The purpose of this definitive review (1) was to update the Australian NHMRC’s 2007 systematic review.  View the NHMRC’s draft information paper on the review.

The review confirms that there is no association between water fluoridation at current Australian levels and Cancer, Down syndrome, IQ, mortality, and muscle and skeletal effects (hip fracture, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma and skeletal fluorosis).

On other health effects, there was considered to be “insufficient evidence” to reach a conclusion.  This was usually because studies which claimed an association of an adverse health outcome with water fluoridation were of poor quality (for example, a lack of account of factors other than water fluoridation with may have explained the association), or because the levels of fluoride under consideration were so high as to make the findings irrelevant to Australia.

Reference

1. Jack, B., Ayson, M., Lewis, S., Irving, A., Agresta, B., Ko, H., Stoklosa, A. 2016, Health Effects of Water Fluoridation: Evidence Evaluation Report, report to the National Health and Medical Research Council, Canberra.
Available at https://bfsweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/final-report-Sept-02.pdf