USA - Letter: Article misrepresented effects of fluoridation

When we read a recent letter by Minnesota Dental Association Executive Director Dick Diercks, we were stunned.The information stated in the article was certainly misguided, containing misinformation and vital omissions. As a dental association representative, Mr. Diercks may want to familiarize himself with some credible research on the health effects of fluoridation — a practice he states, "benefits everyone." The National Research Council completed an extensive 2006 report on fluoridation. It is the same organization commissioned by the EPA to determine major policy. The panel identified many research studies in which animals or humans drinking water close to, or even lower than, Minnesota's 1.2 parts per million level of fluoridation showed numerous adverse health effects.
These included: bone fractures, decreased thyroid function, impaired glucose tolerance (prediabetes), brain cell damage, lowered IQ, kidney damage, arthritic-like conditions, and symptoms characteristic of Alzheimer's disease and cancer.
The CDC quietly conceded, in 1999 and again in 2001, that the predominant benefit of fluoride in reducing tooth decay is topical and not systemic.
The source for this statistic comes from http://keepersofthewell.org. To the extent fluoride works to reduce tooth decay, it works from the outside of the tooth, not from inside the body.

It makes no sense to drink it and expose the rest of the body to the long-term risks of fluoride ingestion when fluoridated toothpaste is readily available. This is comparable to swallowing sunscreen to prevent sunburn!
Unfortunately, little of the documented information cited above is broadly publicized. The phrase used by fluoridation promoters, "one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century," might provide a good sound bite — despite its unfounded dissemination of science.
Why is it this way?