Kids Eat Too Much Fluoride From Foods

Kids Eat Too Much Fluoride From Foods, Studies Show
Health & Medicine
Press release from: New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc
(openPR) - Kids ingest excessive fluoride, studies show, not just from toothpaste, but from their foods, making water fluoridation unnecessary and unsafe.

University of Indiana researchers analyzed foods typical three- to five-year-olds eat and found diet significantly contributes to children's daily fluoride intake. This and many other studies show, children risk dental fluorosis from their food, alone(3a-L).

"...because the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis (white spotted, yellow or brown permanently stained teeth) appear to be increasing, there is a need to quantitate all potential sources of fluoride exposure," report Jackson, et al, in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (1).

Jackson found fluoride in McDonald's french fries, Aunt Millie's Homestyle Buttermilk White Bread, Iron Kids Bread, Lay's Baked and Ruffles potato chips, Heinz and Hunt's Ketchup, twelve different soda brands, fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds, fats, oils, sugars and sweets.

Fluoride ingestion overdose or dental fluorosis (permanently discolored teeth) is a huge American problem with up to 48% of school children sporting dental fluorosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Dental fluorosis is very expensive to cover up and is rarely covered by insurance.

Between the ages of 15 and 36-months, children's front teeth are most fluorosis-prone. To avoid tooth yellowing the National Academy of Sciences (2a) advises fluoride intake from all sources (food, air, water, toothpaste, medicines, and supplements) for the following age groups:

· infants up to 6 months old - less than 0.01 mg (one hundredth of a milligram)
· babies from 6 - 12 months - less than 0.5 mg (half a milligram)
· children from 1 to 3 years old - 0.7 mg (seven tenths of a milligram)
· children from 4 to 8 years old - less than 1 mg

Children's toothbrushing introduces 0.8 mg fluoride into their mouths, averaging 0.6 mg swallowed or absorbed from two brushings.(2b) One quart of fluoridated water contains approximately one milligram fluoride.

Despite the scientific evidence that America's children are fluoride over-dosed, dentists via well-organized political oral health coalitions convince too-trusting or maybe PAC-hungry legislators to promote fluoridation and dose children with even more fluoride, wasting precious tax dollars and endangering children's health and teeth.

Many ill health effects are also associated with fluoride ingestion See: www.FluorideAction.Net/health

And there is no dispute that too much fluoride actually causes teeth to decay. (7)

"The American Association of Pediatric Dentists' recent deal with Coca Cola(8) further illustrates dentistry's unfamiliarity with or disregard for the medical literature," says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.

U.S. children are over-fluoridated(4); while soda still erodes their teeth(5). Fluoride can't prevent soda-eroded teeth(6).

"To prevent cavities, we should improve child nutrition, remove soda machines from schools and reduce fluoride exposure by stopping water fluoridation," says Beeber.

Modern science shows that fluoride ingestion does not reduce tooth decay. Fluoride absorbs into the tooth by topical means alone. However, studies show that dentists are not familiar with this new fluoride science. See: tinyurl.com/Yoder