused by the excessive intake is permanent," says Durham.
The greatest concern is for dialysis patients.
"I don't think in practice I would recommend telling my patients not to drink tap water at this point, but I certainly would be interested to see what the studies show in the future," says Evans.
