“Despite that, several researchers argue that the paper’s methodological shortcomings undercut its importance. In a statement to the Science Media Centre in London, an independent organization that sources expert opinions on science in the news, psychologist Thom Baguley of Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom noted the data “are very noisy,” meaning they contain a lot of other factors that could easily lead to false positives. Psychologist Stuart Ritchie at King’s College London added that the findings are just barely statistically significant, calling them “pretty weak and borderline.” By itself, the study “shouldn’t move the needle much at all on the question of the safety of fluoride,” he wrote.”