Letters: 'Studies show biggest fall in tooth decay is in non-fluoridated Scandinavia'

Studies show that the biggest fall in tooth decay is in non-fluoridated Scandinavia.

Medication should be prescribed individually according to a person’s weight and general health – not given to whole communities with no control over dosage received.

The chemical used in water fluoridation is fluorosilicic acid – toxic waste from the chimney scrubbers of phosphate fertiliser factories.

This is contaminated with arsenic, mercury and lead etc. It isn’t pharmaceutical grade – unlike that used in toothpaste.

Leading paediatrician, Philip J Landrigan, and Professor Philippe Grandjean at Harvard School of Public Health, reported in The Lancet medical journal that after looking at 27 studies, they’ve classified fluoride as a “developmental neurotoxin” (nerve poison) which can harm children’s IQ.

Scotland has greatly cut tooth decay with its “ChildSmile” scheme where young children clean their teeth properly each day in school. Simple, effective, safe and cheap. Fluoridation is old technology, as only just over one per cent of tap water is drunk – most water is used for washing, toilet flushing and by industry – so most of that fluoride chemical is public money down the drain.

Ann Wills, Middlesex