USA - Fear of fluoride not so wrong
Fear of fluoride not so wrong
Posted: January 17, 2011 - 7:32pm
The following editorial appeared in the Texarkana Gazette.)
Well, now, maybe the Texarkanas are not the bastions of bumpkinism people thought when we sank our teeth into the fluoride debate. Time, tests and tainted teeth tell the tale of the wisdom of voter sooth-daying, or tooth-saying.
From time to time, people have mounted campaigns to add fluoridation to the cities’ water supply. A few years ago, the fight became so fierce it ended in public referenda. The voters said no, a decision that, in some quarters, labeled us as unenlightened, if not primitive.
Now comes the federal government with a warning and a directive. Cut the amount of fluoride in water supplies. Although it has kept its promise of fighting cavities and tooth decay, fluoride also is causing problems.
The federal change in recommended fluoride levels is the first in 50 years.
About 2 out of 5 adolescents have tooth streaking or spottiness because of too much fluoride, a government study found recently, according to a wire report. In some extreme cases, teeth can even be pitted by the mineral_though many cases are so mild only dentists notice it. The problem is generally considered cosmetic.
Health officials note most communities have fluoride in their water supplies, and toothpaste has it too. Some are even given fluoride supplements.
The cosmetic problem is not the only hazard, though. A 5-year-old report said people who consume excessive fluoride can end up with crippling bone abnormalities and brittleness.
Even the American Dental Association, one of fluoride’s staunchest advocates, is on board with lowering fluoride levels. Yet officials are quick to point out that anti-fluoridation groups should not view a reduction in levels as a clear-cut victory to rid waterworks of fluoride. The mineral has proven its effectiveness against tooth decay.
As the wire report pointed out, anti-fluoridation interests have been portrayed as everything from alarmists to conspiracy theorists who believed fluoridation of public water supplies is intended to make people less resistant to governmental authority.
Hence, places that resisted fluoridation came to be labeled as backward.
Now those places, few as they may be, don’t look quite so ignorant and lacking in vision. Perhaps proponents will stop smiling condescendingly, through their speckled teeth, at those who have weighed both the risks and benefits of adding fluoride to potable water.
Posted: January 17, 2011 - 7:32pm
The following editorial appeared in the Texarkana Gazette.)
Well, now, maybe the Texarkanas are not the bastions of bumpkinism people thought when we sank our teeth into the fluoride debate. Time, tests and tainted teeth tell the tale of the wisdom of voter sooth-daying, or tooth-saying.
From time to time, people have mounted campaigns to add fluoridation to the cities’ water supply. A few years ago, the fight became so fierce it ended in public referenda. The voters said no, a decision that, in some quarters, labeled us as unenlightened, if not primitive.
Now comes the federal government with a warning and a directive. Cut the amount of fluoride in water supplies. Although it has kept its promise of fighting cavities and tooth decay, fluoride also is causing problems.
The federal change in recommended fluoride levels is the first in 50 years.
About 2 out of 5 adolescents have tooth streaking or spottiness because of too much fluoride, a government study found recently, according to a wire report. In some extreme cases, teeth can even be pitted by the mineral_though many cases are so mild only dentists notice it. The problem is generally considered cosmetic.
Health officials note most communities have fluoride in their water supplies, and toothpaste has it too. Some are even given fluoride supplements.
The cosmetic problem is not the only hazard, though. A 5-year-old report said people who consume excessive fluoride can end up with crippling bone abnormalities and brittleness.
Even the American Dental Association, one of fluoride’s staunchest advocates, is on board with lowering fluoride levels. Yet officials are quick to point out that anti-fluoridation groups should not view a reduction in levels as a clear-cut victory to rid waterworks of fluoride. The mineral has proven its effectiveness against tooth decay.
As the wire report pointed out, anti-fluoridation interests have been portrayed as everything from alarmists to conspiracy theorists who believed fluoridation of public water supplies is intended to make people less resistant to governmental authority.
Hence, places that resisted fluoridation came to be labeled as backward.
Now those places, few as they may be, don’t look quite so ignorant and lacking in vision. Perhaps proponents will stop smiling condescendingly, through their speckled teeth, at those who have weighed both the risks and benefits of adding fluoride to potable water.
posted by Bill at
10:03 AM
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