Sir, I note the recent letters to the editor from the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) purporting to show the dangers of water fluoridation.1,2 Unfortunately, FAN has a long history of twisting the evidence base on fluoridation until it squeals. In 2002 the Irish Forum on Fluoridation described FAN Director Dr Paul Connett's submission as '...[failing] to conform to any generally accepted principles for assembling, evaluating and interpreting medical research. There is no explicit statement of the questions being addressed; no systematic search for pertinent research; no use of a priori selection criteria to separate relevant from irrelevant research; no critical appraisal of studies to determine their validity and no integration of evidence based on sources of evidence, research design, direction and magnitude of clinical outcomes, coherence and precision. No conclusions can or should be drawn from this poor quality document.'

Similarly, FAN's recent detailed submission to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging that fluoridated drinking water was neurotoxic was debunked in great detail, with the EPA describing its far-fetched claims as scientifically indefensible.

High quality systematic reviews continue to endorse the effectiveness and safety of water fluoridation.