Letter
Fluoride facts, for the record
Oh dear, as an outsider with no skin in the game, I know I shouldn’t bother to reply to Ms. Crowther’s letter that appeared in last Thursday’s newspaper. But as a retired dentist up here to visit family, I just can’t let deliberate misinformation on fluoridation stand unchallenged.
1) She doesn’t “think we should all be forced to drink an additive just because some people think it’s beneficial.” OK, a good point and fair. But to be consistent, you should also vote to remove chlorine from your water supply. All the anti-fluoride arguments are equally applicable to chlorine.
2) Personally, I don’t understand her logic. If she thinks fluoride is such a threat to health, why is it OK in toothpaste? Here’s a bulletin for you, Ms. Crowther: when brushing your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste you’re ingesting fluoride. True, not in big gulps. But if you brush twice a day, over time — uh oh.
3) Now let’s talk about fluorosis. Here’s a little real science for you. Enamel is formed during the tooth’s development. Fluorosis, if it is to occur, occurs pre-eruption, not after. That’s why fluorosis is seen in young children and in those adults who, during their dentition development years, lived in an area where fluoride occurs naturally in the water supply. As a consequence, it presents in uncontrolled dosage and in significantly higher parts per million.
Texas, for instance, is notable for naturally occurring fluoride in the streams and rivers feeding municipal water supplies with the consequence that in those areas fluorosis is not uncommon.
So, Ms. Crowther, have you called and asked your personal local dentist if he or she has ever seen fluorosis in his or her local practice? I bet not. Moreover, I bet you haven’t done so because you really don’t want to hear the answer.
MARTIN RYAN, D.M.D.
New York, N.Y.
Yes we ought to replace chlorine it does cause cancer of the bowel but without it you are far more likely to die from infectious diseases. It treats the water not the person.
Yes fluoride is in toothpaste and what about dose.
Fluorosis is rampant up to 40% in fluoridated areas. The dentists are making money with veneers and teeth whitening. I live in unfluoridated Southampton and I've seen fluorosis which the PHE describe the white spots as purely cosmetic.
Oh dear, as an outsider with no skin in the game, I know I shouldn’t bother to reply to Ms. Crowther’s letter that appeared in last Thursday’s newspaper. But as a retired dentist up here to visit family, I just can’t let deliberate misinformation on fluoridation stand unchallenged.
1) She doesn’t “think we should all be forced to drink an additive just because some people think it’s beneficial.” OK, a good point and fair. But to be consistent, you should also vote to remove chlorine from your water supply. All the anti-fluoride arguments are equally applicable to chlorine.
2) Personally, I don’t understand her logic. If she thinks fluoride is such a threat to health, why is it OK in toothpaste? Here’s a bulletin for you, Ms. Crowther: when brushing your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste you’re ingesting fluoride. True, not in big gulps. But if you brush twice a day, over time — uh oh.
3) Now let’s talk about fluorosis. Here’s a little real science for you. Enamel is formed during the tooth’s development. Fluorosis, if it is to occur, occurs pre-eruption, not after. That’s why fluorosis is seen in young children and in those adults who, during their dentition development years, lived in an area where fluoride occurs naturally in the water supply. As a consequence, it presents in uncontrolled dosage and in significantly higher parts per million.
Texas, for instance, is notable for naturally occurring fluoride in the streams and rivers feeding municipal water supplies with the consequence that in those areas fluorosis is not uncommon.
So, Ms. Crowther, have you called and asked your personal local dentist if he or she has ever seen fluorosis in his or her local practice? I bet not. Moreover, I bet you haven’t done so because you really don’t want to hear the answer.
MARTIN RYAN, D.M.D.
New York, N.Y.
Yes we ought to replace chlorine it does cause cancer of the bowel but without it you are far more likely to die from infectious diseases. It treats the water not the person.
Yes fluoride is in toothpaste and what about dose.
Fluorosis is rampant up to 40% in fluoridated areas. The dentists are making money with veneers and teeth whitening. I live in unfluoridated Southampton and I've seen fluorosis which the PHE describe the white spots as purely cosmetic.
posted by Bill at
9:59 AM
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