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UK Against Fluoridation

Friday, February 29, 2008

USA - Commentary: City of FdL ignoring fluoride removal petition

Commentary: City of FdL ignoring fluoride removal petition
For more than 30 years, I've been begging the City of Fond du Lac to stop dumping the deadly poison hydrofluosilicic acid to our drinking water.
We dig deep wells to get the cleanest drinking water, and then our elected officials fill it with an industrial waste product.
I still hope the City Council will finally look at the evidence. If they do, they will see why the scientific community around the world condemns fluoridation as very harmful to our health. Less than 4 percent of Europe is fluoridated, and Japan has never added fluoride.
We now know that fluoride causes an increase of 700 percent in bone cancer in young males (New Jersey Department of Health study). It suppresses the immune system, and makes bones brittle. Did you wonder why there are now so many hip and bone fractures? If fluoride has any value at all, it is from surface application, which we get from toothpaste, mouthwashes and dentists. We don't need to swallow it.
Fluoride is a main ingredient in rat poison. It is so dangerous that fluoride toothpaste requires a warning label — children under the age of 6 should be supervised to prevent swallowing, and if more than a normal amount is ingested, the poison control center should be contacted.
Our group presented a petition with more than 2,200 signatures requesting that the city have an advisory referendum to see if the people of Fond du Lac wanted hydrofluosilicic acid added to their drinking water. It seems this petition is still being ignored, just sitting in the City Clerk's Office. So much for representative government.
Dr. Paul Connett, one of the leading authorities in the world on fluoridation, came all the way from New York to warn our City Council about the dangers of fluoridation, at his own expense. The City Council would give him only 30 minutes of its time, and then ignored all the evidence he presented.
The largest study ever conducted on tooth decay in the United States tracked more than 39,000 children in 84 cities. It shows there is no significant difference in decay rates among the children drinking fluoridated water versus those who drank non-fluoridated water. The study was conducted by the National Institute of Dental Research and cost taxpayers more than $3 million.
But still, we pay the price for a foolish mistake made more than 60 years ago, which our council refuses to reconsider. When we first started dumping poison in our water, doctors were still recommending smoking as good for you.
Fluoride can cause dental fluorosis and mottled teeth in your children and also causes neurological damage. Check it out at www.fluoridealert.org. You will be shocked and alarmed. I also have a two-hour DVD that will convince even the most vehement skeptic about the dangers of fluoridation.
Incidentally, the Fond du Lac Water Quality Report calls fluoride a contaminant, and the source is "discharge from fertilizer and aluminum factories." Hydrofluosilicic acid is an industrial waste product that has never been approved by the FDA for human consumption. We are spending millions to remove one contaminant from our water while adding a deadly poison. Does that make any sense?
Unfortunately, once government takes a position on a subject, it is almost impossible to get it to change. Still, more than 100 cities in the United States have discontinued fluoridation as a failed concept. I hope that Fond du Lac won't be the last one that does.
Richard Matthew of Fond du Lac is a longtime opponent of fluoridating the city's water supply.

UK - Town Hall's bottled water ban

Town Hall's bottled water ban
By Jane LavenderComment
BOTTLED water has been banned from all council-run buildings in Bolton.
Instead staff and councillors at the Town Hall, local authority offices and schools are being told to drink tap water.
The move was suggested by council leader, Cliff Morris, in a bid to help save the environment and promote the use of the region's tap water supplies.
advertisementIt was given cross party support at a meeting of the full council this week.
The move will lead to all water coolers which have large plastic bottles on top being removed from council buildings. Smaller bottles, which are sometimes supplied will also be banned. They will be replaced with water fountains which will be connected to the main supply.
Cllr Morris said: "This is a green issue and we felt we should lead by example. We are looking at our recycling rates and are trying to set an example.
"We have a pure water supply and we will be drinking it at the Town Hall as a way of encouraging people to drink our own water."
The measures will be brought in gradually so a full evaluation can be carried out to ensure the tap water is safe to be drunk as there are fears supplies to some of the council's older buildings could be carried through lead pipes.
It is estimated the council spends around £32,000 every year bringing bottled water into its buildings. It buys supplies from Bronte Water, which is bottled from a spring 50 metres under the Pennines in Haworth, Yorkshire.
It is not expected the plans to ban spring water will initially save cash as work will have to be done to connect fountains safely the mains supply.
The move was overwhelmingly supported at the full council meeting.
Leader of Bolton's Liberal Democratic party, Cllr Roger Hayes, said: "Properly filtered and chilled tap water us just as good as anything you ca buy in a bottle and is a lot more environmentally ."
Some councillors had concerns about the addition of fluoride to Bolton's water supply in the future.
Cllr John Walsh, leader of the Conservative Party in Bolton, said: "We fully support this measure on environmental grounds. However, by taking away the choice to drink bottled water, we are forcing people to drink tap water, which in time could contain fluoride. That would be wrong.
"This motion in reality, was nothing but a token gesture with empty sentiment."
But Cllr Morris insisted the issue would be re-examined if fluoride was added to the borough's water.
He said: "We haven't got into the debate about fluoride and at the moment people are happy to drink tap water."

Australia - North-east centres to get fluoridated water

North-east centres to get fluoridated water
Posted 8 hours 21 minutes ago
Yarrawonga, St James, Tungamah and Devenish residents will soon have fluoride introduced to their water supply.
Victoria's chief health officer, Dr John Carnie, says information about fluoridation has been sent to residents.
He says it has also been strongly supported by health and medical groups in the region.
He says it is now up to North-East Water to introduce fluoride to the water in coming months.
"They have to be able to get someone to be able to build a plant and then obviously test the supply system and then start to put fluoride into the water, so it can be ... 12 months or more from the time we give them the direction to when they are actually able to put fluoride into the water, so it is really the engineering works that are required now," Dr Carnie said.

Tooth decay in children and toddlers

Tooth decay in children and toddlers
Tooth decay is something you normally associate with adults, but it's happening more and more in young children, even toddlers.
Hundreds of local children are ending up in the operation room because of cavities that could have been prevented. Experts say its what can happen when parents don't take precautions.
A three year old is in the operating room at Strong Memorial Hospital, the result of tooth decay. Dr. Robert Berkowitz says, "It's unlikely we'll be able to fix them and we'll have to extract them."
Under anesthesia, a child is having 6 teeth pulled, four stainless steel crowns put in the lower jaw and three fillings in the upper jaw. The culprit, bacteria from sugar.
Dr. Berkowitz says, "Through baby bottles with Hawaiian Punch apple juice in sippy cups."
The Eastman Dental Center sees more than 300 of these kinds of cases a year. In Buffalo, 700 plus cases, and thousands state wide.
While decay is going down among school age children who have permanent teeth, that's not the case of younger children. Parents relying on sugary drinks over a long period of time create baby bottle tooth decay that usually isn't caught in time.
Dr. Robert Berkowitz says most parents don't know the Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies to see a dentist my age one, even before all their baby teeth are in. He says, "The decay process can be ongoing and do a risk assessment to pick out those kids that have that going on and intervene with aggressive preventive techniques so they don't end up on my doorstep like the child in the operating room."
5-year-old Maddy McManus has soft teeth. She had a tooth pulled at the Eastman Dental Clinic last week and has cavities. Her mom Danielle didn't know she was supposed to see a dentist early.
Danielle says, "I thought by 4 her teeth would be in I guess we were supposed to bring her in even before her teeth are all in."
Maddy is just happy her mouth is feeling better, and she's on her way to better oral health that will hopefully prevent her from a lifetime of dental problems.
Dentists say many parents think baby teeth aren't important because they fall out, so taking care of them isn't important. That's not the case. Baby teeth play an important role as place holders for permanent teeth and when removed too early, can lead to to braces when permanent teeth do come in

New York is 73% fluoridated:

Thursday, February 28, 2008

UK - Press cutting sent by Dennis Edmondson

Press cutting sent by Dennis Edmondson. It looks as though chlorine in water will be studied.
Researchers in Bradford will study the effects of air pollution and water contamination on the development of babies & will look at pregnant's women exposure to pollution.
The Natural Environment Research Council & the European Commission Health Impacts of Long-term Exposure to DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS IN DRINKING WATER & other groups are funding this study. Pauline Raynor is programme manager. Those interested are asked to contact:
the "Born in Bradford" project on 01274 364474.
Ann

FLUORIDE LIES of Hydrofluosilicic Acid Poison Drinking Water

UK - Pure water pleading

HOW interesting your article was about Kirklees spending £96,000 on bottled water. I believe them when they say the pipes are old. But what’s the problem? Could it be the threat of lead content? Well, well, I don’t blame them for not using it.
But what I would like to know is, how come it’s suitable for Kirklees staff to drink it when the Government are wanting to fluoridate our water, Fluoride comes form chemical waste that includes lead, among other poisons. Personally, I wouldn’t want to bathe in it, never mind drink and cook with it.
As Brenda Holroyd said (Mailbag, February 18) “get on fluoride tablets if you feel the need”. Or use fluoride toothpaste if you really think it will help. But please leave the rest of us to use the water that is, as yet, safe to do so.
I wouldn’t dream of asking anyone to join in my medication. Why should we be medicated again by the Government for ailments we haven’t got? For the true content of fluoridation go to info@npwa.freeserve.co.uk
Mrs A Power
Longwood

UK - Nigel Carter: For our children's sake, let's welcome fluoride

Nigel Carter: For our children's sake, let's welcome fluoride
By Nigel Carter
IN 1970, one in three people over the age of 16 had no teeth at all. Thankfully, the picture today is very different. Quite rightly, people now have an expectation that their teeth are for life.
But what has caused this dramatic improvement in our dental health? The simple answer is fluoride. Fluoride was first added to toothpaste in the late 1960s, and by the early 1970s virtually all toothpaste contained fluoride. This simple action has led to a reduction of about 50 per cent in the levels of decay we experience. Brushing twice daily with a fluoride containing toothpaste remains the most effective measure to reduce dental decay.As a result, our 12-year-olds have some of the best dental health in Europe – but there is a worrying increase in decay levels among younger children. There are also huge variations around the country, with areas of Yorkshire experiencing some of the worst dental health in the country. For many, regular daily brushing is not a reality, or even an option. Clearly, expenditure on toothbrushes and toothpaste is not a priority for many, and there are strong links between high levels of decay and poverty and disadvantage.It is generally recognised that we should replace our toothbrush every three months, which should lead to a purchase of four toothbrushes per person every year. The reality though is that we only purchase about 1.2 toothbrushes each per year. This means that many people are using old ineffective brushes, sharing toothbrushes or simply not bothering to clean their teeth at all. This group are being denied the benefits of fluoride toothpaste and so continue to experience unnecessarily high levels of dental disease, decay, tooth loss and dental pain.The simple answer is water fluoridation.As a general dental practitioner, I was fortunate to practise for more than 20 years in Birmingham, where the water was first fluoridated in 1964. Here I saw first hand the huge benefits that this simple cost effective measure does provide. Child dental decay was a rarity and the population could look forward to adult life with a fully functioning set of largely decay free teeth.Early in my career, my practice was on the border of fluoridated Birmingham and the then non-fluoridated Sandwell. It was possible with unfailing accuracy to tell from which side of the dividing main road a new child patient came.Why then, does only 12 per cent of the UK population, largely in the West Midlands and North East, benefit from the addition of fluoride at the optimum level? After all, surveys show over 80 per cent of the population are in support of this important public health measure, and most cannot understand why, with such strong evidence in its favour, it is not already being added nationwide. Earlier this month Health Secretary Alan Johnson added his support to calls for more widespread fluoridation.Rarely has a public health measure been so widely examined and researched and yet none of the research supports the arguments of adverse side effects the anti-fluoridationists claim. In fact, quite the contrary – 70 per cent of the population in the US and Australia benefit from water fluoridation, as does most of Ireland and research has been carried out extensively since the first water fluoridation scheme 60 years ago. All these reports have come down hugely in favour of continued or increased water fluoridation.Further research is currently being undertaken and we can expect that the results of these studies will continue to support water fluoridation.No support whatsoever has been found for the myriad claims of adverse effects on general health often put forward by the anti-fluoridationists. Indeed, there is evidence that there is, in fact, a lower level of hip fractures in areas with fluoridation.Fluorosis of the teeth is also quoted as a problem with fluoridation. In severe cases this can lead to unsightly mottling of the teeth, commonly seen in areas of the world which contain natural fluoride at extremely high levels, such as parts of India. In practice, mild fluorosis will be seen in a significant proportion of children who receive fluoridated water. This occurs as an increase in opalescence of the teeth and is considered to give a more attractive appearance. More unsightly cases are extremely rare and very often due to over dosage, where a child has swallowed fluoride toothpaste, been given fluoride supplements and also drinks fluoridated water. The civil liberties issue is even harder to understand. Water fluoridation involves the adjustment of the level of a mineral – which occurs naturally in all water supplies – to the optimum level in order to provide protection against dental decay. I am not aware of any suggestion that adding chlorine to water supplies in order to purify it and prevent infection has ever been challenged on the basis of civil liberties – it is just taken as pure common sense. By welcoming new water fluoridation schemes, we can look forward over the next few years to many of our most needy children enjoying greatly improved dental health.
Dr Nigel Carter is chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation.

All these reports have come down hugely in favour of continued or increased water fluoridation. He tells porkies

USA - Tap Water Is Wise Choice

Tap Water Is Wise Choice
February 26, 2008
As a constituent of state Rep. Beth Bye, I support her efforts to stop the state's practice of purchasing bottled water at taxpayer expense, and to encourage state employees to drink tap water instead [Other Opinion, Feb. 25, "State Must Get Off the Bottle"]. This makes a great deal of sense from both financial and environmental standpoints.
As a dentist, I must point out that for the citizens of Connecticut, and especially its children, drinking tap water also has an added health benefit. Most local water supplies are treated to contain fluoride, which can help to reduce the incidence of dental decay in children by up to 60 percent.
The rate of dental decay in young children has recently increased for the first time in 40 years, and the American Dental Association suspects that some of this increase may be due to children drinking more (unfluoridated) bottled water and less fluoridated tap water.

I applaud Ms. Bye for her stance on tap vs. bottled water, and I urge the people of our state to follow her lead.
Carolyn J. Malon
West Hartford
The writer is president of the Hartford Dental Society.
Comments:

I invite Ms. Malon and Ms. Bye to come to my house and drink my tap water any day. It stinks of chlorination and clogs up my small appliances and shower heads. No thank you Ms. Malon and Ms. Bye...I won't be drinking the tap water at my house any time soon. My guess would be that bottled water is being supplied for a reason... probably because the tap water STINKS and tastes awful!!

nyscof

Tuesday

There is no evidence that the rise in tooth decay is due to drinking non-fluoridated water.There is loads of data to show that soda drinking children have rotten teeth. Most soda is made with fluoridation water.And the Centers for Disease Control actually report that US children are fluoride OVER-exposed and it's ruining their teeth with dental fluorosis (white spotted, yellow or brown teeth)So officials make you pay to have fluoride added to water supplies, not to purify it, but to medicate you ostensibly against tooth decay and then THEY drink bottled.It's time to rebel and get that fluoride out of the water once and for all. Join the national movement to do just thatat http://www.FluorideAction.Net Dental examinations of 4800 South Australianten- to fifteen-year-olds' permanent teeth reveal unexpected results -similar cavity rates whether they drink fluoridated water or not,reports Armfield and Spencer in the August 2004 "Community Dentistryand Oral Epidemiology"Even when fluoridated water is the most consumeditem, cavities are extensive when diets are poor, according to CariesResearch.("Dietary Patterns Related to Caries in a Low-Income AdultPopulation, Burt, et al., Caries Research 2006:40:473-480 )"While bottled water users had significantly lower fluoride intakes, this study found no conclusive evidence of an association with increased caries.," reports Levy et at in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry Summer 2007

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Video on good bacteria

Looked at Horizon last night which covered this subject and looking at this video today I think this is a more persuasive argument about good bacteria.
(Unable to download it)

USA - Flouoride may damage brain

Flouoride may damage brain
Study shows risks of fluoridation
NEW YORK -- It is not clear that the benefits of adding fluoride to drinking water outweigh risks of neurodevelopment or other effects such as dental fluorosis, according to an Institute for Children's Environmental Health report.Fluoride chemicals are added to two-thirds of U.S. public water supplies ostensibly to reduce tooth decay. Fluoride is found in dental products, supplements and virtually all foods and beverages."Excessive fluoride ingestion is known to lower thyroid hormone levels, which is particularly critical for women with subclinical hypothyroidism; decreased maternal thyroid levels adversely affect fetal neurodevelopment," reports a prestigious committee of scientists and health professionals in a Scientific Consensus Statement on Environmental Agents Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders.Studies they reviewed and others link fluoride to brain abnormalities and/or IQ deficits."The question is what level of exposure results in harmful effects to children. The primary concern is that multiple routes of exposure, from drinking water, food and dental care products, may result in a high enough cumulative exposure to fluoride to cause developmental effects," they write.Paul Beeber, a lawyer and president of the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, wants to put a complete stop to water fluoridation."It's time to stop water fluoridation," Beeber said. "With many neurological diseases, such as autism and ADD, afflicting too many American children, fluoride's dubious promises of less cavities no longer outweigh fluoride's serious health risks.”The National Research Council reviewed fluoride toxicology evidence and reported in March 2006 that studies linking fluoride to lowered IQ are plausible."The real dental dilemma facing American children today is their inability to get dental care," says Beeber. "Eighty-percent of dentists refuse Medicaid patients and 108 million Americans don't have dental insurance," says Beeber.Studies show that when fluoridation ends, cavities actually go down.

The Tradition Behind Water Fluoridation

The Tradition Behind Water Fluoridation
Another dental tradition that merits our questioning and careful consideration is municipal water fluoridation. During my college days courses included the idea that water fluoridation was the largest single contributing factor in decreasing the decay rate in the United States. There was no reason to even consider other contributing forces and we didn’t. Only after doing research and finding that other industrialized countries have also seen a decrease in dental decay without water fluoridation did the questions start to form. Is this tradition really the magic solution to caries?
Before anyone labels me anti-fluoride, let me assure you nothing is further from the truth. I dispense (on the prescription of a doctor, of course) 1.1% sodium fluoride preparations every day of practice. In-office fluoride treatments are also provided numerous times a day in my operatory – most often in the form of fluoride varnish. Fluoride is found in products available for retail from our practice in Squigle and Spry toothpaste, as well as MI Paste Plus. In fact, you will find some form of fluoride dentifrice in every medicine cabinet in my house.
I am most definitely pro-fluoride – and also very pro-questioning the status quo too. Do you really know what product is being added to your drinking water to provide the optimal level of fluoridation?
At www.pubmed.com, I entered the words “water fluoridation” and set some limits. About 20 of 31 total items actually addressed fluoridation and/or topical fluoride applications. The remaining were either challenging research criteria or addressing sealants, eruption patterns, or the calcium levels in extracted teeth.
Of the 20 usable resources, two attributed a decline in caries solely to community water fluoridation and two others claimed topically applied fluoride was the only factor in preventing tooth decay.
While interesting, these results were not what started my questioning of supplying systemic fluoride by public water. Rather, it was the three sources claiming any source of fluoride will correspond with a decrease in caries and the five references stating education is essential in any long term program of tooth caries prevention. In the opinions of these authors, no amount of systemic or topical fluoride can replace education. Included in the results of my search were also seven studies attributing the decline in dental caries among children to a combination of water fluoridation and topical application of fluoride. Perhaps we need both for optimal effects; although others claim that is tantamount to overdosing.
The finding I found most valuable was a study by Bohannan HM et.al, published in Journal of Public Health Dentistry (spring 1985) stating further research into methods and calculations of date “suggest a probable misinterpretation of results of studies using only historical comparisons.” This raises the question of whether or not fluoride is even the factor responsible for the decline of caries.
Traditions remain – some good and some questionable. It is not my purpose to give answers of which traditions to follow and which to abandon. Ongoing research, education, and healthy debate are essential in providing optimal care. Question authorities, read entire research studies, and study journals to reach your conclusion. However, my Christmas cards should arrive by July. Some traditions will never change.
About the Author
Lory Laughter, RDH, BS, practices in Napa and Sonoma, Calif., in both general and periodontal offices. She is a partner of Dental IQ, a team committed to arranging quality continuing-education opportunities for Northern California. Through her involvement with Dental Hygienists Against Heart Disease and other organizations, she hopes to bring a total health concept to the dental practice. You may contact Lory at momylaugh@aol.com.

How Diet Can Affect the Color of Your Teeth

How Diet Can Affect the Color of Your Teeth
_______________________________________________
How to Naturally Whiten Your Teeth

If coffee, cigarettes and food have left their mark on your teeth, you’re not alone. There are plenty of people who would try anything to get back their pearly whites.
“Teeth naturally yellow for a number of reasons including smoking, eating highly pigmented foods, drinking coffee, tea or red wine, treatment with antibiotics, trauma, and too much fluoride and tartar accumulation,” according to Elisa Mello, DDS, from NYC Smile Design, a New York-based cosmetic and restorative dental practice. But did you know that Mother Nature has some natural solutions to getting back your pearly whites? Here are some tips provided by Dr. Mello:

Dos
· Eat foods that act like detergents and whiten teeth naturally. To keep teeth bright and prevent yellowing, you need to remove the staining bacteria by chewing certain crunchy fruits and vegetables that produce high salivary flow and actually work like tiny toothbrushes to help scrub away stubborn stains over time. So, take a bite out of apples, carrots, pears, guavas, cauliflower and cucumbers.
· Eat lots of dark green vegetables. Vegetables like broccoli, lettuce and spinach act like a barrier on teeth by creating a film that prevents stains from recurring and can actually help scrub away stubborn stains over time.
· Eat lots of high-fiber and whole foods—they act as natural tooth cleansers.
· Mash a few strawberries in a bowl and then take your finger and spread the pulp all over your teeth. Leave it on a minute or two, and then thoroughly rinse and brush it off.
· Sip through a straw to protect your teeth from stain-makers like coffee, tea, red wine and cola.
· Drink plenty of water to keep the teeth hydrated.
Don’ts
· The rule of thumb is that anything that can stain a white T-shirt can stain your teeth too. That means most varieties of berries, as well as soy sauce, red wine, many fruit juices, coffee, tea, and cola. You don’t have to avoid them altogether, but immediately after indulging, rinse out your mouth with water, brush your teeth or chew gum.
· Keep in mind that citrus fruits contain acid that can cause enamel to deteriorate over time.
· Be aware that those sports drinks, energy drinks and fitness waters contain organic acids which are known to break down calcium. So they’re especially good at eroding your teeth. Recent studies show they were more damaging to tooth enamel than cola-based drinks.
· Reduce your intake of acidic foods like vinegar. Foods that are slightly acidic open up the pores of the tooth enamel allowing for easy staining.
· Avoid highly processed sugars and high-fructose corn syrup, especially sticky foods that maintain contact with the teeth for a longer period of time.
· Extremely hot or cold liquids are dangerous to your white smile because they change the temperature of your teeth. This temperature change causes teeth to expand and contact, allowing stains to penetrate your teeth.
· Tobacco is the biggest culprit in quickly staining your white teeth.
“Thorough cleaning by a dentist or hygienist will remove most external staining from teeth caused by food and tobacco. Using a whitening toothpaste can also help remove these surface stains between dental visits. If stains have been present for years, you may need to have your teeth professionally whitened to remove these more stubborn external stains,” notes Dr. Mello, a Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU College of Dentistry.
“Teeth with internal stains caused by the aging process, antibiotics and trauma can be bleached, veneered or crowned. While each of these methods is safe and effective, your dentist will recommend which treatment is appropriate for you depending on the state of your teeth and the results that you wish to achieve,” adds Dr. Mello.
For more information please go to www.nycsmiledesign.com

UK - Dental system in crisis as one in six Britons can't afford a check-up

Dental system in crisis as one in six Britons can't afford a check-up
Last updated at 10:16am on 26th February 2008
The soaring cost of dental treatment has been blamed for millions of Britons having teeth in shockingly poor state, a new report has found. More than 11million adults have not seen a dentist over the past two years because they could not afford to have a check-up.
Almost eight million patients admitted they refused a recommended course of action from their dentist because, once again, it was too expensive.
The research from Dentale, a new dental clinic, could explain the surveys other shocking findings. It reported that more than half of British adults have at least one tooth missing and five million claim they have lost more than five.
One in five people in Scotland and the Midlands rated their teeth as being in a poor or very poor condition - the worst results in the UK. Almost half of the adult population do not have access to an NHS dentist. In January the British Dental Association revealed more than 1,000 dentists had stopped providing NHS care since the introduction of the controversial new contract in 2006.
The contract aimed to give more patients the chance to register with an NHS dentist and encourage preventive care. It also simplified the charges for dental work.
But there has been mounting concern that it has had the opposite effect, with dentists rejecting NHS patients or providing less complex treatment over fears their income will be hit.
Jason Buglass, a dentist with 21 years experience of Dentale said: "Our findings are absolutely shocking. We are one of the richest countries in the world but we are known for having bad teeth. Our research suggests that one of the main reasons for this is that people cannot afford to go to a dentist."
"Some people have decided to go abroad for dental treatment because it can be much cheaper, but this can involve a number of risks such as not being able to communicate with your dentist properly, or the cost and inconvenience of having to go back if anything goes wrong or for aftercare.
"Despite this, our research shows that since 2003, 1.29 million Britons aged 16-64 have had dental treatment outside of the UK because it was cheaper."
Dentale commissioned the market research poll of 1,000 patients aged 16-64.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Press release from NYSCOF

New York – February 26, 2008 -- "It is not clear that the benefits of adding fluoride to drinking water outweigh risks of neurodevelopment or other effects such as dental fluorosis," according to an Institute for Children's Environmental Health report. (1)

Fluoride chemicals are added to 2/3 of U.S. public water supplies ostensibly to reduce tooth decay. Fluoride is found in dental products, supplements and virtually all foods and beverages (2).

"Excessive fluoride ingestion is known to lower thyroid hormone levels, which is particularly critical for women with subclinical hypothyroidism; decreased maternal thyroid levels adversely affect fetal neurodevelopment," reports a prestigious committee of scientists and health professionals in a “Scientific Consensus Statement on Environmental Agents Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders.”

Studies they reviewed and others link fluoride to brain abnormalities and/or IQ deficits. (3)

"The question is what level of exposure results in harmful effects to children. The primary concern is that multiple routes of exposure, from drinking water, food and dental care products, may result in a high enough cumulative exposure to fluoride to cause developmental effects," they write.

"Given the serious consequences of LDDs [learning and developmental disabilities], a precautionary approach is warranted to protect the most vulnerable of our society," the authors caution.

"It's time to stop water fluoridation," says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation. “With many neurological diseases, such as autism and ADD, afflicting too many American children, fluoride's dubious promises of less cavities no longer outweigh fluoride's serious health risks," says Beeber.

The National Research Council reviewed fluoride toxicology evidence and reported in March 2006 that studies linking fluoride to lowered IQ are plausible.(3a)

"The real dental dilemma facing American children today is their inability to get dental care," says Beeber. “Eighty-percent of dentists refuse Medicaid patients (4) and 108 million Americans don’t have dental insurance (5),” says Beeber.

Studies show that when fluoridation ends, cavities actually go down. (6)

Please sign the petition urging Congress to end fluoridation and hold hearings about why federal officials continue to promote water fluoridation in the face of growing scientific evidence of harm at http://www.FluorideAlert.org/Congress .

Dr. Phyllis Mullenix was the first U.S. scientist to find evidence that fluoride damages the brain. She published her study in a respected peer-reviewed scientific journal (7) and then was fired because she wouldn’t squelch it.(8)


Contact: Paul Beeber, Esq. nyscof@aol.com
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
News Releases: http://tinyurl.com/6kqtu

or

Paul Connett, PhD, Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network paul@fluoridealert.org
http://www.FluorideAction.Net


References:

1) Institute for Children's Environmental Health, “Scientific Consensus Statement on Environmental Agents
Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders,”
Developed by the Collaborative on Health and the Environment’s
Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative
November 7, 2007 released February 20, 2008
http://www.iceh.org/pdfs/LDDI/LDDIStatement.pdf
2) USDA National Fluoride Database of Selected Beverages and Foods - 2004 http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Fluoride/Fluoride.html
3) http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/brain/index.html#human

3a) The National Academies of Science, Committee on Fluoride in Drinking Water, National Research Council, "Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards," March 2006
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11571.html?onpi_newsdoc03222006

4) Slate, “Hidden Rations Why poor kids can't find a dentist,” by Anne AlstottMay 29, 2007 http://www.slate.com/id/2167190/

5) American Dental Education Association/American Association for Dental Research Testimony presented by Dr. Nick Mosca
March 27, 2007 Before the House Energy and Commerce Committee

http://www.iadr.com/files/public/LA07testimonyMosca.pdf

6) http://thyroid.about.com/cs/toxicchemicalsan/a/fluoridepr.htm

7) Mullenix P, et al. (1995). “Neurotoxicity of Sodium Fluoride in Rats,” Neurotoxicology and Teratology 17:169-177)

8) Dr. Phyllis Mullenix interview:
http://www.fluoridealert.org/mullenix-interview.htm

Videos: Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9daqPRUWpMc

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4QrTcyrrvw


SOURCE: NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc
PO Box 263
Old Bethpage, NY 11804
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UK - Bolten, anti-fluoride meeting invite

Anti-fluoride meeting invite
By Staff Reporter
AN anti-fluoride meeting is being held tomorrow night.
The meeting, which has been organised by the National Pure Water Association, will feature speakers from the Green Party, Friends of the Earth and representatives from a thyroid patients and kidney patients advocacy groups.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced government plans to pump £42 million into areas which want to add fluoride to water supplies in a bid to improve people's dental health.
Bolton children have some of worst dental health in the country, but the issue has been hotly debated in the town with opponents branding it "mass medication" and raising fears of a link between fluoride and cancer or bone problems.
The meeting will take place at 7pm at the Friends Meeting House in Silverwell Street, Bolton.

UK - What are fluoride rights

What are fluoride rights?
Published on 25/02/2008
SO the Health Minister Alan Johnson is about to enforce mass medication – I refer to his intentions of introducing fluoride in all our drinking water.
I believe it was 2003 in these columns I listed just some of the health risks due to fluoride.
We were told it was to protect children’s teeth.
One proven symptom was the toxic effects such as Dental Fluorosis which actually weakens and discolours teeth, and the effects on mothers’ milk.
At the time Hazel Blears, then Minister for Health, stated: “Those who remain opposed would be able to use water filters that would remove fluoride, or buy bottled water.”
Not a cheap option.
The questions arise, will health authorities and water companies be open to litigation for any medical effects due to fluoridation, can we refuse to pay water bills because we don’t want fluoride in our water – and what of our rights?

JOHN SMITH
UKIP

USA - Anniversary of Boy's Death Brings Attention to Dental Care

Anniversary of Boy's Death Brings Attention to Dental Care
Contributor: Stephanie Cravens
Last Update: 2/25 2:53 pm
New Dental Health Initiatives One year ago, Marylanders first hear the name Deamonte Driver. Driver was a 12 yer old Prince George's county boy who, the medical examiner says, died as the result of an infection that began in his teeth. A simple, $80 tooth extraction could have saved his life, but his mother was unable to find a dentist willing to accept Medicaid.
Today, the anniversary of his death is being used to promote dental health by various lawmakers.
Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (Md.-07) held a press conference to outline the progress in his efforts to ensure dental access for all children and to discuss new legislation that he expects to introduce this week.
Dr. Norman Tinanoff, Maryland Dental Action Committee Co-Chair and Chair of the University of Maryland Dental School Department of Pediatric Dentistry; Dr. Allen Finkelstein, Chief Dental Officer of United Health; Dr. Charlene Brown, Baltimore City Department of Health Assistant Commissioner of Clinical Services; and others say they support Cummings' work.
Ms. Laurie Norris, attorney for the Public Justice Center who represents Alyce Driver, Deamonte’s mother, says the progress is important.
“Deamonte’s story is a shocking wake up call to the failures of our health care system, and I will continue moving forward to ensure that from this tragic death we are able to bring life,” Congressman Cummings said.
“Dental decay is the single most common childhood disease in the U.S., and I will not relent in this fight until I am assured that every single child who needs to see a dentist is able to do so.”Cummings and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown this week will introduce new legislation that aims to establish a dental home for every child by increasing dental services in community health centers and training more individuals in pediatric dentistry. Additionally, the bill offers tax incentives for dentists to treat children with Medicaid.

In fluoridated USA?

USA - Change coming to Parsons, Kansas faucets

Change coming to Parsons, Kansas faucets
Posted: Feb 25, 2008 10:53 PM
Parsons city officials say after a few years without it, they will reintroduce fluoride into the water system.
Officials say it will not change the color or taste of the water.
The fluoride will start flowing March 5, and the city's director of utilities urges anyone taking fluoride pills to consult their dentist or physician before that time.

Australia - Focus group debates pros and cons of fluoridation

Focus group debates pros and cons of fluoridation
Posted 10 hours 22 minutes ago
Eurobodalla Shire Council's community consultation process about whether or not to fluoridate the shire's water supply is progressing.
The shire's focus group has met for the first time.
Twelve members of the local community came together to discuss the different arguments for and against water supply fluoridation.
Council's water cycle officer, Harvey Lane, says the meeting was a success, despite the emotive nature of the debate and the very different viewpoints represented by group members.
He says one thing that all focus group members seemed to agree on was the poor level of dental health in the region.
The next step in the fluoride debate will take place next month, when information sheets will be sent to all Eurobodalla households outlining the arguments for and against the process as put forward by the focus group.
This information will also be available on council's website and at information stalls to be set up around the shire in mid-March, with residents encouraged to have their say.

Tennessee Fluoride In Drinking Water Safety - News Report

Monday, February 25, 2008

In My View

Poisoned Horses Excerpts

Learning and Developmental Disabilities Linked to Environmental Toxins

................................Fluoride – Fluoride is commonly added to drinking water across the United States in an effort to reduce dental decay. Fluoride is also found in a range of consumer products including toothpastes and mouthwashes. “Excessive fluoride ingestion is known to lower thyroid hormone levels, which is particularly critical for women with subclinical hypothyroidism: decreased maternal thyroid levels adversely affect fetal neurodevelopment. In addition, a study in China reported decreased child IQ levels associated with fluoride in drinking water. The primary concern is that multiple routes of exposure, from drinking water, food and dental care products, may result in a high enough cumulative exposure to fluoride to cause developmental effects.” ......................................................

USA - National Childrens Dental Month Fair 2/23/08

National Childrens Dental Month Fair 2/23/08
Liz AdeolaCBS 7 NewsFebruary 23, 2008
Midland, TX- "The very first time they go, they are so frightened," says Casa de Amigos Health and Dental Director Silvia Lemos. She is used to seeing the look of fear in children's eyes, and as a health and dental director at Casa de Amigos she's made it her mission to keep healthy bright smiles on every child.
Although Lemos admits she wasn't always excited about her annual checkup. When you were a kid did you like to go to the dentist? "No!"
Nowadays Lemos' main focus is on stopping an epidemic, "We're seeing more and more damage to the children's teeth at an earlier age." And she and Gloria Steelman both think sugar is one of the main culprits.
After seeing one of Steelman’s demonstrations she had parents thinking twice. "The cokes are gone," vowed one mom, and so are excess sweets.
That and learning to take care of their teeth properly were the main messages, Lemos wanted to share today, "They learn to cooperate early on, then when they go to the dentist it's like nothing for them."
Midland, Texas, is fluoridated: NYSCOF

Sunday, February 24, 2008

From the Taylor family

Dear All
There is a meeting at the Friends Meeting House, Mount Street,
Manchester, next Tuesday 26th February at 7 for 7.30, to co-ordinate
opposition to water fluoridation here in the North West.
Represented will be NPWA, the Green Party, FoE, thyroid patients,
kidney patients and various individuals. I have also contacted
Sustainable Communities in Manchester.
Come if you can, and if you can't maybe you know someone who can
Sheila Taylor

USA - Why force fluoridation?

Why force fluoridation?
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Recent news reports revealed plans to put fluoride into Westmoreland County's drinking water to prevent dental cavities ("Bill to force fluoridation spurs debate," Feb. 11 and PghTrib.com).I became the dental expert for the city of Johnstown in 1989 after the local water authority unexpectedly voted to fluoridate without any research or public discussion.
Since authority members were appointed and not elected, there was little opponents could do. Seven years later, dentists began to talk openly about noticing dental fluorosis among children's teeth.
As a licensed dentist for more than 30 years I believe in preventing dental disease. But putting fluoride into public water supplies on a whim is bad public policy.
story continues below

Every year, state law mandates dental exams on all children in second and seventh grades. These exams are compiled into raw data that are kept in each school district. This data should be thoroughly reviewed before any action is taken.No one disputes the fact that the direct application of fluoride on the surfaces of teeth will reduce cavities, but preventing cavities by fluoridating water is not as certain.
Results and side-effects are impossible to measure given the variables of individual water consumption. However, fluoridating public water exposes everyone while 99 percent of the chemical goes down the drain and into the environment.
Ever since fluoride was introduced into toothpaste in the 1950s, cavities have declined across the country. Regular tooth brushing is the most predictable method of reducing cavities and preventing gum disease.
Do we really need massive government intervention to make us feel good about our teeth?
Bill ChobyLatrobe

Symptoms point to fluoride reaction

Symptoms point to fluoride reaction
02/24/2008
To the Editor:
My sister moved to Schuylkill Haven during the summer of 2002. Three years later, she awoke with chest pains, and the entire right side of her body became numb. Her face drooped and her words didn’t come out right. She was having symptoms of a stroke, and was rushed to the hospital, but tests conclusively showed that she did not have a stroke or heart attack.
The doctors were puzzled. She was released after a 24-hour hospital stay with no answers. As time went by, she began to develop all-over body pain, short-term memory loss, vision changes, tremors, depression and myriad other symptoms. That’s when she started a one-year nightmare of painful and uncomfortable tests to try to find an answer for her symptoms.
The doctors were sure she had multiple sclerosis, but testing did not support that opinion. Unable to commit to a diagnosis, the neurologists simply said, “Well, we’re just not sure. It could take a couple of years for the MS to actually show up in the spinal fluid. Come back in a few years and we’ll retest.”

She didn’t have a few of years. She had deteriorated to the point of being within weeks of becoming wheelchair-bound. In the meantime, I started extensive research to try to find answers. Finally, I hit on something: All of her symptoms pointed to fluoride hypersensitivity. And I discovered that the Schuylkill Haven Borough adds fluoride to the municipal water supply.

She immediately stopped drinking the fluoridated municipal water and she started to recover, slowly at first, then at a faster rate. Finally, she reached about 90 percent recovery, and she most likely won’t get any better than that. But it’s a far cry better than what I’m positive would have ended up as total disability or death.

Her symptoms do not reappear for the most part unless she has consumed a product that has been made with fluoridated water. However, accidentally ingesting a product made with fluoridated water is easier than catching a cold by rolling around in the virus itself. I had no idea that fluoridation of community water supplies was so widespread. It is extremely difficult to find even a loaf of commercially made bread that’s been made with non-fluoridated water.

When you add products made with fluoridated water to drinking the stuff right from the tap, you have the perfect scenario for overdose.

The American Dental Association has done a bit of backpedaling on the fluoridation issue in respect to babies under the age of 1. Buried in its Web site, you will find the ADA’s recommendation to use non-fluoridated water to mix infant formula. The ADA also states, “Unless advised to do so by a dentist or other health professional, parents should not use fluoride toothpaste for children less than two years of age.” Why? I’m guessing because swallowing too much fluoride is dangerous.

I am now taking an active part in fighting fluoridation in the United States. I’m hoping this letter will encourage people to find out more about the negative effects fluoridation has on a person’s health. There is a ton of information on the Web, but you only have to go as far as your toothpaste tube to see for yourself that fluoride might not be a good thing. My tube has this warning: “If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.”

This is the short version of my experience with fluoride and my thoughts concerning it. There is not enough space for the rest of the story. But think about this: How many people have been diagnosed with MS, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s disease, ADD, ADHD and other neurological afflictions when the culprit could actually be fluoride?

I’m not claiming that all neurological disorders stem from fluoride use, and I know that not every person will develop the sensitivity to fluoride that my sister has, but it does seem strange to me that the new cases of these neurological disorders grow as fluoridation increases.

Coincidence? I don’t think so. Not anymore.
Jennifer Hoy
Schuylkill Haven

USA - Campaign pushes dental care

Campaign pushes dental care
Kids missing school, suffering pain from untreated decay
By Susan Abram, Staff Writer Article
Last Updated: 02/22/2008 09:13:30 PM PST
PACOIMA - Dental disease among children is five times more prevalent than asthma in the San Fernando Valley and statewide, a result of poor nutrition, little education about oral health among parents and lack of access to dentists, community leaders said Friday. Dozens of nurses, teachers, pediatricians, dentists, and health promoters gathered at Meet Each Need with Dignity, an anti-poverty agency in Pacoima on Friday to discuss immediate plans to raise awareness about oral health in the community. They plan to flood churches, schools, day care centers and clinics with the message: Dental disease is preventable.
"The number one cause of missed school in LAUSD is dental disease," said Dr. Maritza Cabezas, a dentist with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
"We call this disease a silent epidemic because kids go to school with the pain, and parents don't know, teachers don't know and kids think it's normal," Cabezas said. "They don't know they are not supposed to be in pain. They learn to live with it. Dental disease can affect their self-esteem, the way they eat and sleep."
Cabezas said in some worst-case scenarios, children have died because of dental disease. Bacteria spreads through abscesses in the mouth, traveling to the brain.
Several state reports paint a grim picture of California's dental needs. While health providers grapple with diabetes, obesity and asthma, nearly 24 percent of all the state's children have
never been to a dentist. In California, almost two-thirds of the state's youngsters have dental disease by the time they reach third grade, making it the No. 1 health problem in children, according to a study by the Dental Health Foundation.
The study also found that 4 percent of the children, or 138,000, are in pain or have untreated tooth infections. Decayed teeth affect the way children eat, sleep and learn, school nurses and teachers say.
And 23 percent of all California children age 6 to 11 suffer from untreated cavities, according to the California HealthCare Foundation, which released its report this month.
"It's a big problem in California," Cabezas said. "In the survey, California ranked as the worst state except for Arkansas."
Another cause of the increase is a lack of access to affordable dental care, Cabezas and others said.
Few dental offices accept Denti-Cal, the state's payment program for the poor, disabled or elderly who receive Medi-Cal, because reimbursement rates are among the lowest. And Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently has considered slashing funding for those who already qualify for Denti-Cal to help shore up the state's budget deficit.
Offices that do accept Denti-Cal in the Valley are few and far between, community leaders said.
At Mission Community Hospital in San Fernando, there is a six- to eight-week waiting period for patients to see a dentist, said hygienist Audrey Simons.
"Children are a big issue, but we also see many senior adults whose health insurance doesn't cover dental" care, Simons said.
Friday's meeting was coordinated by the Valley Care Community Consortium, a group of health and mental health providers and schools. The group released its own study on the health needs in the San Fernando Valley last year, and found that 25 percent of San Fernando Valley adults did not go to the dentist for a year because they could not afford it.
Community leaders say the message about dental care must be passed on to children by parents. But some challenges remain, including cultural beliefs about dental care. In some countries, visiting a dentist is deemed a luxury or unimportant.
"A lot of parents think that just because a child is going to lose their baby teeth, they don't need to take care of them," Cabezas said. "If permanent teeth grow from from a decaying mouth, that is a problem."
Cabezas also said a baby's mouth is more prone to attracting bacteria until the age of 2. Baby spoons and bottles should not be shared between babies and toddlers or parents.
Oral disease is transmittable, "just like the flu," said doctor said. "Until we treat oral disease like an infectious disease, we will not win the battle."
Many parents also don't know that they need to brush their children's teeth for them until they are 7 years old. A baby's first dental visit should come at the sight of a first tooth, and tap water is better to cook with because it contains fluoride, Cabezas said.
"Dental disease affects your whole body," Cabezas said. "If you don't have a healthy mouth, you cannot have a healthy body."

The city of Los Angeles, California, has been fluoridated since the mid-1990s.NYSCOF

USA - Toothaches rife among poor youths

Toothaches rife among poor youths
Untreated dental decay in kids is seen as widespread in SLO County

By Sarah Arnquist
TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO BY JAYSON MELLOMDental student Celeste Eckerman works on Ada Sanchez, 10, at a mobile clinic at Bauer-Speck Elementary in Paso Robles last year.Too many children in San Luis Obispo County suffer from untreated toothaches and have little or no access to dental care, experts said Friday at the county’s Oral Health Summit.
The event drew more than 150 people to discuss the current dental situation and efforts to improve children’s oral health in the county.
“We are in a dire situation,” said Katcho Achadjian, county supervisor and First 5 San Luis Obispo County commissioner. First 5 commissioners distribute tobacco tax funds to local programs that benefit children 5 and younger.
Local and state experts quoted a litany of statistics Friday that show children in San Luis Obispo County and elsewhere in California are suffering from untreated dental decay. Overwhelmingly, they emphasized, poor children suf fer most from dental disease, which can cause chronic pain and affect their ability to concentrate and thrive.
A 2005 survey of about 850 Paso Robles children found 25 percent of kindergartners and 20 percent of thirdgraders had untreated tooth decay, said Kathy Phipps, a dental epidemiologist who lives in Morro Bay.
The statistics show that Paso Robles children are slightly better off than children statewide, but California is second to last in the nation in children’s oral health status.
“That’s just not acceptable in a society that is (as) advanced and wealthy as our society is,” Phipps said.
Nearly one-third of local children lack dental insurance, according to the 2005 California Health Interview Survey. Statewide, 21 percent of children lack dental insurance. Children with Denti-Cal, the dental version of California’s Medicaid program, also face significant barriers to care, because few dentists in private practice accept the public insurance, said Joel Diringer, a health care consultant.
Access to care for Denti-Cal patients is only likely to worsen as the state reduces already low payments to providers, according to the California Dental Association.
The connections between poverty and a child’s opportunity to lead a healthy life cannot be ignored, said Harold Slavkin, the dean of University of Southern California School of Dentistry.
“Poverty is the poison of childhood,” he said.
Low-income children are 38 percent more likely to have tooth decay and 50 percent more likely to have untreated decay than higher-income children, according to a 2005 statewide survey of 21,000 kindergartners and thirdgraders by the Oakland-based Dental Health Foundation.
Slavkin said key steps to ensuring fewer children suffer from toothaches are placing equal emphasis on dental and medical health, and promoting oral health in preschool, elementary and secondary school settings.
At Friday’s Summit, First 5 San Luis Obispo also awarded a Health Care Hero award to pediatric dentist Jac Pedersen for his longtime dedication to improving the oral health of local children.

San Luis Obispo City (California) has been fluoridated since 1954: NYSCOF

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Letter: Consuming too much toxic

Consuming too much toxic
I did some research on this and have a few points to share with any one interested.
A professor Eric Reynolds of Melbourne notes that use of fluoridated toothpaste by children should be closely monitored.
The toxic dose of fluoride is 5 mg per kilograms of body weight. That's about half a tube for a toddler. Kids have been known to eat toothpaste, so it should be kept out of reach.
Also, don't let them use more than an amount about the size of a pea at each brushing because they will swallow some.
Fluoride is also added to your food supply. Bet you didn't know that either. My question is: How much toxic stuff are we being forced to consume?
There is no way to know of course. It's in the food, the toothpaste and many water supplies, which may also include bottled water, which can come from municipal water works, or even lake and ground water contaminated by treated water run-off. A recent study showed increased amounts of cavities in kids using it, compared with fewer cavities in a similar group, not using fluoridated water. Makes me wonder how many of these fluoride-supporting dentists know this. The final analysis comes down to: is it worth the cost we'd have to pay and the side effects we may suffer to have this controversial and still (to me at least) unproven science, forced upon us?

Spending $3 million to add fluoride to the water, then $600,000 per year to keep it going, all to benefit the elderly, homeless and underprivileged kids seems a wasteful way to go about things.

I'm sure a treatment program could be set up which would directly benefit those in need. I wouldn't mind my tax dollars being used in this way. I do object to being forced into compliance with unproven and potentially harmful practices as these surely are.

John Grieve
St. Catharines

UK - Something in the water?

Something in the water?
By Margaret McCartney
Published: February 23 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 23 2008 02:00
More fluoride should be put into Britain's drinking water, according to health secretary Alan Johnson. Money has been earmarked for health boards wishing to do so. In some parts of the UK, fluoride occurs naturally in the water supply; in others, such as the Midlands, it is already added to water supplies.
To Johnson, there is not much debate. "All the facts are in favour of greater fluoridation," he said in parliament. "There is absolutely no clinical evidence whatsoever that links fluoridation with anything other than fluorosis. Fluorosis is a discolouration of the teeth, and there are perfectly simple ways to deal with it."
The British government is quite rightly concerned with reducing inequalities in health. Tooth decay seems a good place to intervene: there is widespread agreement that lower social class is a higher risk for tooth decay in children. Fluoride, the theory goes, protects teeth against decay and by adding it to the water, there is no need to rely only on the more difficult task of changing behaviour (tooth-brushing or better diets) that help to prevent dental problems.

Certain things are guaranteed to divide medical opinion; adding fluoride to tap water is one of them. Some believe that offering only fluoridated public water supplies is mass medication by another name and unfair to those who wish to have freedom of choice. They are concerned with potential harms, such as bone thinning and cancer. Others believe that fluoride is safe, well-tested and represents a real opportunity to improve dental health and reduce the misery of treatment.

Who is right? Although I have serious reservations about disallowing choice, if there is little in the way of harm and a lot of potential benefit, then pragmatic acceptance of the least bad scenario seems the most sensible position. The ability to judge harms and benefits, however, rests on an evaluation of the evidence. And in the case of fluoride, it is not clear the evidence is there.

The York Review, a systematic review of all the research relating to water fluoridation, was published in the British Medical Journal in 2000. The researchers were interested in tooth decay, missing teeth and dental fillings. They wanted to assess the changes in dental health caused by fluoridation in the UK and to examine the adverse effects reported.

They found that the quality of the overall evidence was poor and inconclusive but suggested that while adding fluoride to water did reduce the number of children with tooth decay, it also increased the amount of dental fluorosis. The study was followed by "Water Fluoridation and Health", a report from the Medical Research Council published in 2002. This fully recognised the York Review and recommended quality research on, among other things, biological uptake of fluoride and the effects of water fluoridation in children using toothpaste containing fluoride.

The MRC also wanted further research to be done into the amount of fluorosis in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas and to examine the effects of fluoridated water on bone health, if further biological testing indicated it was necessary. The other main concern raised about fluoride is that it could be a potential carcinogen and the MRC suggested that there should be an analysis of water fluoridation in relation to cancer rates.

I am not much of a conspiracy theorist, as some anti-fluoride campaigners seem to be. But neither am I completely sold on the idea that fluoride in the water is the most important factor in preventing tooth decay - a recent paper in the BMJ showed that rates of dental decay in the EU are falling, whether or not water is fluoridated. There are many public health interventions I am happy to comply with, where there is evidence to support them - for example, immunisation against measles, mumps and rubella. But rather than politicans simply recommending we add fluoride to water, we should do the research first.

Margaret McCartney is a GP in Glasgowmargaret.mcartney@ft.com

More columns at www.ft.com/mccartney

www.york.ac.ukl/inst/crd/fluoridnew.htm

www.mrc.ac.uk

USA - Maryland Works to Fix Broken Medicaid

Maryland Works to Fix Broken Medicaid
Programposted
4:08 pm Thu February 21, 2008
It's been a year since Deamonte Driver died of a dental infection and now the Maryland legislature is working to take steps to fix the state's broken Medicaid program.Deamonte Driver made a difference. "Right after the Deamonte Driver story came out, our clinics were packed with parents with kids who had toothaches." Dr. Norman Tinanoff, Director of the University of Maryland Public Dental Clinic, is overseeing treatment of 9-year-old Mustaffa Halim. Mustaffa has a huge cavity and an abscess on his gum.
It's hard to try to see a doctor for kids. I can't find none," said mother Fatima Khalid.
Mustaffa's mom searched for months to find a dentist who would treat him and his four-year-old brother. Even after 12-year-old Deamonte Driver, who died from a dental infection like Mustaffa's, children on Medicaid are still having trouble finding dentists who will treat them.
Driver family lawyer Laurie Norris said, "There are other Deamonte's out there waiting to happen."
In September of 2006, Norris was working as an advocate for a frustrated Alyce Driver, who found it impossible to find a dentist to threat her children. After trying 30 dentists, Norris finally found one who would accept Medicaid and would treat Deamonte's brother, but no one knew an infected tooth was killing Deamonte.
"It was actually a surprise a real shock when he didn't wake up that Sunday morning."
Since Deamonte's death, Norris has worked tirelessly with politicians and state health officials to change a Medicaid system that she says discourages dentists from taking low income children as patients. "Medicaid rates are so low dentists lose money every time they see a patient."
Dr. Tinanoff is now head of a new state-appointed task force charged to find solutions for this problem. Change is coming, but a solution, he says, is in the distant future.
In the meantime, low income mothers like Dorothy West will have to make tough decisions about the health of their children because affordable dentists are so hard to find. "Sometimes you just go without a dentist treatment so the child goes without and gets sick," said West.
"I feel like we have a moral obligation to deamonte to fix this problem for all children," said Norris.
Since deamonte's death, there have been a series of congressional hearings on the issue of dental care for Medicaid children. There is a proposal before the Maryland legislature that would increase Medicaid reimbursement fees. A number of new public dental clinics have opened up, improving the Medicaid child dentistry landscape.

Maryland is 94% fluoridated: NYSCOF

Friday, February 22, 2008

Fluoride TV ad Australia



Propaganda from Queensland, no facts apart from ones disputed by the York Review. Just look, I'm healthy intelligent sincere. A pretty happy child - believe me fluoride is good for you. No such thing as fluorosis. It can't affect your bones. It can't affect the thyroid. You can't have too much. You can't be allergic to it.

USA - Let the parents decide on fluoride

Let the parents decide on fluoride
The Centers for Disease Control says fluoride's benefits are derived only from topical application, so why are we all being forced to drink, cook and bath in fluoride? If the ADA states that infants should not ingest fluoride, then why should I give it to my children? If there is a warning on the back of toothpaste that states, "If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact Poison Control right away," then why am I allowing my children to drink fluoride dater? If fluoride is so safe, then why has it not been approved by the FDA?
I am not comforted in the fact that adding fluoride to drinking water is safe because other water districts have been doing this for 50 plus years. The fact is that many water districts have moved to reject or remove fluoride in their water because they could not obtain a toxicological report from the water suppliers.
As a parent, I am the only one why should decide what is healthful and beneficial for my children. Not the ADA, not the state of California and not the Metropolitan Water District. Until the legally required safety and longterm toxicological reports are produced for public review, I do not want my children to be exposed to fluoridated water.
Let's see Ron Stark and the rest of the TSD water board ensure the law is being followed on behalf of their customers. If TSD Board is not wiling to ensure that law if followed, it will be a good day when the water board becomes an allelected body and can we elect board members who are responsive to residents' concerns. Mimi Kim Oak Park

UK - Authorities excessively concerned with tooth decay

Authorities excessively concerned with tooth decay
Calderdale Citizens' Protest Against Fluoridation,
Duck Hill,
Pecket Well.
IT has often been said that "Truth is stranger than fiction" Nowhere in the past half century, has this been more applicable than to the promotion of fluorides and fluoridation of water supplies, as a safe and effective means of ensuring decay resistant teeth throughout a recipient's life time. Successive Governments in English speaking countries have relied upon this brazen lie since the end of World War Two.
Aspiring nursery nurses, medical and dental students and patients in waiting rooms, school children and their teachers have been indoctrinated with this lie for several successive decades while those with some knowledge and personal experience of fluoride poisoning have been castigated, ridiculed and penalised for their efforts to reveal the truth.
The truth is that fluorides derived from the bonding of fluorine with other elements and chemicals are accumulative systemic poisons which act on all cells in the body I quote from "Dangerous Chemicals" Emergency First Aid Guide edited by Dr Alan Houston MB. BSc. MRCP.. Honorary Registrar to Guy's Poisons Unit and Medical Adviser in Toxicology to the Department of Trade, written in conjunction with Guy's Poisons Unit. Most adult readers will have seen recent press and TV reports of the MoD after years of repudiation and waiting for reductions in the number of claimants, finally making an offer of £8,000 compensation to each of the surviving claimants who were treacherously exposed to the nerve gasses Sarin and Soman at the chemical Defence Research Centre, Porton Down. What the media failed to report is that both these nerve gasses contained fluorine in their molecular chain, as do a number of tranquilizer/antipsychotic drags which frequently aggravate a patient's condition and lead to both homicidal and suicidal behaviour. What is not commonly known is that the anti-depressant drugs Prozac and Seroxat both contain fluorine in their molecular chain or that some of the Phenothiazine tranquilizers also have fluorine added to increase their potency/toxicity. "Trifluoperazine" ( Stelazine) a fluorinated tranquilizer has 25 times the potency/toxicity of "Chlorpromazine"(Largactil)
We have in Calderdale a remarkably high incidence of Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia, recently reported to be approximately 3,000 out of a population of less than 200,000. We also have quite a high incidence of thyroid dysfunction, children with brain tumours, bone cancer and leukaemia. We also have a Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel excessively concerned about tooth decay, particularly those of five year old children who are by nature, scheduled to have their milk teeth replaced by the age of eight years
They are currently debating in council whether or not to replace our bin bag collection service with heavy space taking wheelie bins apparently still oblivious to the fact that those of them who are now favouring fluoridation of our water supplies, are whether they realize it or not, suggesting that the entire community should be used as a media for disposal of extremely toxic waste tank washings from the phosphate fertilizer industry Now that is the truth, and what could be stranger than that?
Unless of course it is the fact, that the American Dental Association and the British Fluoridation Society now both recognize that increasing a child’s or an adult’s exposure to fluorides from whatever source can induce Osteoporosis, and Osteosarcoma and Hypothyroidism. After 50 years of promoting the use of fluoridated tap water, fluoride supplements and fluoride toothpastes the BFS is now advising that fluoride drops and tablets should not be given to children. They now advise that only low fluoride bottled spring water should be used for making up a baby's milk substitute feed and that a low- fluoride toothpaste should be used in a tiny amount for brushing an infants teeth and this should be supervised until at least the age of five.
DENNIS EDMONDSON

Secretary

Fluoride: Should It Be In Our Water System?

Extract:
Dr. Val: So if small amounts of fluoride are good for us, why are the British so hesitant to add it to their water supplies?

Dr. Garcia: Many European countries, such as Britain, have been slow to adopt fluoride supplementation due to high levels of other natural sources providing an adequate amount of fluoride in the diet. Tea has been shown to contain from 1ppm to 6.5ppm fluoride concentration. In the U.S., the recommended concentration of fluoride is 1.0-1.2ppm/day as recommended by the USPHS. So regular tea drinkers get enough fluoride naturally. There is also strong anti-fluoride opposition in the public with fears of "forced immunization" and possible adverse health side effects.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

UK - New strengthened group formed in Southampton

This Monday a new strengthened group formed in Southampton to fight imminent fluoridation of the city. The Strategic Health Authority's consultation with the public to access desirability likely in the summer as the Primary Care Trust have already asked the Strategic Health Authority to look into the feasibility of fluoridating the water. With little resource in the way of finance it will be very difficult to stop the fluoride steam roller the SHA will launch with its biased questionnaire and targeted leafleting of the community but we have to try. We have launched a new web page Hampshire Against Fluoridation

USA - American Dental Association

AAPD teams up with Head Start New program will help secure dental homes for at-risk children
Posted Feb. 20, 2008
By Stacie Crozier
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and Head Start are teaming up to help establish dental homes for young children enrolled in Head Start.
The AAPD Head Start Dental Home Initiative will be publicly announced Feb. 28 with a press conference in Washington. The initiative will create a national network of dentists to provide dental homes for Head Start and Early Head Start children, said Dr. John S. Rutkauskas, AAPD executive director.
"AAPD and Head Start are partnering at the national, regional, state and local levels to develop a national network of dentists to link Head Start children with dental homes," said Dr. Rutkauskas. "Dental homes mean that children's oral health care is delivered by dentists to children through an ongoing relationship that is comprehensive, continuously accessible, coordinated and family-centered."
The five-year project includes five key components:
providing project leadership administration and organizational support;
providing oral health expertise and technical advice;
developing networks of dentists to provide access to dental homes;
training dentists to enhance their capability to meet the oral health needs of young children and their understanding of Head Start and Early Head Start programs;
enhancing HS/EHS oral health staff training and parent education programs.
"I believe the Head Start Dental Home Initiative represents a remarkable opportunity to assemble networks of dentists to provide quality dental homes for children enrolled in Head Start programs across the U.S.," said Dr. Jim Crall, project director.
"In the process, we will be providing training to enable dentists to better meet the oral health care needs of young children and help Head Start programs understand what they can do to help reduce dental disease among young, at-risk children.
"Given Head Start's long-standing emphasis on comprehensive child development services and parental education," added Dr. Crall, "this initiative provides a 'best case scenario' for reducing oral health disparities in young children and establishing the foundation for a lifetime of good oral health."
"Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease," said Dr. Keith Morley, AAPD president. "It's five times more common than asthma, and the No. 1 unmet health care need among Head Start children."
Among Head Start children, he said, decay rates often range from 30 to 40 percent of 3-year-olds and 50-60 percent of 4-year-olds, significantly higher than caries rates for children in general across the nation.
Some of the challenges that face Head Start programs in securing access to care, said Jan Connelly, project manager, include:
reluctance by many general dentists to provide services for preschool-age children, especially in states where there is significant dissatisfaction with dental Medicaid programs;
dentists' lack of familiarity with Head Start and Early Head Start program goals, objectives and resources;
overcoming transportation and other barriers;
engaging parents in educational opportunities and encouraging them to follow up with needed treatments for children.
Johnson and Johnson is supporting this effort by donating critical dollars to Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children: The Foundation of the AAPD to support development of educational material.
"The formation of partnerships at the national, regional, state and local level will ultimately help families learn how to prevent tooth decay and how to establish a foundation for a lifetime of oral health," said Ms. Connelly.

After 60 years of water fluoridation reaching 2/3 of Americans on public water supplies and virtually 100% via the food and beverage supply, "Among Head Start children, he said, decay rates often range from 30 to 40 percent of 3-year-olds and 50-60 percent of 4-year-olds, significantly higher than caries rates for children in general across the nation." Posted by NYSCOF

Water: Is Chlorine Healthy? Earth Walk - USA with RaynaG

USA - Great Fluoride Debate In Ocean Springs

Great Fluoride Debate In Ocean Springs
Posted: Feb 19, 2008 11:47 PM
Updated: Feb 20, 2008 12:27 AM Dentists like Dr. Robbie Everett have long recognized the benefits of fluoride. Many communities have added it to their public water systems.
Ocean Springs is the latest city in South Mississippi to consider adding fluoride to the city's water system. Supporters call it a cost effective way to prevent cavities, especially among children.
"Some studies have shown the benefits of fluoride in the water systems has reduced decay anywhere from 20 to 40 percent," said Dr. Everett.
"I always had fluoride in the water wherever we lived," says Ocean Springs mother of two, Gina Cartwright. She's heard only about the benefits of fluoride and seemed surprised Ocean Springs water wasn't already fluoridated.
"Fewer cavities and it's better for kids' teeth and everything. It's just that, it's good all around. I don't see any detriment to having it for the children," said Cartwright.
The Centers for Disease Control once called the fluoridation of drinking water one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century.
But these days, there is growing debate and dispute about the benefits of adding fluoride to public water systems.
"Overexposure of fluoride causes dental flurosis, which is the white and brown stains or mottling of the teeth. They've also determined there is a link between overexposure to fluoride and osteoporosis," said attorney Brent Dunnaway.
Dunnaway is an Ocean Springs father of three who encourages everyone to do some research. He says adding fluoride amounts to putting a hazardous substance in your drinking water.
"People don't realize that they're trying to medicate to prevent something here. We're not talking about a water quality or water purification issue. We're talking about a medication of the water system. And it's a deprivation of rights," he said.
The Mississippi Department of Health advocates putting fluoride in the city's drinking water. In fact, the department promises to pay part of the start up cost if the city decides to go forward with the project.
By Steve Phillips

USA - Opinion - Fluoride isn't needed in water

Fluoride isn't needed in water
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
I am writing again in hopes of preserving the integrity of our water. Ocean Springs is a leader in quality water. Now comes another "department" that wants to impart contaminants into our water.
For those that do not know, fluoride is a poison, it was first used by Adolf Hitler to render his victims in the camps lethargic, it is still used today to that end, if you read any toothpaste container, you will find fluoride in the ingredients. It further states that, if you swallow it, to call the poison center!
People, we do not have a benign government. We have to be vigilant against it and all these covert abuses. I think the majority knows, the federal government and even local departments cannot be trusted. We do not need fluoride in our water or our toothpaste. We need to keep poisons out of our body in an age where everyone is concerned with health. Get back to the basics. Brush you and your child's teeth with baking soda. It doesn't taste as good, but what is more important? Protect our children and demand clean, contaminant free water.
We can clean our own teeth. We do not need the government to hold our hands.
Fred Jarrell

USA - Ocean Springs aldermen vote no to fluoride

Ocean Springs aldermen vote no to fluoride
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
By FRANK STUMBO
The Mississippi Press
OCEAN SPRINGS -- Tempers became heated and insults flew as the Board of Aldermen heard arguments from both sides of the proposed initiative to fluoridate the city's water system, which was eventually shot down by a 5 to 2 vote on Tuesday evening.

The meeting led off with public comment from the opposition, which was followed by almost an hour of comments supporting fluoride use from a local physician, a doctor from the state health department and six dentists.

After almost two hours of evidence, medical terminology and comments, the crowd began to get restless, especially when Phillip Brent Dunaway's 15-minute presentation against fluoridation ran to about 30 minutes. Dr. Marvin Morgan said he could not take anymore of the argument and stormed out, but not before telling Dunaway to "shut up."

After the commotion subsided and public comments were wrapped up, Alderman Matt McDonnell made a motion that the board enter into the state board of health's water fluoridation program, which was seconded by Alderman at-Large Julia Weaver.

That is as far forward as the motion moved as Aldermen Jerry Dalgo, Greg Denyer, Curtis Lloyd and John Gill all said they were not ready to make a decision and Denyer and Lloyd even tossed around the idea to leave the decision to the public by putting it on the November ballot, which was met by applause from many in the crowd.

"To put fluoride in our water system, it is kind of like big government taking over everybody's personal rights," Lloyd said. "And I oppose that from that point of view ... but I would like if enough of us agreed to let the citizens make the decision, because they are the ones who have to live with it."

After a few more comments, a vote was cast and the motion failed, receiving two yes votes from McDonnell and Weaver.

Although the motion failed, the subject did not die as Lloyd asked for the public works department to look into the fluoridation program and report back if it is something that they can handle. Mayor Connie Moran agreed.

UK - Is it time to ditch bottled water?

Is it time to ditch bottled water?

20/02/2008 Bottled water was supposed to be cleaner, tastier and better for you - but bottled water is no longer flavour of the month.
Experts argue that not only is it over-priced, but its cost to the environment is astronomical.
Yesterday, London Mayor Ken Livingstone launched a campaign to urge people to ask for humble tap water in restaurants, cafes and pubs instead.
And given the improved quality of tap water, why do we still spend £2billion a year on the bottled stuff?
Here we explode the most common myths about bottled water.
Advertisement Myth: Bottled water is higher in nutrients
Truth: Nutritionally, bottled water is no better for you than tap water, according to a study at the University of Geneva. "Yes, some bottled waters contain minerals," says dietitian Jacqui Lowdon, from the British Dietetic Association.
"But the quantities of calcium or magnesium are tiny. Depending on where you live, you can often glean more calcium from tap water."
Not only that but some brands, both still and sparkling, contain excessive levels of sodium - high levels of which are linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure and stroke.
Myth: It tastes better
Truth: In a blind taste test for Decanter wine magazine, experts were asked to rate 20 different bottles of water. Nobody spotted that one was tap water - one taster even picked it as his favourite.
Some mineral-rich bottled water can taste salty and heavier than tap water, but in most studies people can't tell the difference. "If tap water does have an aftertaste, it's often from the chlorine that's added by law," explains Lowdon. "Refrigerating water overnight removes this."
Still not convinced? Use a filter jug such as those made by Brita (£18.95 from Boots). But change the filter monthly, as they can be a breeding ground for bacteria. You can also buy filters to fit on to your tap from hardware stores. Filters remove 99 per cent of chlorine, trace heavy metals such as lead, and a bacteria called cryptosporidium, which in rare cases could cause tummy bugs.
Myth: It makes you prettier/ slimmer/sportier
Truth: There are a growing number of "functional" waters, which have had nutrients artificially added in order to make health claims - detox or weight loss for instance. "These expensive waters are unlikely to improve our skin or help us lose weight - all the additions to water are usually just marketing ploys," says Lowdon. "The amount of vitamins added are tiny. You're better off getting them from five daily servings of fruit and veg, and calcium from dairy products." Many of these enhanced waters also contain sugar and artificial flavourings and may have as many calories as conventional soft drinks.
Myth: It is safer
Truth: Both tap and bottled water are rigorously tested - though tap is tested more often. Even Richard Laming, of the Bottled Water Information Office, says: "Tap water is safe and perfectly healthy."
Some people fear that fluoride (added to tap water in the West Midlands and North East of England) may cause osteoporosis and cancer, but there's no hard evidence of this. Yet plastic bottles can attract bacteria, especially if reused. Some experts fear that oestrogen-mimicking chemicals linked to breast and bladder cancer, found in some plastic bottles, may get into the water.
But if you've got toxic lead pipes, get them changed. See the Drinking Water Inspectorate's free leaflet, Lead In Drinking Water - Have You Got Lead Pipes? (from www.dwi.gov.uk).
Myth: It is more natural
Truth: Unlike tap water, "natural mineral" water can claim to be chlorine and chemical-free, but much bottled water comes from the same sources as local tap water. Lowdon says: "Even if it has been filtered through volcanic rock it doesn't mean it's better for your health - it's still only water!"
IS IT WORTH THE MONEY?
NO
Environment minister Phil Woolas says: "It is absurd to use up our resources to manufacture a bottle, fill it with water from somewhere else and use more energy to transport it hundreds of miles - only for the bottle to be sent to landfill or recycled (using yet more energy) - when the alternative is to turn on the tap.
"It's welcome news that some of the bottled water companies are encouraging recycling, but we already have water at the end of a pipe, which doesn't have nearly as big an effect on the environment."
YES
Ian Hall, water expert and ex-chairman of the Natural Mineral Water Association, says: "Tap water is safe but, unlike bottled water, it has chlorine added to it and, in some areas, other chemicals like fluoride, which not everyone wants. Bottled water has also improved the health of the nation by giving a convenient alternative to fizzy, sugary drinks.
"And when it comes to the environment, the water utilities' carbon footprint is estimated at 1.9 million tonnes of car bon dioxide equivalent per year. A lot of water is wasted through leaks and burst pipes. Shouldn't the government address that?"
5 GREEN REASONS TO SWITCH TO TAP WATER
1 IT takes seven litres of water to make a single one-litre plastic bottle.
2 THE £2 that would buy you one bottle of water would pay for 10,000 litres of tap water.
3 WE buy 13 billion plastic bottles of water a year and only recycle three billion - 10 billion are thrown away.
4 A LITRE of a leading brand of French mineral water generates up to 600 times more carbon dioxide (CO2) than a litre of Thames tap water, thanks to the packaging, transportation and waste disposal.
5 TRANSPORTING bottled water in the UK produces 33,200 tons of CO2 emissions - equivalent to the energy consumption of 6,000 homes.


Why now when they are imposing fluoridation on us?

USA - Adding fluoride should be an individual choice

Adding fluoride should be an individual choice

Posted: Wednesday, Feb 20th, 2008
Dear Editor:
Upon studying various sources of nutrition with respect to health problems, I have changed my eating and exercise regimen. In my research, Dr. Ted Broer, biochemist, exercise physiologist and licensed nutritionist, expresses passionately his objection to putting any kind of poisons in our bodies, including America’s current usage of fluoride. He supports this with citing and science.
I searched many stores looking for fluoride-free toothpaste. There is none in those outlets. I would venture that every person brushing his or her teeth with commercial toothpaste is ingesting plenty of fluoride. If not, individually they can request their dentist to provide the supplement.
Do not spend city of Torrington money on the injections of fluoride into the water system. I do not want myself or my family submitted to this, nor do I want to pay for it. Research has not proven conclusively that fluoridation of our water system is safe for my clientele where I work, Golden Manor and Homes.
James A. Robbins,
Torrington

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

From Edward Priestley.

From Edward Priestley. Forwarded by Ann
I note at the same time that the UK government is pushing for tap water to be fluoridated everywhere that there is also a big campaign to discredit bottled spring water.
TV Panorama programme last night was on bottled water trying to get everyone to stop drinking it. The programme did admit £millions are being spent by government departments on bottled spring water. MPs are not as stupid as they appear as the restaurants at Westminster have been supplying them with taxpayer subsidised bottled spring water for many years.
No doubt bottled spring water is wasteful but no more wasteful than most other human activities and not half as bad as selling rubbish like Coca Cola. If tap water could be trusted to be free from all unnecessary added harmful chemicals like fluoride, chlorine and aluminium there would not be the market for so much bottled spring water.
In a free market economy is allowed to sell any legitimate product and bottled spring water is just in competition with all the other soft drinks sold in throw away plastic or aluminium containers.
The campaign against bottled spring water is just one more shabby action pushed by the pro-fluoridation lobby. Note also that the media is refusing to publish most of the letters they receive opposing water fluoridation.
Edward in France

USA - Fluoride gets the brushoff

Fluoride gets the brushoff
By MEAGHAN CHAPMAN
OCEAN SPRINGS --Half a dozen dentists on Tuesday recommended adding fluoride to the city's water, but the City Council voted 5-2 not to.
Representatives of the state Department of Health had spoken in favor of fluoridation at a Jan. 16 council meeting, prompting Tuesday's public hearing. The Health Department proposed picking up the tab for start-up costs as well as the first two years of fluoridation.
Ocean Springs' water system has only 40 percent of the fluoride required to be medically effective in the prevention of tooth decay. The proposed increase would equal three drops of fluoride per 42 gallons of water.
Several residents who have children in the school system were opposed to fluoride over concerns of long-term health effects.
"There's no reason for ingesting fluoride when there's another way," said Joyce Shaw. She suggested tablets, pastes or rinses be given to school-age children.