Australian teeth worst in developed world despite fluoridation.

Peter Weekes
October 1, 2006
A NATIONAL advertising campaign similar to the successful Slip, Slop, Slap push against skin cancer is needed to stop the nation's teeth from rotting, says the Australian Dental Association. The association wants the Federal Government to take overriding responsibility for promoting dental health as figures reveal that Australia has the highest tooth extraction rate in the developed world. The average Australian will suffer serious decay in at least 10 teeth by their late 30s. And our overall dental health is second-lowest among developed nations. "We have the second-worst health for adults and there are disturbing trends with kids at the moment," the association's president, Bill O'Reilly, said. "Dental disease is completely preventable. If you have a good brushing and flossing routine, you shouldn't have a problem." Dental experts say people with poor teeth endure ongoing pain, difficulty in eating and talking, gum disease and bad breath. Decayed teeth have also been linked to premature, low- weight babies, heart disease, brain damage, diabetes and obesity. Professor John Spencer of Adelaide University, who is conducting a new national audit of the country's teeth, has published two major reports on the state of the nation's teeth. "Since the 1990s we have had some deterioration in oral health, which we think is due to lack of exposure to fluoride or due to increased exposure to dietary-rich factors," he said. "The jury is out on which of those played a more significant role." After fluoride was added to tap water in the 1960s and '70s, the rate of tooth decay plummeted. Many now think society's newfound love of bottled water and filtered tap water may be eating away at our teeth. Sports drinks and fizzy drinks are likely to be even worse, Dr O'Reilly said. The results of the audit will not be known for about 18 months. However, a 2004 study by Professor Spencer found dental health was deteriorating, with a widening gap between the "haves and have-nots". "There is nothing to suggest this has changed, only accelerated," he said. Typically, low and middle-income earners have the poorest teeth and availability of care "either because of the inadequacies of the torn and tattered safety net of public dental services or their inability to purchase an adequate scope of private dental care", he said.
There are an estimated 650,000 pensioners and other healthcard holders on the national waiting list.

Harvard Inquiry Into Fluoride Study Problematic

Published On Friday, September 29, 2006 1:58 AM

By SAMUEL S. EPSTEIN
ARTICLE TOOLS:
To the editors:
As someone who directed the Laboratories of Environmental Toxicology and Carcinogenesis at the Children’s Cancer Research Foundation (now known as the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute), and was a research associate in Pathology at the Harvard School of Public Health from 1960-1970, I am appalled at the controversy surrounding the investigation of Professor Chester Douglass (“HMS Defends Review of Dental School Prof,” news, Sept. 19). First of all, it surprises me that someone from the School of Dental Medicine was put in charge of such a sensitive research issue as the possible connection between water fluoridation and bone cancer. Douglass already had a history of promoting fluoridation and had strong financial ties to Colgate. The issue is actually a medical one, not a dental one. When Douglass’ student Elise Bassin found a “robust” relationship between osteosarcoma and young boys’ exposure to fluoridated water, it was a finding of monumental importance. If, as charged by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Douglass concealed these findings from the public and the National Institutes of Health funders of the research for over three years, such behavior is reprehensible. It is therefore baffling that Harvard has exonerated Douglass of all charges without providing any explanation as to why the EWG’s well-documented evidence against him should now be ignored.

You report that Harvard claims that the “U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Research Integrity oversaw Harvard’s review of Douglass and determined that no further investigation would be necessary.” If so, why can’t the public that ultimately funded the Bassin and Douglass research be provided with a cogent explanation of what convinced the investigators that Douglass behaved properly? How did the investigators explain Douglass’ written statement to a National Research Council committee saying that his work revealed “an Odds Ratio of 1.2 to 1.4 between fluoride and osteosarcoma that was not significantly different from 1” when his own student, in her PhD dissertation approved by Douglass, had found a “robust” five to seven fold increase in osteosarcoma rates in young boys exposed to fluoridated water.

I do not believe that the Harvard inquiry has clarified this matter at all, either in Harvard’s official Aug. 15 statement or the letter from Dr. Margaret Dale sent out Sept. 7. Whether or not investigators were somehow influenced by Douglass’ million dollar contribution to the new Dental School building, will someone at Harvard please provide a detailed explanation as to why the investigators decided to exonerate Douglass before this matter sullies Harvard’s reputation completely? If this cannot be done, then I suggest that President Bok organize a totally independent second inquiry, with a panel drawn from scientists with no affiliation to either Harvard or the U.S. water fluoridation program.
SAMUEL S. EPSTEIN
Chicago, IL

Fluoride Study Rife With Conflicts Of Interest

Many thanks to The Crimson for its fine coverage of the shameful Chester Douglass scandal (“At the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, One Professor’s Fluoride Scandal Stinks,” magazine, Sept. 27). Harvard continues to stonewall and hope that the whole sorry mess will just go away. Clearly, the millions of dollars of National Institutes of Health money that Douglass has brought into Harvard’s coffers supersede the significance of a few hundred victims of bone cancer each year. Douglass, a known proponent of water fluoridation and editor of a Colgate-Palmolive newsletter, should never have been put in charge of research on the potential link between fluoridation and bone cancer. And the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences shouldn’t have turned the ethics investigation of a major grant recipient and million dollar donor over to Harvard. All involved are clearly unable to cogently explain how Douglass did not suppress and misrepresent the Bassin data showing a “robust” link between exposure to fluoridated water and increased bone cancer rates in young boys. So much for veritas.
NAOMI H. FLACK
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
September 27, 2006

Australia - 45%. Do we believe it?

No relief for dental pain
MADELINE HEALEY
September 29, 2006
PUBLIC dental patients in the south-west still face a wait of up to four-and-a-half years for treatment.This is despite an improvement since March when patients in Portland were facing a five-and-a-half-year wait.The longest wait in the district is now at Warrnambool where the waiting list is 55 months followed by Portland with a 52-month wait, Colac with 35 months and Hamilton on 26 months.Australian Dental Association Victorian branch president Greg Morris said the long waits meant that by the time dentists eventually saw patients their cavities had worsened.
``Dental decay is a progressive disease so it will just continue on with the cavities getting bigger. The situation can only get worse, not better.''
He said the problem wasn't just a shortage of dentists but a major shortage in funding. He said the association, with the Victorian Health Alliance, was lobbying the Government to contribute $83 million to improve the public dental system. ``We think there's a slight shortage in dentists but our main thrust is mainly funding, not dentists,'' he said. ``What we're seeking is basically an increased budget of $83.8 million with $43 million to be spent on waiting lists, $6 million on workforce shortages, $3 million on special needs and $32 million on preventative services.'' Mr Morris said the $43 million needed to be spent on providing more chairs, more clinics and more staff to support dentists and to help them work more efficiently. He said the $32 million needed to be spent educating children and adults about dental health and providing preventative measures such as fluoridation.
``Kids in areas with fluoride have 45 per cent less cavities than those in non-fluoridated areas,'' Mr Morris said. ``If you want to reduce the number of cavities then fluoridate.''
State Health Minister Bronwyn Pike said yesterday dental waiting lists had fallen by 58 per cent since December 2004. ``Ever since the Howard Government abolished the Commonwealth Dental Health Program soon after entering office in 1996, the states have struggled to make up for the lack of funding,'' she said.

At the Harvard School of Public Health, One Professor’s Flouride Scandal Stinks

By A. HAVEN THOMPSON
Crimson Staff Writer

It was the first time that Dr. Chester Douglass, the Department Chair of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, had spoken publicly about the controversy surrounding his research on the connection between fluoride and bone cancer. Fox 25 news cameras followed him to his car on a cold day in February 2006. “Is there a cover-up here?” asked Fox 25 investigative reporter Mike Beaudet. “This report, from Harvard Medical School, will answer that question,” Douglass responded, brandishing an envelope which ostensibly contained a draft of the report of the investigation that the Medical School had launched in June 2005.
Over a year later, that report has yet to be released to the public, though Harvard has publicly exonerated Douglass. The investigation—and surrounding media controversy—occurred in response to allegations from a Washington D.C.-based non-profit, the Environmental Working Group (EWG). In a letter to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a government organization which funded Douglass’ $1.3 million dollar study researching the potential link between fluoride and osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, the EWG claimed that Douglass’ final report contained “potential, serious misrepresentations of research results.” This misrepresentation, the EWG alleged, stemmed from the fact that Douglass’ report concluded that there was no significant correlation between fluoride and osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. Yet a section of a two-page outline of the report, entitled “Publications,” listed a 2001 doctoral thesis written by Elise B. Bassin and supervised by Douglass. Bassin’s thesis did observe a connection between fluoride in tap water and bone cancer. “Among males, exposure to fluoride at or above the target level was associated with an increased risk of developing osteosarcoma,” Bassin wrote. Bassin and Douglass started with the same raw data, but came to different conclusions. It appeared that Douglass might have buried Bassin’s findings. Janice Strother, the NIEHS Ethics Coordinator to whom the EWG’s letter was addressed, says she turned the case over to Harvard. The school launched its investigation of Douglass on June 29, 2005. Double the Conflict, Double the Fun
The plot thickened like old toothpaste when another element surfaced. Douglass had served as editor-in-chief of the Colgate Oral Care Report since 1997, which according to its website “is supported by the Colgate-Palmolive Company for oral care professionals.” Colgate toothpaste, of course, contains fluoride, and it didn’t take long for the EWG and another group, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), to cry conflict of interest. Douglass’ donation of around $1 million to Harvard in 2001 also came to light, sparking debate over the propriety of a school conducting an investigation against a major donor.
“Our view, in light of the high level of secrecy that has surrounded Harvard’s review, it highlights yet another conflict of interest,” says Michael P. Connett, project director of FAN. “Harvard’s investigating a guy who donated the university a million dollars.” Harvard spokesman, John Lacey, wrote in an e-mail that “It is accurate that Chet Douglass made a gift of around $1 million to the dental school in 2001, but that was four years before the complaint was made and a review was launched.” Connett also says that the substantial amount of funding Douglass received from the National Institute of Health might constitute an additional conflict of interest. “When all these grants are added together, it can be seen that Douglass brought in over $5 million dollars in NIH research funding between 1992 and 2004,” Cannett wrote in an e-mail. Harvard’s review of Douglass took 13 months to complete. According to Lacey’s e-mail, two committees, comprised mainly of senior faculty members not from the HSDM, independently concluded that “Dr. Douglass did not commit research misconduct, and did not have a conflict-of-interest as editor of a newsletter produced by Colgate.” After the committees compiled their report, it was sent to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), which is a federal organization that monitors investigations of institutional research misconduct.
“After reviewing our report, they determined that no further investigation was required,” says Lacey. In August 2006, Harvard released a four paragraph statement exonerating Douglass. But where is the report?
Though Douglass can breathe easily now that both Harvard and the ORI have decided his case doesn’t warrant further investigation, his opponents are mystified and angered by Harvard’s handling of the issue. “We would like to see some sort of rational explanation from Harvard as to how Douglass’ behavior did not constitute ethical misconduct,” says Connett. “Our view is that if Harvard has a good explanation here, why not say it?”
As of September 25, 2006, Lauren Sucher, Director of Public Affairs of the EWG was drafting a formal request to Interim President Derek C. Bok calling for the release of the investigation’s report. FAN’s letter-writing campaign has already resulted in 400-500 letters sent to the president to demand to see the report, according to Connett, including twenty Harvard alumnae. But transparency is not likely. “The reviews are not publicly available, and the reason for this is that we provide confidentiality to everyone within the review process,” Lacey wrote in an e-mail.
“We’re all for academic freedom, but the tax payers of the U.S.—including you and me and your mom and dad—funded his research,” says Sucher. “Taxpayers have a right to know how the university came up with that finding.” Tyler G. Neill ’07-’08, an environmental science and public policy concentrator who signed a letter to Bok demanding the report’s release, agrees. “It just seemed like a completely confidential process, which in a case like this I just don’t think is highly appropriate,” he says.
Appropriate or not, it doesn’t seem like Harvard’s budging this time. And after a year of waiting and perhaps worrying, Douglass can resume his research, which he says is most important to him.
Douglass respectfully declined to be interviewed because, as he wrote in an e-mail, “the goals of science would be best served by focusing on publishing our final results through the peer- reviewed process in scientific journals.”

Fluoridation Debate Letter

Fluoridation Debate
Sir, I would like to thank all those people who have thanked me for my fluoridation letter (Mailbox, September 9). I would also like to thank Jim Roxburgh for publishing his antipathy to the scientific research I have read (September 19). It is far better that he openly shows anger in your column.
Nelson folk know of our interest in the health field from 1961 into the early 1990s - my husband as pharmacist at Annesbrook, and community health committee member and myself as part owner of the pharmacy, correspondence secretary and later chair of Nelson City Community Health.
Recent reading I have seen from the early 1930s showed numerous cases of bone cancer in young men in their 30s, this found in America after trials of sodium fluoride. Why should we be conned into using America's waste products? Typical America.
DOROTHY-ROSE PALLESEN

What You Do and Don't Know About Fluorine and Fluoride

Domestic sewage also plays a role in water pollution due to added fluorine in drinking water. Even with secondary sewage treatments, a significant amount of fluoride still finds its way to streams, lakes, and rivers. What sort of effects do these fluoride levels have on aquatic organisms? Researchers suggest that since oceanic creatures have been exposed to a certain amount of fluorine naturally, they are less likely to be effected than their freshwater counterparts. Freshwater organisms have not been exposed to elevated levels of fluorine (due to the lack of salt water which dissolves mineral rocks containing fluorine) and so they may experience negative physiological effects. Studies have not been conducted to determine what the sub-lethal long-term effects of fluoride are.

Obsession with whiteness.

In an interview on “Good Morning America,” self-described tooth-whitening junkie Jessica N. admitted she abuses whitening products, and uses them far beyond product recommendations with applications up to twice a day for months at a time. “Whatever the cost, whatever the pain, whatever it takes to get there, I’ll do it,” she said.
Unfortunately, Jessica is not alone. Dubbed “bleachorexics” by cosmetic dentist Dr. Nancy Rosen and others, a growing number of people driven to achieve the perfect shade of white become obsessed with whitening products and use them to dangerous levels. Like the anorexic who sees herself as overweight, the bleachorexic is never satisfied with the whitening level. This overuse leads to inflammation, recession, sensitivity, and translucent teeth, the natural shade gone forever. How did we get here?

Weird.

Scotland

Health & Education
Councils to consult on water fluoridation
THE draft documents propose that councils should be able to consult on the controversial issue of fluoridation of the water supply.
Some water board areas south of the Border and many parts of the United States add fluoride to water in order to improve dental health. However, it has been opposed in Scotland amid worries that excess fluoride may be linked to brittle bones as well as to stomach and thyroid problems.
Labour insiders admit that the precise legislative details are still to be worked out and that the scheme will often involve neighbouring councils having to agree together to investigate fluoridation because of the fact that some reservoirs supply more than one area and that water supplies are not under the direct control of councils.
Other health policies include a school-style ban on unhealthy snacks and drinks in council-run sports centre vending machines, with sweets, crisps and sugary drinks replaced with fruit and mineral water

I thought Scotland rejected fluoridation?

USA - Out of the Past

50 years ago today, 1956: Mrs. Margaret E. Jones of Detroit, who says fluoridated water made her ill, is seeking $10,000 to cover medical expenses and the cost of enough untreated water to last her the rest of her life. She filed suit in circuit court against suburban Highland Park, who has fluoridated their water for the past four years to prevent tooth decay. The alleged illness she suffered from fluoride was not disclosed.

- I wonder if she won?

Australia - Same problems as rest of Western world.

DENTAL health is a national disgrace and dentist bills should be covered under Medicare, the vast majority of Australians believe.A Newspoll survey found many people endured chronic dental problems because they could not afford to get them fixed.
More than 90 per cent of the 1200 people surveyed said dentist bills should be treated no differently to other medical expenses and covered under Medicare.
Three-year-old Cooper Agius from western Sydney is the perfect example of why the system is failing.
The toddler needs new crowns and root treatment - but his parents have been told to sedate him for 12 months until he can get public emergency dental treatment.
"Australia prides itself on its universal healthcare system and yet we have this huge gap in the services we provide.
"Having to wait years for treatment for painful tooth and gum problems is totally unacceptable," he said.
75% fluoridated Australia NYSCOF

Scotland-Jack McConnell, the first minister, is determined to force through legislation

Emboldened by the lack of public opposition to the smoking ban, McConnell intends to re-open the debate over adding fluoride to water to tackle the worst rate of dental decay in Europe.
About 60% of three-year-olds from poor areas have dental disease, but previous attempts to introduce fluoride encountered great public resistance amid fears it could damage vital organs and make teeth brittle.

Watch out Scotland - they never give up.

Rocester, NY, is fluoridated: NYSCOF

In Rochester, NY, telehealth centres were established in six inner-city elementary schools and seven child-care centres. The teledentistry project complemented the existing telehealth model. Using an intraoral camera, telehealth assistants record digital images of children's teeth (768 × 494 pixels) and send the images to a computer at the expert dental site (the Eastman Department of Dentistry at the University of Rochester). The paediatric dentist at the expert site reviews the images, and provides referral and treatment recommendations. Subsequently, the telehealth assistant contacts the child's parents or guardians and assists them to obtain appropriate dental care for their child. In the pilot study, we screened 50 children. In the first nine months of 2005, we screened 123 children. The results of our initial teledental screenings of children aged 12-48 months attending inner-city child-care centres revealed that almost 40% had active dental caries, mainly early childhood caries (ECC). For the first time, many children attending inner-city child-care centres have had their teeth examined at an early age and been given prompt feedback on the need for dental care

USA - Response to “Fluoride foes were few and far between at Shaw Pavilion.”

Find fluoride facts
This is in response to Kevin L. Hoover’s front-page article in the Eye titled, “Fluoride’s Friends ClaimHealth High Ground,” dated Sept. 12.
In this article Mr. Hoover states, “Fluoride foes were few and far between at Shaw Pavilion.” He also states, “In fact, only fans of the cavity-fighting water additive were present.”
As a spokesperson for the passage of Measure W, a citizen-sponsored Safe Water Initiative, I will relate to the citizens of Arcata as to why supporters were not present. A young lady reporter for Channel 3 asking for an interview on the day in question contacted me. She happened to be in Arcata at the time, just minutes away.
I inquired why she happened to be here and she explained that she was covering this press conference. I then inquired as to the location and time it was being held and was told it was happening at noon but she would not give me the location. She felt it was not up to her, the news media, to tell me the location. I asked if it was private and she informed me she didn’t know.
Further letter on same web page

Amusing verse but true

Oh, I wish I'd looked after me teeth,

And spotted the perils beneath,

All the toffees I chewed, And the sweet sticky food,

Oh, I wish I'd looked after me teeth.

I wish I'd been that much more willin'

When I had more tooth there than fillin'To pass up gobstoppers,

From respect to me choppersAnd to buy something else with me shillin'.

When I think of the lollies I licked,

And the liquorice allsorts I picked,

Sherbet dabs, big and little,

All that hard peanut brittle,

My conscience gets horribly pricked.

My Mother, she told me no end,

"If you got a tooth, you got a friend"

I was young then, and careless,

My toothbrush was hairless,

I never had much time to spend.

Oh I showed them the toothpaste all right,

I flashed it about late at night,

But up-and-down brushin'

And pokin' and fussin'

Didn't seem worth the time... I could bite!

If I'd known I was paving the way,

To cavities, caps and decay,

The murder of fiIlin's

Injections and drillin's

I'd have thrown all me sherbet away.

So I lay in the old dentist's chair,

And I gaze up his nose in despair,

And his drill it do whine,

In these molars of mine,

"Two amalgum," he'll say, "for in there."

How I laughed at my Mother's false teeth,

As they foamed in the waters beneath,

But now comes the reckonin'

It's me they are beckonin'

Oh, I wish I'd looked after me teeth.
You can find Pam's forthcoming concert dates at http://www.pamayres.com

No NHS dental places left in south Liverpool

A spokesman for the BDA said: "Good oral hygiene is important for us all. Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and visiting the dentist regularly both help keep our smiles healthy.

"Despite an overall improvement in the oral health of the UK over the last 30 years, inequalities between those with the best and worst oral health exist. Targeted water fluoridation would help address those inequalities."

Watch out Liverpool.

More medical voices join pro-fluoride choir

“Over 60 years of scientific research have shown overwhelmingly that community water fluoridation is safe and protects rich and poor alike from dental disease. We agree with the conclusion reached by Consumer Reports that ‘The simple truth is there is no ‘scientific controversy’ over the safety of fluoridation. The practice is safe, economical and beneficial.’ Community water fluoridation is a good example of a measure that is taken by our government to benefit many people without causing measurable harm.”

The simple truth?

The statement recommends that those who opoose fluoridation filter it out or buy non-fluoridated water.

Arrogance

Australia - Petition

Councillor Jenny Hanuska said she wanted to acknowledge the efforts of the Wodonga Fluoride Education Awareness Team and its president Marilyn Edgar in gaining 5000 signatures on its petition.

An effective president.

Dry Mouth from Drugs

"You're taking over-the-counter medications or prescription drugs that may be helping to dry your mouth out," said Wade. "That can be a side effect of those drugs, like allergy medications, treatments for acid-reflux, even stress hormones and anxiety play a part."
And, that lack of saliva leaves your teeth open to bacteria.
To try to stop the aggressive decay, Wade is now advocating fluoride treatments for all her adult patients. Plus, using prescription strength toothpaste at home for the most vulnerable.

Better to stop taking the drugs.

USA - Letter to the editor by NYSCOF

Written by nyscof - LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Thursday, 21 September 2006
Fluoride jeopardizes health - even at low levels deliberately added to public water supplies, according to data presented in a recent National Academy of Sciences' (NAS) National Research Council (NRC) report. Fluoride poses risks to the thyroid gland, diabetics, kidney patients, high water drinkers and others and can severely damage children's teeth. (1) At least three panel members advise avoiding fluoridated water.

New Zealand - Active in pushing fluoridation in Tauranga

Push for fluoride in Tauranga's water escalates
21.09.2006
By Paul Dykes
The drive to put fluoride in Tauranga's water supply is about to escalate - and get personal.
Bay health board members intend to renew the push for a fluoridated water supply across the Bay by turning up at council meetings to promote the case.
At its monthly meeting yesterday, the board decided to crank up the pressure on councils that were opposed to fluoridation.
Board member Don Riesterer said he wanted the board to "get active" about promoting fluoridation. "We have to keep working on these councils."
His comments were made after the board was told that about 30 per cent of children starting school in the Bay had unacceptable levels of caries, fillings and missing teeth.

USA - Oral decay in fluoridated Cincinnati.

Tooth decay is on the rise – more than 45% of inner city children have untreated decay
• Emergencies cases have tripled at the Cincinnati Health Dept. Clinics over the past 8 years.
• Existing dental clinics are at capacity
Dental pain & infection is the #1 one reason why people go to the University Hospital Emergency Room From "Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky & Southeastern Indiana"
All fluoridated NYSC

(Slide show)

Del Rio officials cite fluoride-vote reaction

Web Posted: 09/20/2006 01:09 AM CDT
John MacCormack
Express-News Staff Writer
A week after voting unanimously to eliminate fluoride from the city's drinking water, Del Rio City Council members remain awed at the widespread attention they are receiving. "I've had a tremendous reaction to this. I've received e-mails from all over the world, not just the United States," said council member Pat Cole, who made the motion Sept. 12 to eliminate fluoride. "We thought we were dealing with a local water issue. It's amazing to me so many people are against fluoride."
"For the most part, people say we did the right thing, and they want us to stick with our decision," Mike Wrob said.
The city had used the cavity-fighting water additive for 16 years without much controversy before retired biology Professor John Morony began telling the council more than a year ago that it's a cancer-causing poison. After Morony's second presentation Sept. 12, the council voted to make Del Rio fluoride-free. "Right after the decision was made by council, I made a call at 8:17 p.m. to my operator to cease fluoridation," said Mitch Lomas, manager of the city water plant. "A lot of citizens are happy with the decision the council made and are applauding it," he said.
Six years ago, San Antonio voters approved adding fluoride to city water, after three referendums and decades of often-contentious debate. More recently, Alamo Heights followed suit. And with more than three-quarters of Texans drinking fluoridated water, Del Rio's move to end the program for its 36,000 residents caught state health officials by surprise. Tom Napier, the state's fluoridation engineer who helped set up the Del Rio system 16 years ago, hopes to visit the city next week to speak with local officials. Only last summer, Napier appeared before the Del Rio council to make the case for fluoride.
"After 60 years of research and usage in the United States, fluoride is proven to be effective and safe," he said. "When you discontinue fluoride, you get an increase in cavities throughout the population." Napier said it's quite unusual for a city of Del Rio's size to abandon the additive. "We lose one or two small systems a year, but Del Rio is not a small system. I was surprised and disappointed," he said. Morony, 70, said he is not against fluoride, but is opposed to putting it in the municipal drinking water. "There is no dosage control. In the summer time, a construction worker outside will drink 10 times what someone in an air-conditioned office might drink," he said. Morony said he was particularly opposed to the form of fluoride being used in drinking water, hydrofluosilicic acid, a waste byproduct of fertilizer manufacturing.
"If they want to give it to the general population, put a pharmaceutical-grade fluoride in salt, like they do in Europe. Putting an industrial waste in drinking water is criminal. It's insane," he said. Not all Del Rio residents, however, were pleased with the decision. "It's a bad move. They were misinformed, and without consulting anyone else, they took it hook, line and sinker," said Dr. Larry O'Brien, a Del Rio pediatrician. "In the '50s, it was a plot by the communists to make everyone docile. Now it causes cancer." Council member Cole, however, said she did not act hastily and doesn't expect the city to reverse its stance. "I have a feeling the council is going to stick with this because several of us are deep into the research and have been looking at it over a year," she said. She said it does not concern her that Del Rio has acted contrary to the advice of state health officials and has taken a different course than most of the large cities in Texas.
"I feel in my heart we've done the right thing. If anything concerns me, it's the citizens of San Antonio drinking that water with fluoride."

USA - Improving Children's Oral Health Focus of National Gathering for Health Care Leaders

"Oral disease is a growing epidemic for children. It's no longer a problem for the poor -- there is growing evidence that dental disease is impacting children across all segments of society," said Institute interim director Dr. Ron Inge, DDS. "We are bringing the best minds in the industry together to find solutions to this national crisis in childhood oral health."

No mention of fluoridation - yet

Our children have some of worst teeth in the UK
by Anne Alexander
Political Editor
Children in West Yorkshire have some of the worst teeth in the country with tens of thousands having to have extractions during the past year because they were so rotten.
In total, 48,257 extractions were carried out in the area in the year up to March this year – the second highest in the country
In addition, dentists carried out 187,146 fillings to stop further decay in children's teeth – the fourth highest tally.
Cheshire and Merseyside had the worst record for extractions with 48,308 and Greater Manchester for fillings with 232,711.
Up and down the country, a total of 876,077 extractions were carried out on children and youngsters were given just over four million fillings.
The figures were revealed to MPs following questions to ministers in the House of Commons.
A spokesman for the Department for Health said: "There has been a dramatic improvement in dental health in primary teeth over the last 30 years but there is still a long way to go .
"Currently some six out of 10 children starting school have never known decay but we still rank seventh best in Europe when it comes to dental health among five-year-olds.
"The greater part of this fall in dental decay occurred between 1973 and 1993 largely due to the widespread introduction of fluoride toothpaste and over the last 20 years the improvement has been at a slower rate.
"In 1983, 48 per cent of five-year-olds had no tooth decay and this increased to 54 per cent in 1993 and 56 per cent in 2003."
Health minister Rosie Winterton encouraged parents to make sure their children brush regularly and learn to look after their teeth when they are young.
18 September 2006

Prof in Fluoride Flap Gave $1M to Harvard

Gift to Dental School leaves watchdog group with bad taste in mouth
Published On Monday, September 18, 2006 2:55 AM
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ
Crimson Staff Writer

A School of Dental Medicine professor cleared last month of allegations that he covered up links between fluoride and bone cancer is listed as a million-dollar benefactor of the school’s new research and education building. The revelation has led one environmental advocacy group to suggest that a recent Harvard investigation of the professor, Chester W. Douglass, may have been compromised due to the professor’s status as a patron of the school.
The Washington-based Environmental Working Group, which initially brought the accusations against Douglass, said on Friday that the professor’s donation discredits the impartiality of Harvard’s review. “There is nothing wrong with donating a million dollars to your employer, but it does create a potentially serious conflict of interest when the recipient of the million dollars is investigating the ethics of the donor,” the group’s senior vice-president, Richard Wiles, said in a statement. Douglass did not respond to repeated requests for comment at his home and office. Likewise, officials at the School of Dental Medicine and Harvard Medical School did not respond to e-mails and phone calls over the weekend. The Environmental Working Group alleged in 2005 that Douglass had suppressed the research of one of his students, Elise Bassin. Her research found an increased risk for osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, in young boys drinking fluoridated water. Douglass’s own studies found no connection between fluoride consumption and an increased likelihood of the cancer.
While the panel of senior Harvard professors conducting the investigation did not take a position on the cancer link, they stated that Douglass “did not intentionally omit, misrepresent, or suppress” Bassin’s findings. Douglass also serves as the editor of a journal produced by fluoridated-toothpaste maker Colgate.

But the Harvard investigators reported that Douglass’s involvement with Colgate did not violate federal guidelines. In addition, the investigators said, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office for Research Integrity oversaw Harvard’s review of Douglass and determined that no further investigation would be necessary. The documents related to Harvard’s investigation have not been released.
In both the 2004 and 2005 fiscal years, Douglass gave between $1,867 and $2,499 to the School of Dental Medicine, according to annual reports posted on the school’s website. The reports do not mention Douglass’s million-dollar gift to the school, but his name is emblazoned on a plaque in the lobby of the new 60,000-square-foot research and education building at 190 Avenue in Boston. On the plaque Douglass and his wife, Joy, are listed as one of six benefactors giving $1 million or more to the school.
—Staff writer Javier C. Hernandez can be reached at jhernand@fas.harvard.edu.

The great fluoride debate

We posed a number of questions to the two fluoride action groups – those who are in favour and those who are against. Both groups were given the same questions and had the same opportunity to provide answers. Both were limited to the same number of words – an average of 100 per question.

Fair way of letting the public know both sides of the argument.

Everything you may want to know about toothpaste.

Toothpaste's merit is in the eye of the beholder
September 18,2006
Kate Lohnes
Monitor Staff Writer
Spearmint, peppermint, vanilla mint, bubble gum, cinnamon, baking soda, peroxide, fluoride, anti-gingivitis, tartar control…
If you’re shopping for toothpaste, this is only the beginning of a long list of options.

USA - OK for us though!

Saturday, an attorney helped with estate planning to ensure pets a good home after owners die, and groomers gave free pet teeth cleanings - Crest and Colgate won't do; the fluoride makes dogs sick, said Jessica Root of Dirty Paws Pet Grooming in Davison.

USA - Must be a convincing speaker.

The fluoridation of Del Rio’s drinking water has came to an end after city council viewed a presentation put together by retired biology professor John Morony at city council’s Tuesday night meeting.

In a letter addressed to Mayor Efrain Valdez and members of the city council, Morony stated “currently we are using an industrial grade of silicoflouride, a waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry, to increase the fluoride content of our drinking water.”
(L-R) John Morony and Ronald Burton are pictured seated at Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The pair made a presentation that led to the unanimous vote of the city council to immediately cease the fluoridation of Del Rio’s drinking water

USA - Dentists want city to resume adding fluoride to water

BEDFORD — Fluoride has long been proclaimed by dentists, physicians and water treatment experts as a great means of ensuring dental health in an area’s citizenship. In 2003, Bedford was honored for maintaining an optimal level of fluoride in the city drinking water by the Indiana State Department of Health. About a year and a half ago, however, the water filtration plant ceased feeding powdered fluoride into the water system. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any fluoride in the water, though, and city officials have been diligently seeking a long-term solution. “We are looking at every option we have to come up with a feed system that will work,” said Eric Flinn, the superintendent at the Bedford Water Filtration Plant. He’s been talking to doctors and dentists in the area over the last few weeks, trying to make sure everyone is aware of the situation. Since the filtration plant was renovated in 2000, there have been chronic problems with the method used to add fluoride to Bedford’s water. “We have very hard water here in Lawrence County,” Flinn said. “The powdered fluoride draws the hardness out of the water.” Simply put, the powdered fluoride caused the limestone and calcium in the water to solidify, lining supply pipes and equipment with that white, chalky substance many locals are familiar with. There are other options, such as using a liquid acid fluoride, which is more expensive. “I called my chemical supplier, and he said he couldn’t guarantee we would get any fluoridic acid for the next two years,” Flinn said, adding that it was shortly after Hurricane Katrina when he asked. Many suppliers of fluoridic acid are from the area affected by the storm and have since returned to more normal levels of production. Flinn said the most probable solution available would be to build an additional building at the filtration plant, which would be dedicated to a fluoride feeding system. “We are looking at what other municipalities in the area are doing about this problem,” said Mayor Joe Klumpp. “What we are finding is that it is a very costly endeavor.” While the initial cost may be high, those in the medical field say the payoff is worth the investment. “It’s really been proven very effective and cost effective for preventing tooth decay,” said Leila Alter, a local dentist, referring to fluoridating water. “Fluoride helps make teeth more resistant to decay, and also interferes with the development of plaque.” According to the American Dental Association, it has been calculated that the lifetime costs per person to fluoridate a water system is less than the cost of one dental filling. Alter said since she started practicing dentistry in Lawrence County in 1999, she’s witnessed an increase in the amount of young children with tooth decay, or the chronic disease called “dental caries.” She’s convinced maintaining the proper amount of fluoride in the drinking water would help. “The goal is to get the fluoride back in the water,” Alter said. Another consideration is the amount of fluoride ingested daily from sources other than drinking water. According to www.fluoridealert.com, since Sulfuryl Fluoride was approved by the federal government for use in food production facilities, the amount of fluoride in regularly-ingested products has increased dramatically. Some municipalities nationally are looking at stopping the fluoridation of their water supplies because of increased cases of dental fluorosis, or white spotting in the teeth caused by too much fluoride. Plus, Flinn noted, the local water supply has a natural content of between .4 and .6 parts per million, or per milligram per liter of water. There is no mandate for municipalities to include fluoride in the water, but the Environmental Protection Agency dictates that a health limit should be between .7 and 1.2 ppm, if fluoride is added. “It’s hard to justify the expense for something that’s not mandated,” Klumpp said. Especially when there is some naturally occurring fluoride — the best kind — already in the water. That doesn’t mean Klumpp is turning away from the issue. “We are looking into it,” he said. Local physician George Sorrells urged the area medical community to be patient with city officials while they work to find a solution. “I would rather have teeth that have white spots on them from too much fluoride, than teeth that are rotting,” Sorrells said. “A big problem is that we have no good way of reliably measuring the fluoride that youngsters are ingesting.” He would err on the side of caution when it comes to young tooth development. “Good, preventative dentistry and immunization have been two of the major factors in improving children’s health in the last 100 years,” Sorrells said. “If you have a good, sound mouth of teeth, it’s so much better for you.” Times-Mail Staff Writer Jason Mullis can be reached at 277-7260, or by e-mail at jmullis@tmnews.com .

Australia - letter against

Fluoridation is not the answer
I READ with interest in The Border Mail (August 17) an article on the third page headed “Whole lot of kids hit with tooth decay”.
The first paragraph read “tooth decay is so widespread among Australian children, with new research revealing almost half of six year olds are suffering from dental disease”.
It made interesting reading.
Fluoride, a toxic waste product, has been heavily promoted for quite a few years as the ultimate way to prevent tooth decay.
After reading the rest of the story I believe we are being fed false information, as fluoride in our water isn’t the answer.
I would like to ask all the experts what is the real reason for tooth decay? I suggest it is sugar as it is practically in everything we eat.
No wonder obesity and diabetes is rampant.
I would also like to know why our local councils, state and federal governments are so keen to have a poisonous substance added to our water supplies as fluoridation is unethical because individuals are not being asked for their informed consent before medication.
This is a standard procedure for all medication and it is one of the key reasons most of Western Europe has ruled against having fluoride added to their drinking water.
— J.M. SHANAHAN,
Lavington

USA - Four medical and dental groups speak up for fluoridation

They're well-meaning, but misinformed, said Dr. Ellen Mahoney, president of the medical society.
”The science just does not back it up,” Mahoney said.
Mahoney said she grew up in a community without fluoridated water and needed serious dental work by age 13. Her own children, who grew up with fluoridated water, had no such problems, she said.


What does that prove I also had bad teeth at 13 but I made sure my son didn't - without fluoridation. Why doesn't a generation learn from past mistakes to make certain that their children do not suffer as they did ? Lack of brains?

UK Health Minister launches good intentions

British tackle childrens' tooth decay in deprived areas
Child Health News
Published: Thursday, 14-Sep-2006
A British scheme to encourage families with young children in disadvantaged areas to get into the habit of brushing their children's teeth regularly with fluoride toothpaste was launched by Health Minster Rosie Winterton today at the Appleby health centre in Newham - an area with one of the highest oral health needs in the country.

Another highest oral health needs area and the usual lower socioeconomic households. Still there was no mention of the f word except in toothpaste

Cumbria UK letter

water fluoridation
Published on 14/09/2006

Don’t tamper with our water
ON behalf of all my unwitting friends and neighbours may I make a plea to United Utilities and their health authority advisers not to include in their water upgrading programme (News & Star, September 11) any arrangements to add the insidious, cumulative, systemic poison fluoride to our water supply. There are many people I know will support such a plea, but all too many others who are unaware of the dangers. There is already ample evidence which proves the inherent dangers of human ingestion of fluoride even in quite small amounts.Several universities, among them Harvard, have published data showing the link between water fluoridation and human problems.One of the most recent of these is a paper stating the strong link between water fluoridation and bone cancer in boys. Add this to the enormous amount of evidence regarding the adverse effects on the central nervous system and the fact that no member of the independent medical profession has so far been prepared to join in public debate on this important matter and surely our political representatives should take heed. But it seems they will not.

Citizens must not allow themselves to be led blindly onwards into accepting fluoridation.This is to accept mass medication which we Britons have always regarded as being illegal.We must state our objections firmly and clearly before it is too late.
Beatrice Brown

USA - One city chucks out fluoride

City removes fluoride from water
By Karen Gleason
Del Rio News-Herald

Published September 13, 2006
Fluoride will no longer be added to Del Rio’s drinking water.

The Del Rio City Council made that decision Tuesday night after a presentation by John Morony, a retired college biology professor, who characterized fluoride as a poison and showed the council numerous research references that link fluoride to higher rates of cancer and other health hazards. Following Morony’s presentation and a brief discussion by the council, Councilman Pat Cole said, “I make the motion that we cease immediately adding fluoride to our beautiful San Felipe Springs water.” In his letter to the city requesting time to address the council, Morony recommended “that Del Rio cease fluoridating its water supply.” Morony in his letter noted that in the U.S., more than 70 communities have stopped adding fluoride to their water. He also pointed out that most European countries, Japan and China do not add fluoride to their water supplies.
“Why? Basically for two reasons: fluoridated water cannot be shown to significantly reduce dental caries (tooth decay) and it has proved to be far more toxic than previously thought,” Morony wrote. Morony during Tuesday night’s meeting also presented the council with a paper titled “Scientific Facts on the Biological Effects of Fluorides.” The paper listed research references linking fluoride to a variety of medical problems, including the development of bone cancer and premature aging. The paper stated, “Fluoride consumption by human beings increases the general cancer death rate.” Morony noted that although some fluoride occurs naturally in all water, the fluoride being added to the city’s water supply “is a waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry.” “I’m just trying to get the fluoride out of our water,” Morony told the council.
At the end of Morony’s presentation, Cole asked him, “So let me clarify: if we continue adding fluoride, we are putting in our water a byproduct of the fertilizer industry?” “That’s right,” Morony said. Councilman Mike Wrob asked, “At what point did we start putting fluoride in our water?”
City administrators asked Mitch Lomas, manager of the city’s water treatment plant, to answer Wrob’s question. “We started fluoridating in 1990 as a result of a decision by the city council,” Lomas replied. “At the time we did not have all the information about fluoride that we do now,” he added.
Wrob then asked Lomas to give the council his opinion of adding fluoride to the city’s drinking water, a question Lomas did not answer directly.
Mayor Efrain Valdez noted that the city spends about $20,000 a year buying the fluoride to add to the city water. Cole asked Lomas, “How do employees at the water plant feel about handling fluoride?” “It’s a very corrosive chemical. It eats through concrete and metal. When they handle it, they have to wear respirators and chemical-proof suits,” Lomas said. “But how do they feel about handling it?” Cole asked.
“They really would rather not handle it,” Lomas replied. Cole then made her motion to cease fluoridation of the city’s water, with Wrob giving the second. After the council had voted unanimously to approve Cole’s motion, Morony told the News-Herald as he had left the council chambers, “The council’s decision is very gratifying. Now we can go back to drinking Del Rio water.

USA - Letter

Fluoride wrongness
My response to Patty Berg who stated that “Arcatans voted to fluoridate our water in 1956.” Oops, WRONG. Four councilmembers voted it in 50 years ago. Historically, at this time thalidomides were being given to pregnant women, we were building with asbestos, and cigarette packages had no warnings. We have learned so much since then. Arcata citizens are finally getting a chance to have a say about what goes into their water for the first time.

Several other letters for and against.

USA - Comment

The question of whether or not drinking water should be fluoridated seems to remain controversial, decades after concerns about the practice were mocked in a certain film. For those of you who don’t remember, it was in Dr. Strangelove, that General Jack D. Ripper worried that fluoridating water was a Communist plot.Ha, ha.
Except, lots of people don’t like the idea of having things added to their water.
People in Danville have begun lobbying to have the community’s drinking water fluoridated, but members of the Danville Municipal
Authority aren’t certain it’s something that would be universally-welcomed.
And for familiar reasons.
“We had quite a time with this in the 70s. We had some nasty letters.
One man enclosed a clipping that said (Russian communist dictator Vladimir) Lenin had included fluoridation to soften our brains,” municipal authority member John Corman said in a story in today’s edition of The Danville News.
But there are apparently legitimate concerns about the practice of fluoridating drinking water.

The National Academies of Science’s National Research Council put out a report earlier this year suggesting that the EPA’s maximum levels for fluoride in drinking water are too high. In that report, they suggested that at the maximum levels, the fluoride might actually contribute to tooth problems in children and may make kids more susceptible to bone fractures.
And a group called the Environmental Working Group (an organization that doesn’t seem to like fluoride) suggests that in 25 of the 28 largest cities in the U.S., fluoride levels in tap water alone will put 8 to 36 percent of all babies up to 6 months of age over the safe dose of fluoride on any given day.
So why do they put in the water again?
As the unnamed experts at Yahoo Health note “since the 1930s, health professionals have conducted studies showing that small amounts of fluoride in public drinking water (around one part per million) have reduced tooth decay in children by as much as 50 percent.”
But 40 percent of those who’ve responded to our on-line poll question on the matter agree with General Ripper.

Harlem 100% fluoridated: NYSCOF

Lack of Oral Health Care for Adults in Harlem:
A Hidden Crisis
Georgina P. Zabos, DDS, MPH, Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH, Marguerite J. Ro, DrPH, Chau Trinh, MS, Roger Vaughan, DrPH, MS,
Joyce Moon Howard, DrPH, Ira Lamster, DDS, MMSc, Mary T. Bassett, MD, and Alwyn T. Cohall, MD
METHODS
Study Design
The HHS was conducted from 1992 to 1994 in Central Harlem, a largely African American community located in northern Manhattan, New York City. Because previous research has demonstrated that people of color and the poor are underrepresented in household surveys,11 the sampling frame of the HHS included those dwellings and places where people live that are often missed by conventional US census listing protocols;
these include single-room occupancies, cars, and cardboard boxes. Details regarding the sampling frame, survey design, and instrument have been previously described.12 Of the 963 adults selected, 695 successfully completed the interview, for a response rate of 72%. All interviews were conducted in person by trained community residents with a structured questionnaire; they lasted from 60 to 90 minutes. Respondents were compensated $10 for participating.

USA - Groups seek stopping of fluoride in Port Angeles' water

September 11th, 2006 - 7:40am

(Port Angeles) -- Two petitions have been turned into the city of Port Angeles aimed at stopping the addition of fluoride in the municipal water supply. Friday, "Our Water - Our Choice" presented about 23-hundred signatures to the city clerk. Also Friday, another petition from the group "Protect Our Waters" was given to the clerk. The petitions ask the city council to either adopt their positions or send it to a vote of the people. "Our Water - Our Choice" seeks to have the Medical Independence Act put in place for the city. It would prohibit the "medication" of people through drinking water. "Protect Our Waters" wants the Water Additives Safety Act adopted. It would prohibit introduction of anything into the water supply unless it is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration. The city now has three days to get the petitions to the county for verification of the signatures.

Australia - dentist for 31 years

As a dentist, Lee is on the frontline when it comes to the dental health of a community. He has seen it improve markedly with the introduction of fluoride into water systems and then fall away again. "It's been a bell curve. When I first started out as a dentist dental health was pretty crook - there was no fluoride in water supplies. Then we saw the state of people's teeth improve with the introduction of flouride but the trend in recent times has been back towards dental decay, particularly in children." Lee puts this down to what people are eating and drinking, particularly the prevalence of soft drinks and bottled water. "People used to drink a lot of town water, but now they drink mainly bottled which, of course, doesn't contain fluoride.

Fluoride in bottled water is the way to go then at least this gives choice.

The Scotsman reports on tea

Tea lovers - your cup runneth over
IT IS the news tea addicts have been secretly hoping for all along: tea is a health drink. According to a study published in last month's European Journal of Clinical Nutrition drinking three or more cups a day is not only as good for you as glugging down water but, thanks to a list of extra health benefits, it might even be better.

According to this new research tea can help keep our teeth strong (because of its high fluoride content) and, thanks to its high concentration of a group of antioxidants called polyphenols, it can also strengthen our bones and protect us against heart disease and cancer. And forget the common belief that the caffeine in tea makes it a dehydrating drink. According to the scientists at Kings College London even if you brew up a strong cup the net gain of liquid outweighs the amount it might cause you to loose.

High fluoride content but you still need more!

West Virginia is 91% fluoridated: NYSCOF

“For too long, we have neglected informing West Virginians of the impact of dental disease and how it relates to malnutrition as well as a number of other conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, low birth-weight babies and hypertension,” said Dan Brody, a dentist who will lead Valley Health’s education campaign.

Recent studies have ranked West Virginians’ oral health as among the worst in the nation.


Surely it is the diet that is the cause of all those ailments?

Fluoridation Figures Contradict

Fluoridation Figures Contradict
Nelson Mail, The Sep 08, 03:55 PM EST
Sir, In the article "Fluoridation an issue amid decay reports'' (Nelson Mail, September 4), reporter Marcus Stickley quotes Nelson Marlborough District Health Board as saying that "43 percent of Nelson-Marlborough five-year-olds have tooth decay, the same number as 2004''.
He then goes on to say that "nationally, about 48 percent of five- year-olds have decayed teeth''. This is followed with the statement, "Decay rates are on average about 13 percent lower in districts with fluoridated water''. As Nelson and Marlborough water supplies are not fluoridated, these statements contradict themselves.

In countries such as the USA, there is plenty of evidence to show that many of the cities that have fluoridated water also have some of the highest rates of tooth decay in the country. The only real evidence of any effectiveness against tooth decay is through the topical application of fluoride using fluoridated toothpaste.

It is interesting to note that Nelson-Marlborough five-year-olds have a lower rate of tooth decay than the national average at 43 percent compared with 48 percent, so where is the evidence that Nelson-Marlborough children would be better off with fluoridated water?

LORRAINE LEADER

USA - The poor again

"Children in extreme poverty have little or no access to dental services," said Pfeffer, who added that the number of children they see with advanced tooth decay - about 63% - is unheard of in private practice dentistry. "We're trying to prevent 20-year-olds walking around with missing teeth, and we believe taking it to the schools is the answer."

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is fluoridated:NYSCOF

How is it that the BFS and the BDA and people like the Hampshire dental consultant can claim fluoridation will fix the poor dental health of the poor - sorry - lower socioeconomic households when clealy it won't?

USA _ Letter

Let's contact the FDA
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acts like the Federal Deceptive Agency. Although instituted to ensure the health of the American people, it devotes its time to looking after the welfare of special interests.
Not long ago ground-up dead cattle were allowed to be fed to live cattle as a source of protein. I believe blood products from dead cattle are still allowed to be mixed with feed.
Hormones were given to dairy cows so they could produce more milk than intended by Mother Nature. This caused infected udders which produced milk containing pus. Well now, we can't have pus in our milk so the dairy cows were injected with antibiotics, so now we can drink milk tinged with antibiotics.
Food is shipped into this country that has been grown in soil fertilized with human waste. Our food is often saturated with chemical weed killers and pesticides, and for some reason that defies logic, we are expected to consume this poison.
The tube of Crest toothpaste which I have in front of me contains the warning, "Keep out of reach of children 6 yrs. of age. If more than used for brushing is accidently swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away." That's because fluoride, an active ingredient in most toothpaste, is a poison.

We are fortunate here in Pahrump, but most communities on a central water supply have fluoride added to their drinking water. It is added to the drinking water pumped from Lake Mead. It's one thing to have fluoride applied to the surface of teeth, but why would you want to drink the stuff?
Allowing hydrogenated oils to be an ingredient in much of what we buy at the supermarket is probably the worst offense against Americans' health allowed by the FDA. Research shows that these oils, originally developed to prevent spoilage and extend shelf life, when consumed over time have probably caused millions of Americans to become ill and are probably the underlying cause of many deaths.
We are told to eat organic foods because they are healthy, yet only a small amount of the products available in our stores is organic. If organic equates to healthy food, then what do we call the other stuff that's for sale? OK, but not as healthy as it could be? Years ago all food was organic, we simply called it food.
If organic means the healthiest, then we need to demand more organic products from the store managers. We need to see more items labeled with no hydrogenated oils and no trans-fat.
Most packaging lists a point of contact. We can also express our thoughts to Congress and, of course, the FDA. It's time they looked after the needs of the people.

Leonard J. Coenen

Depressing that there are so many terrible things wrong with our society.

UK - Considered removing fluoride!

NHS officials reject service cuts
Earlier cuts to save money provoked an angry reaction
Health officials say proposals to close contraception clinics in Lincolnshire in a bid to tackle NHS debt should be turned down. After a public consultation, managers of the Lincolnshire South West PCT said the closure would put too much pressure on GPs taking over the service. Proposals to remove fluoride from the water supplies in the north and west of the county were also turned down. The decision will need to be ratified by meetings of two other PCTs.
Widespread consultation
Officials at the Lincolnshire South West PCT board meeting on Wednesday said they believed most teenagers would not visit a GP for family advice. They also said that removing fluoride from water would have a bad effect on dental health. The proposals will be discussed at board meetings of the West Lincolnshire and East Lincolnshire PCTs later in September. Dr Robert Wilson, said: "We've listened to the widespread consultation and one or two changes have been made as a result, which is what you expect to see after a consultation. "The decisions do have to be ratified formally by each PCT board, so the final decisions have not been made but the clear outcome of the consultation was that the proposed changes should be rejected."

Didn't know they considered removing it.

New Zealand

Doctor speaks at Kaitaia anti-fluoride demonstration
08.09.2006
Up to 150 people marched through Kaitaia yesterday in protest at a Far North District Council decision to fluoridate the town's water supply.

March organiser and trainee herbalist Anah van Dorp (obscured in pic) said the turnout for the lunchtime march was "very satisfying" given the one-week notice.

A petition of 830 signatures was presented to councillors, and speakers such as Kaitaia Hospital physician Cornelius van Dorp (on the microphone) addressed the group. Te Hauora Te Hiku o te Ika trustee Ted Norman is holding the megaphone.
In July the council voted narrowly to launch a two-year trial of fluoridation after a telephone poll found a majority of residents in favour.
Kaikohe residents are also organising a petition against the plan.

They got 150 to turn out and protest. They are better organized than we are.

New Zealand

Far North Doctor Leads Fluoridation Opposition
7:54 am, 07 Sep 2006 A Far North doctor is taking the lead in protests to keep fluoride out of local drinking water.
Dr Cornelius van Dorp will speak at a rally in Kaitaia today against plans to fluoridate water supplies in the town and in Kaikohe. The GP has spent several weeks reading research papers on the chemical, after patients asked him if it was safe.
He says some of the evidence against fluoride is weak but some of it is very strong and he feels the risks of ingesting it over a lifetime outweigh any benefit. Dr Van Dor says he would not prescribe fluoride for an individual patient, let alone put it in drinking water

Wish there were more doctors like him

USA Using fluoride in water comes under scrutiny

Using fluoride in water comes under scrutiny
A taste-free, invisible substance flows through every tap in Iowa City. Coursing up and down pipelines, the city's fluoridated water has served essentially as free dental care for 61 years, officials say. But many researchers nationwide now argue that the substance could have some harmful side effects. One UI researcher is set on validating his theory that fluoride is still effective in preventing tooth decay.
UI dentistry Professor Steven Levy is in the process of gathering data from the women and children he studied between 1992 to 1995 about effects of fluoride use. The head researcher of the Iowa Fluoride Study will go to Ireland next week to discuss his findings, which concentrate on fluoride's effects from infancy to teenage years.
"Everyone benefits from fluoride in the water," said Levy, who is in the preventive and community dentistry department at the UI College of Dentistry.
But other experts believe harmful effects of fluoride outweigh its benefits. Officials from the Environmental Working Group - a group of scientists, engineers, policy experts, and lawyers who head environmental investigations - said fluoride in drinking water is not good and boosts the risk of cancer in young boys. Jovana Ruzicic, the organization's press secretary, said a Harvard University study revealed that boys ages 5 to 8 in communities with fluoridated water were five times more likely to develop bone cancer.
"There is no benefit, only damage," Ruzicic said. Though Ruzicic added that bone cancer may be relatively rare, a more common side effect found in such communities is dental fluorosis: brown staining and pitting of the teeth. Studies have shown that high concentrations of fluoride can damage tooth enamel, said John Doull, the chairman for a National Research Council study on fluoride in drinking water. Levy, the UI researcher, recognizes that such cosmetic and dental nuisances do occur among Iowa City residents because of the fluoridation.

Daily Mail - long list of cancer-causing chemicals includes fluoride.

Fluoride
But the most controversial ingredient in toothpaste is fluoride. Many of us buy fluoride-containing toothpastes in the belief they will protect our teeth. There is, according to Pat Thomas, little convincing scientific evidence to support this.
She says fluoride is in fact a poison — there is enough fluoride in the average-sized tube of family toothpaste to kill a small child if ingested. For this reason, she says, the American Food and Drug Administration and the Swedish National Food Administration require toothpaste containing fluoride to be labelled with a 'poison' warning.
She says fluoride can cause allergic-type reactions, and is a suspect in a host of illnesses, including bone problems, diabetes, thyroid malfunction and mental impairment. Young children have a tendency to swallow toothpaste — and it is for this reason that family toothpastes (which generally contain the highest amounts of fluoride) are considered unsuitable for children under eight. Remember, it's not the paste, but the brush that cleans your teeth. Equally, it's not how hard you brush, but how long and how thoroughly. You should spend at least a minute gently but thoroughly brushing your teeth every morning and night. Choose a good quality, soft-medium brush h with lots of filaments packed tightly together. Replace it regularly at the first sign of wear. If you want to use toothpaste — use a low fluoride paste (around 500 parts per million)and use less. A pea-sized blob is all you need.

If you can't find a low flluoride paste, look at children's brands — there's nothing, apart from aesthetics, to stop you using one.

USA - same story world wide.

The problems, Avery said, appear to be greater in lower socioeconomic households. The study noted that access to dental care needs to dramatically improve.

lower socioeconomic households - the poor

Oklahoma is 75% fluoridated: NYSCOF

Australia - rat poison

* That council provide 14 days public notice of the proposed commencement date for fluoridation of Mudgee and Gulgong water supplies and that the notices have information which includes rate of fluoride dose, type of fluoride used, parents to check fluoride content of baby formulae before mixing with town water and parents to ensure children do not use fluoride supplements such as toothpaste or mouthwash.

* That following the introduction of fluoridation to Mudgee and Gulgong water supplies, council ceases to supply unfluoridated water at all council offices, meeting rooms and depots in the shire.

Cr Moore says the public has a democratic right to know when their water supplies will be dosed with 'rat poison' and to make other arrangements for their drinking water.
Extract

Greenville, Mississippi, is fluoridated: NYSCOF

GREENVILLE - School nurses deal with dental health needs ranging from toothaches, chronic headaches, bleeding gums, abscesses, even cardiac problems caused by poor dental care, but a program new to Greenville public schools will work to change that.

“There were 54 million hours of education lost last year due to chronic dental needs,” Rice said, “and 81 percent of low-income children in the United States today don't get any type of decent dental care or follow-up.”

The biggest reasons for lack of dental care for many low-income children, Rice said, is lack of access to Medicaid providers, dental indifference on the part of parents who may not have enough dental education themselves, and parents who don't have the ability to take time off from work or don't have transportation to get to the dentist.

Low income children again and incomes are going down with third world migration

3 Pints of saliva!

Saliva shortage
Seven tips for a dry mouth
JUPITERIMAGESWater's good. Sugar-free gum helps. But Listerine may dry out your mouth. Saliva is a health drink for your teeth and mouth. The three pints produced by the salivary glands each day contain antibacterial substances that protect teeth from cavities. Like all body fluids, saliva is a near cousin to blood, so it contains calcium and phosphorus that teeth absorb. It also functions as an overall lubricant for the mouth, preventing food from sticking to your teeth and gums. By neutralizing gastric acid and keeping the flow of food and drink through the mouth and esophagus on the right course, saliva may help check gastro-esophageal reflux, a leading of cause of heartburn.

Professor Cleared in Fluoride Study as Controversy Stirs

Video link that I had not seen from the 22nd August. Not much conflict of interest!

50 percent of Pennsylvanians live in communities that do provide fluoridated water

The huge gaps in access to oral health care and prevention for low-income persons result in serious and painful conditions at an early age and lifelong health problems. In my practice at Sadler Health Center, I have many 2- to 8-year-old children with multiple carious lesions, many of whom are from families in which dental care is, understandably, a lower priority than health and safety. These families should not have to prioritize these basic needs.

It's those poor people again - cure - pay them more money and improve education

Are you sitting comfortably - once upon a time

"And, you must know, a child cannot consume too much fluoridated water. The taste does not change. The only benefit is a positive benefit: less decay, less pain and discomfort, and a happier child," Markoff said.
It is very important to note, he added, that not one child, in 61 years, has ever had an adverse reaction to fluoridated water-no matter how much water the child consumes. "This means that fluoridated water has only positive effects, and that is why it is a gift," he stressed.

Just found this about Saipan http://www.saipansucks.com/about.htm

USA - The Danger In Your Water

Burke, 33, is a soccer mom and vice president of the local PTA. She studied environmental science in college and learned enough about fluoride to be convinced that she didn't want it flowing from the taps in her home. She won't even let her family brush with fluoride toothpaste. So Burke joined a small group of citizens who, last year, persuaded the city council to abandon its plan to fluoridate the water.

"Very long report on fluoridation and how to avoid fluoride"

Novel Packaging Technologies

How consumers will take to the technologies also remains to be seen. There have been protests that adding folic acid to bread or fluoride to water amounts to mass medication. What’s more, the industry need only look at how European consumers responded to genetically modified food to see what they might be up against, says Frans Kampers of the Wageningen Bionanotechnology Centre for Food and Health Innovations in the Netherlands – particularly if they are associated with the term “nanotechnology”.

Long article about new ways of treating food you may find interesting