Sugar sins: things must change to save kids’ teeth

‘There is no doubt that sugar is the villain posing the biggest threat to the health of children across the country’
Dr Nigel Carter Chief executive, Oral Health Foundation
It’s widely recognised that childhood levels of tooth decay, obesity and diabetes in the UK are far higher than acceptable levels. Regardless of how to approach this problem, we will always come back to 

For British children, excessive sugar consumption is a serious issue that has been apparent for many years. This is reflected in numerous figures which highlight just how pressing the problem is. Today nearly one in three children aged two to fifteen are overweight or obese. There are also more than 700 children with type-2 diabetes, an increase of around 40 per cent compared with four years ago.

Sugar tax has been a good start, but it’s not enough
Focusing on oral health, a child in England has a rotten tooth removed in hospital under general anaesthetic every ten minutes. This is a heart-breaking and appalling statistic, especially considering it is almost entirely preventable.

Over the course of an average day, countless children across the UK consume well over the recommended daily sugar allowance. Recent figures from Public Health England revealed children exceed the maximum recommended sugar intake for an 18 year old before they celebrate their tenth birthday.

, has been successful in tackling the fountain of fizzy and sugary drinks wreaking havoc on the health of thousands of youngsters. Government intervention was absolutely necessary to reduce the amount of sugar going into popular soft drinks. It has also been effective in discouraging consumers from regularly purchasing unhealthy drinks in large quantities.

Another cause for concern is oversized packs of products that provide little-to-no nutritional value. Whether they are advertised as being “sharebags” or “family packs” is completely irrelevant. There is nothing stopping a person from gorging on a whole pack of chocolates or sweets and eating dangerous amounts of sugar.

This is not dissimilar to the issue of two-for-one, buy-one-get-one-free products and other promotional offers that can be found across thousands of supermarkets and corner shops around the country. These promote a which is the exact opposite habit to that children should be developing as they grow up.

It is imperative that children are taught good oral health from birth
We must continue to teach children about the importance of, by brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste. Yet by facing a constant onslaught of sugar through the day, the damage will have been done long before they get around to picking up their toothbrush. Assuming they still have teeth to brush at the end of the day.

Dampening the appeal of these products will also be integral to reducing childhood sugar intake. In the last couple of years, the Committee of Advertising Practice has begun to clamp down on junk food advertising aimed at children. Tightening regulations for the marketing of unhealthy products should see less children beg their parents for them.

Ultimately, continuing to reduce the amount of sugar on supermarket shelves to an acceptable level is the best way of tackling the sugar crisis. Calls for further taxes on confectionery, cakes and other sugary snacks are completely warranted. Existing taxes have already resulted in many manufactures making voluntary changes to reduce the amount of sugar in their products.

For those who are unwilling to change, government intervention will be necessary. This will most likely mean an extension of the sugar levy. With the best interest of children in mind, it is something we must completely support.

There is no doubt that sugar is the villain posing the biggest threat to the health of children across the country. Putting the shackles on it must be high on our list of priorities, otherwise we will face the consequences for generations to come.

IS YOUR TOOTHPASTE KILLING YOUR THYROID?

THYROID AND FLUORIDE: IS YOUR TOOTHPASTE KILLING YOUR THYROID?

By: Hotze Health | Comments: 7 | January 30th, 2019

Many people probably don’t think twice about the toothpaste they use to brush their teeth. Keeping your teeth clean and healthy is a good thing. But did you know that there is an ingredient in toothpaste that can harm your health? Contrary to popular belief, fluoride is not as good for you as you thought........

USA - Tecumseh weighing in on fluoride debate

Tecumseh council tackled the contentious issue of water fluoridation Tuesday night, but won’t be making a final decision on its support for reintroducing the chemical until Feb. 12.

Last month Windsor city council voted 8-3 in favour of reintroducing fluoride, which was removed from the water in 2013.

They were saying that the idea of putting fluoride in the water is going to help low-income people

Studies indicate a 51 per cent increase in the incidence of serious tooth decay in children over five, a main factor in Windsor council overturning its 8-3 vote from six years ago.

“I still believe in the science, it’s compelling and to see the report in the last six years, what’s transpired in our communities,” said Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara.

“The old saying is the proof’s in the pudding.”

Because Windsor supplies both Tecumseh and LaSalle with their drinking water, those communities must also vote on the reintroduction of fluoride. If just one votes in favour, the change moves ahead. If both vote against, its reintroduction is stalled.

McNamara said he was unsure how town council would vote when it addresses the motion on Feb. 14 because there are three new councillors.

“This time I’ve got three new members that are going to be hearing a lot of the arguments for the first time, I think,” McNamara said.

“I really don’t know. There’s roughly, in terms of emails and letters, there’s over 1,000 pieces of documentation that have been sent in.”

There were more than two dozen delegations at Tuesday night’s meeting, many of whom were at the Windsor meeting on Dec. 17.

One of those was Windsor resident Richard St. Denis, who has been a longtime vocal opponent of fluoridation.

“There were things that happened in Windsor that needed more information and detail that they didn’t get,” said St. Denis.

St. Denis said one of those areas was the “social justice issue,” which indicated fluoridation would help the disadvantaged.

“They were saying that the idea of putting fluoride in the water is going to help low-income people,” said St. Denis.

“What they didn’t really explore sufficiently enough was the fact that it’s going to cost $850,000 to put it back in plus $150,000 a year to implement it.

“The first year we’re looking at $1 million which means that the people using the water are likely the ones going to be paying for that so the utility bills are likely to go up for those low-income people that they’re worried about.”

chthompson@postmedia.com

USA - The ‘frightening danger’ of fluoride

Our local water departments add fluoride to our water while promising that drinking fluoride is safe and improves dental health. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) affirms that while fluoride does work in toothpaste (topically), it does almost nothing to improve dental health when administered systemically (by drinking it).

Decades ago, the WHO reported that improved dental health, world wide, over the past half century was and remains the same with or without adding fluoride to drinking water. At the same time research, now confirmed, began to expose the truly frightening danger that fluoride, a proven neurotoxin, poses to fetuses and infants.

So, while most of Europe admitted error and eliminated fluoridation, what did America do? The CDC, ignoring evidence, informed consent and the hippocratic oath proclaimed fluoride in public water "one of the great public health achievements in the 20th century."

But wait! In 2017, the first U.S. government funded study of fluoride and IQ was finally published. Big-time cooperative research, 12 years, millions of dollars, Harvard, Purdue, etc., informed us that "fluoride exposure in utero linked to lower IQ in kids." The mainstream media failed to emphasize the astonishing degree of impairment detected.

Meanwhile, autism, attention deficit disorders, hypothyroidism and bad bones still plague our land. All linked to fluoride and bombarded by pill after pill after pill. Yet, there is one simple, sane precaution that nature and most of humanity utilizes.

Until Aspen and Snowmass removes fluoride, health authorities recommend not to mix baby formula with our public water.

Will Kesler

Canada Tecumseh council to decide on fluoride Feb. 12

Public meeting Tuesday night draws dozens of concerned citizens

CBC News · Posted: Jan 29, 2019 4:38 PM ET | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The Town of Tecumseh heard from residents and experts on whether or not to put fluoride back into the water after a five-year moratorium Tuesday night.

The meeting is ahead of a council vote on Feb. 12, which will be pivotal in deciding whether fluoride will be added back into the water for the City of Windsor.

Windsor council voted 8-3 to put fluoride back into the water in December.

Because both Tecumseh and LaSalle purchase their water from the city, at least one of the two municipalities needs to vote yes to fluoride before it becomes a reality.......

It needs calcium but needing fluoride? News to me.

Tooth decay in children is unacceptable

A proactive, holistic and nationwide approach to improving dental health is key to preventing a tooth decay crisis among UK children

There are times I have cried after taking 20 teeth out of a four-year-old’s mouth,” says Sandra White, national lead for dental health at Public Health England. “It is sadness about that child’s future, as well as the inequalities around dental decay, and its social and health impacts.” Despite tooth decay in children being entirely preventable, it is the leading cause of hospitalisation for them in this country, while globally around 486 million children suffer.

In addition to the pain, potential infection and missed school that can go with tooth decay, children are more likely to continue with poor dental health into adulthood.

Although local authorities have a statutory responsibility to improve oral health in their areas, national policy also plays a key role, along with nurseries, schools and consistent evidence-based messaging.

1 in 8 three year olds already showing sign of tooth decay

Preventing tooth decay in children has to start early, says Claire Stevens, NHS consultant in paediatric dentistry at the University Dental Hospital  of Manchester.

“One in eight three year olds already has signs of decay, so we need to be promoting this before school,” says Dr Stevens, who represents the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD). “We need to look at what happens from conception: what advice is a mum getting during pregnancy, are health visitors encouraging families into dental surgeries?”

The BSPD’s Dental Check by One campaign, supported by NHS England’s chief dental officer, aims to get all children seen by a dentist before their first birthday. The idea is to get youngsters used to an oral health routine from when their first baby teeth come through at a few months old.

Meanwhile, the new NHS Long-Term Plan, launched earlier this month, outlines an ambition to target more young children through its Starting Well core initiative, a programme which initially aimed to improve oral health in 13  priority areas.

“We need to ensure the profession all deliver the same message and ideally you would have supervised brushing in all nurseries,” adds Dr Stevens. “Some people will say ‘Isn’t that a bit nanny state?’ and in an ideal world all children would have their teeth brushed at home twice a day, but that doesn’t  always happen.”

Community initiatives key to better dental health in children

Communities are grasping the nettle, with results that show a difference. In Blackpool, 46 children’s centres, nurseries and childminders carry out supervised brushing each day, while primary schools provide fluoridated milk to pupils.

“The children love the supervised brushing and are taking a proactive approach to brushing their teeth at home,” says Alan Shaw, public health practitioner at Blackpool Council. In the first two years of Blackpool’s programme, tooth decay in five year olds dropped from 42.5 per cent to 24.9 per cent, just above the national average of 23.3 per cent.

In the London Borough of Brent, a similar programme was so successful it has now been extended, with more than 3,000 children receiving free toothbrush and toothpaste kits and supervised brushing sessions.

Meanwhile, Leicester City Council’s Healthy Teeth, Happy Smiles programme pledges to give all children, by the time they are five, five oral health packs, containing toothbrushes, fluoride toothpaste and information for families.

National effort to prevent tooth decay needed 

But there is a lack of consistency across UK regions, with national schemes in Scotland and Wales, but no single co-ordinated approach in England.

British Dental Association chair Mick Armstrong explains: “Deep inequalities are persisting and we shouldn’t accept that a child born in Pendle will enter primary school with 20 times the levels of decay as one born in Surrey.

“Prevention is better than cure, but we are still waiting for a dedicated, national effort to end the scandal of childhood decay.”

Oral Health Foundation chief executive Nigel Carter agrees there needs to be “a commitment to greater financial investment by the government” for a significant impact. While region-wide schemes such as water fluoridation have cut tooth decay, as well as being widely used in other countries such as the United States, the policy can be controversial despite evidence of its efficacy.

Public Health England’s Ms White says the simple mantra “less sugar and more fluoride” is the cornerstone of success.

The body’s latest Change4Life campaign focuses on sugar reduction, but is “realistic about encouraging baby steps rather than saying your child can only have carrot batons as a snack”,  she points out.

However, the introduction of the sugar levy on soft drinks is a positive step and “must now be rolled out to other sugar-based drinks and confectionery”, adds Mr Carter.

Digital media and tech could promote better dental health

Experts agree that digital media could prove a major force for delivering the dental health message, as mobile phone usage booms.

The new NHS Digital Apps library includes the Brush DJ dental app aimed at children, and plans are under way to develop content with television doctor and star of Strictly Come Dancing Ranj Singh, with a series of videos optimised for social media expected to go live in the coming six months.

Meanwhile, YouTube sensation The Singing Dentist parodies popular music with his own dental health-driven lyrics, with the videos receiving up to three million views each.

Augmented reality has also hit the dental sphere, with Colgate launching its Magik toothbrush developed by French firm Kolibree to make brushing more fun using a connected app and games.

Ultimately, improving dental health is about tackling societal inequalities, stresses Dr Stevens. “Geographical differences and socio-economic issues have an impact, with determinants like poverty levels and financial inequalities,” she concludes.

“The focus nationally is to raise a generation of children free of tooth decay and we can’t just continue to do things in the same way. We have to look at tackling things in a  holistic way.”

Lawmaker pushes to add fluoride to Hawaii drinking water

HONOLULU 
A Hawaii lawmaker is pushing to add the mineral fluoride to the state's public water systems in an effort to promote better dental health.

Democratic state Sen. Karl Rhoads has sponsored legislation that would require the major public water suppliers to fluoridate drinking water.
Rhoads tells KITV-TV that Hawaii ranks the lowest in the country for children's dental health.

He says fluoridating the water would be safe and cost-effective approach to address the issue.

The legislation would require the state Department of Health to reimburse water suppliers for initial expenses incurred and provide them with technical assistance and training.

USA - Focusing on fluoridation

For approximately the last 25 years I have been studying water fluoridation.

I have learned that people would rather attack someone personally instead of discussing the issue at hand. People don’t like to have their beliefs in dogma challenged. Some think they can tell people not express their opinion. This provides an insight as to the type of person.

There are issues which people are misinformed about.

Chiropractors are licensed as primary care doctors in Colorado. Chiropractors have a Doctor of Chiropractic degree.

In the basic sciences, chiropractors have 2,887 hours of study compared to a medical doctor’s 2,756 hours. Combining hours of required subjects and specialties for chiropractic and medicine, the total hours are 4,485 to 4,248.

What does it take to be a scientist? I have spent over 34 years in the clinical sciences in addition to a Bachelor of Science degree. Numerous hours have been spent in post graduate studies and staying current on new information in holistic health.

My focus of study continues to be in the areas of natural and holistic health. The areas that I focus on include structural/physical stress, mental/emotional stress, biochemical/nutritional stress, toxins, electromagnetic radiation, infections, and allergies. These areas culminate in how different energies impact our health.

One of the biggest health threats is putting fluoride, a neurotoxin, into our bodies. We have a right to choose what we put into our bodies.

Likewise, I think that it is unethical that a government can put a known neurotoxin in drinking water.

Tom Lankering

Basalt

USA - Marilyn Griffith: The lead-fluoride connection

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Marilyn Griffith, of Rutland, a retired Proctor Elementary School teacher and special educator at Black River High School, who now substitutes with Head Start, EEE, and the Northwest Elementary School in Rutland.

Lead in our children’s drinking water at their schools is not acceptable. As a certified special educator and teacher for 40 years I worked with many more children at the end of my career who needed special ed services than when I started teaching. It is my position that exposure to the neurotoxin hydrofluorosilicic acid in Rutland’s water directly contributes to the need for more remedial instruction and specialized services.

In May 2000, Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility published a report titled “In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development.” The authors suggest from their studies on animal and human populations that fluoride exposure may have adverse impacts on the developing brain. In 2006, the well known medical journal Lancet published an article “Developmental Neurotoxicity of Industrial Chemicals.” It says that silicofluorides (fluorosilicic acid) as water fluoridating agents are directly connected with greater uptake of lead into the bloodstream. The fluorosilicic acid added to Rutland’s water increases leaching of lead from brass fittings as indicated by Masters and Coplan in their studies with Brazilian researchers published in the April 2010 journal Toxicology. Citizens of Rutland can refer to www.fluoride.org/articles/iq-facts/ for more information regarding fluoride. Read the article on reduced IQ here.

In September 2018, the Vermont Department of Health released a pilot report on Vermont schools that tested lead in the water supply of communities. There was never any mention of whether the water was fluoridated or further treated with the chemical chloramine. That makes the report incomplete to me. Ignoring recent reviews on fluoridation disturbs me because the report misses a vital relationship between fluoridation and lead.

The authors R.M.M. Sawan, G.A.S. Leite, and M.C.P. Saraiva state in their article “Fluoride Increases Lead Concentrations in Whole Blood and in Calcified Tissues from Lead-Exposed Rats” that fluoride could enhance the brain damage caused by lead exposure. The authors found that exposure of rats to a combination of fluoride and lead in their drinking water increased the uptake of lead into blood some threefold over exposure to lead alone.

Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine is not looking out for our children’s health. He needs to become more informed and read up on new studies that show that fluoride consistently increases lead levels in children living in water-fluoridated communities. It is well established that even very low levels of lead exposure can compromise intellectual development and behavior of young children.

Opinion: Calgarians better off without toxic fluoridation

What if our medical community was wrong once again? It has happened all too often, at times taking decades before we work through and come to grips with new facts and science, and new realities.

Recall fiascos like smoking for women, asbestos, mercury, BPA, thalidomide, Vioxx, and lead in gasoline and paint. In every instance, our medical profession avidly supported these entities. Today, it is embarrassing to believe we could have been so wrong.

Water fluoridation falls directly into this category of failed medical practices, supported by professional unions and associations for decades with weak or nonexistent evidence, buried and manipulated science, and blinded and passionate fervour to “help those poor kids.” Unfortunately, the deleterious effects of fluoride mostly affect babies, children, the poor, chronically ill, elderly and people of colour.

Recently, in a Calgary Herald opinion piece (“Council erred with elimination of fluoridation,” Opinion, Jan. 22) in blogs and on radio talk shows, proponents of this failing public health practice have made egregious statements and highly misleading errors. Let’s unpack a few of these.

Error No. 1. “Three years after fluoridation was removed, decayed primary tooth surfaces had risen 146 per cent.”

Reality: The 2016 study by McLaren was debunked in the same journal months later. Caries also increased in fluoridated Edmonton. Almost all increase in Calgary caries were prior to 2010, while we were still fluoridated. No study has been able to definitively measure the effect of stopping fluoridation in Calgary. All cities, fluoridated or not, are experiencing increases in caries, mostly due to the prevalence of extremely high sugar and junk foods.

Error No. 2: $1 spent on fluoridation saves between $68 and $140 in dental care.

Reality: Calgary was going to spend $6 million in upgrades and at least $700,000 to $1 million for annual chemicals, not including operating costs, training, staff time, maintenance, repairs, hazmat suits, etc. After 20 years, 0.5 fillings would be saved per person (Slade et al, 2018). The $20 million to $26 million that would be spent on fluoridation would supposedly save over $3 BILLION in dental costs, or $5,000 per filling. This claim is clearly a huge exaggeration!

Error No. 3: On a Calgary radio show last week, it was stated there is “no evidence of harm at 4.0 ppm and below.”

Reality: The U.S. NRC Committee reviewed all literature and recommended to the EPA to markedly lower the 4.0 ppm limit due to all the adverse health effects. Over 200 studies now show significant decrease in IQ in kids at fluoride levels similar to North America.

Error No. 4: Dental fluorosis produced from water fluoridation is seen as mild white flecks on the teeth that can only be seen by the dentist. It does not affect the form and function of the tooth.

Reality: Dozens of peer-reviewed studies show that fluoridation produces fluorosis that is objectionable and often damaging. Prevalence has recently been shown to be much higher in a study of American children accepted for publication in a prestigious dental journal and by the NHANES Population study that is predicting an astonishing 61 per cent fluorosis in American teens in 2018.

Error No. 5: “So many European and other countries fluoridate the salt instead.”

Reality: Only six per cent of Europeans have access to fluoridated salt, and there has never been a single randomized double-blinded clinical trial to prove fluoridated salt lowers dental decay more than toothpaste. In fact, there has never been a single randomized double-blinded clinical trial for any water fluoridation.

Only five per cent of the world is fluoridated so Calgary is part of a huge majority that chooses not to put toxic waste from fertilizer industries of Florida and China, contaminated with arsenic, mercury and traces of other dangerous toxins, into our water. Health Canada has admitted it has no studies to prove that fluoride is safe to use in public water.

Fluoride is not necessary for a single body function.

In today’s world, when Alberta is trying to clean up our biosphere from carbon pollution, we should remain a leader in quality, fluoride-free drinking water.

Hardy Limeback is a dentist and a longtime fluoride researcher, with a PhD in biochemistry. He is retired head of preventive dentistry at the University of Toronto.

Robert Dickson is a family physician in Calgary. He is the founder of Safe Water Calgary.

USA - Florida

Fluoride-Disparaging Studies Rarely Publicized. Why?

NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Poorly done pro-fluoride studies are widely publicized. Fluoride disparaging studies are not. This past year, more studies link fluoride to brain, kidney, thyroid, bone and vascular damage, reports the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. (NYSCOF).

Fluoride chemicals added to public water supplies is touted as a safe tooth-decay preventive. However, a growing body of research shows fluoridation can cause harm. Here's the latest:

• "Childhood Fluoride exposure was associated with atherosclerotic biomarkers." (Environmental Research 2019)           
• "The risk of brain damage from low-fluorine exposure cannot be ignored." (Chemosphere April 2019)
• "Fluoride could be considered an environmental kidney toxicant." (Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 2018)
• "Viral infection and fluoride toxicity as contributors to chronic kidney disease." (International Urology and Nephrology 2018 )
• "Exploring the role of excess fluoride in chronic kidney disease: A review"  (Human & Experimental Toxicology 2018)
• "Positive correlation exists between fluorosis and thyroid functional." (The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice 2018)
• "Systematic review suggests a positive correlation between excess fluoride and hypothyroidism" (Indian Journal of Dental Research 2018) 
• "Fluorosis is associated with a higher incidence of OPLL" [a spinal cord disease] (Neurology India 2018)
• Fluoride included in "Environmental chemical exposures and neurodevelopmental impairments in children" (Pediatric Medicine 2018)
• "Long-term high intake of fluoride can cause skeletal fluorosis in patients with diabetes insipidus" Zhongguo Gu Shang (2017)
• "A relatively large proportion of fluoride intake is retained in the body in weaned infants." (British Journal of Nutrition 2019)
• Fluoride linked to poor memory. "The study may support the hypothesis that excess fluoride in drinking water is neurotoxic." (American Journal of Medicine and Medical Science 2018)
• "Fluorosis is more common in adults with lifetime exposure to water fluoridation than those with no exposure" (Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology 2018)
• Editorial (Fluoride 2018) "Fluoride-induced Developmental Disorders and Iodine Deficiency Disorders as Examples of Developmental Disorders Due to Disturbed Thyroid Hormone Metabolism"
• Fluorosis is linked to Anemia (Current Science 2018)
• Fluoride could be implicated in Alzheimer's Disease (International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2018) and Dementia (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2019)

We reported five others in October 2018.

Attorney Paul Beeber, NYSCOF President says: "Water fluoridation concentration doesn't equate to individuals' daily fluoride dose from all sources. It's time to retire fluoridation as a 1900's artifact of good intentions gone badly."

Contact:  Paul Beeber, JD, nyscof@aol.com  516-433-8882 http://fluorideaction.net

SOURCE NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.

Related Links

http://fluorideaction.net

Higher Levels of Fluoride Consumption Linked with ADHD in Children

By Marco Torres

Guest writer for Wake Up World

There is already overwhelming evidence that the prolonged ingestion of fluoride causes significant damage to our health, and particularly to the brain and nervous system. Now, according to University of Toronto and York University researchers, higher levels of fluoride during pregnancy have been linked with more ADHD-like symptoms in school-age children.

“Our findings are consistent with a growing body of evidence suggesting that the growing fetal nervous system may be negatively affected by higher levels of fluoride exposure,” said Dr. Morteza Bashash, the study’s lead author and researcher at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

The study, “Prenatal Fluoride Exposure and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms in Children at 6-12 Years of Age in Mexico City,” published in Environment International, analyzed data from 213 mother-child pairs in Mexico City that were part of the Early Life Exposures in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) project, which recruited pregnant women from 1994 to 2005 and has continued to follow the women and their children ever since.............................

Taking fluoride should be a choice

For approximately the past 25 years I have been studying the topic of fluoridating drinking water in communities.

I learned that something which I thought was true was actually not true.

I have learned that people would rather attack someone personally instead of discuss the issue at hand. People don't like to have their beliefs in dogma challenged. Some people even think they can tell someone they should not express their opinion. This provides an insight as to the type of person.

There are other issues which people are misinformed about.

Chiropractors are licensed as primary care doctors in Colorado. Chiropractors have a doctor of chiropractic degree.

In the basic sciences, chiropractors have 2,887 hours of study compared with a medical doctor's 2,756 hours. When you combine these hours with required subjects and specialties for chiropractic compared to medicine, the total hours are 4,485 to 4,248.

Some people have questioned what it takes to be a scientist. I have spent over 34 years in the clinical sciences and have also earned a Bachelor of Science degree (which was a pre-med program). Numerous hours have been spent in post-graduate studies and staying current on new information in holistic health.

My focus of study continues to be in the areas of natural and holistic health. The areas that I focus on include structural/physical stress, mental/emotional stress, biochemical/nutritional stress, toxins, electromagnetic radiation, infections and allergies. These areas culminate in how different energies affect and impact our bodies and our health.

One of the biggest health threats that I have learned about is putting fluoride, a neurotoxin, into our bodies. We have a right to choose what we put into our bodies.

Likewise, I think that it is unethical that a government can put a known neurotoxin in drinking water.

Tom Lankering

Basalt

Fluoride Debate

Fluoride debate may decide whether Melbourne keeps adding the compound to drinking water

Rick Neale  Florida Today

Published 5:03 PM EST Jan 22, 2019

A group of anti-fluoride activists wants the city of Melbourne to remove fluoride from its drinking water supply, which serves roughly 170,000 residents across southern Brevard County.

Thursday, the Melbourne City Council will listen to dueling 20-minute presentations opposing and supporting fluoridation of water during a 6 p.m. special meeting. Opponents say fluoride can contain toxic contaminants and carry health risks, while supporters say fluoride reduces tooth decay and has no adverse health effects. 

Sequence of events: After City Manager Shannon Lewis introduces the topic, fluoride foes Melissa Gallico and Dr. Paul Connett will speak against the compound. 

Gallico, a Stuart activist, published a book in May titled "The Hidden Cause of Acne: How Toxic Water Is Affecting Your Health and What You Can Do About It." Connett is director of the Fluoride Action Network, based in Binghamton, New York............

USA - Stop poisoning us with fluoride

Stop poisoning us with fluoride

Propaganda: Fluoride prevents tooth decay and is harmless additive found in toothpaste, rinses and our water supply.

Reality: Fluoride is a cumulative poison, it's one of the most toxic substances on Earth, only about half of what we consume is excreted. The other half collects in the teeth and bones, making them dense but brittle.

Ninety-eight percent of European countries are banning fluoride because of health concerns.

Cities throughout this country buy this witch's brew, which contains less than 20 percent total fluoride (and the rest extremely toxic waste, silicofluoride).

Apparently we are supposed to accept the fact that toxic fluoride is being piped into our homes so that we all have access to free mouthwash.

If fluoride only works topically, why are we still saturating our tissue with it through the water we drink and the water we bathe in? Let's join most of the world in refusing to add this substance to our drinking water.

Aspen

House of Lords

Baroness Manzoor Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My Lords, of course it is not right that there are health inequalities between people who are poor and those who are not. The Government are endeavouring to do everything they can to reduce those inequalities. I have talked about the obesity plan; we are also looking at diet, information and working with local authorities to improve the wider detriments of ill health. We have a world-leading strategy on obesity and salt intake. In this House we have discussed issues such as fluoride and folic acid, on which the Government continue to work.

Dundee University study: How improving oral health habits is getting to the root cause of dental decay at Perth Prison

Ahead of a Dundee University talk, Michael Alexander discovers how improving oral health habits is helping to rehabilitate prisoners at Perth.

Tackling the causes of the causes of health inequalities associated with social deprivation in Scotland is the key to solving some of the country’s most pressing public health problems.

That is the view of Professor Ruth Freeman from Dundee University’s School of Dentistry who said a health coaching initiative developed in Tayside has led to a significant shift in the behaviour and wellbeing of prisoners at Perth Prison.

The team from the university’s Dental Health Services Research Unit (DHSRU) within the School of Dentistry, developed the People in Prison, Health Coaching for Scotland (PeP-SCOT) programme to provide health coaching training for inmates.

An early cohort of Perth Prison participants

The peer health coaching initiative was delivered in collaboration with NHS Tayside, the Scottish Prison Service and the charity Positive Prison? Positive Futures (PPPF).

In an interview with The Courier ahead of a Café Science Dundee talk she is giving on Monday January 21, Professor Freeman said that prison officers had noted positive changes in the behaviour of those who took part in the programme, such as quitting smoking and other health improvements.

They also noted more reflective behaviour displayed by the participants following the coaching.

However, the general poor dental health of many prisoners tends to reflect deep rooted socio-economic factors related to their backgrounds – and with the greatest consumption of sugar per head of population in deprived areas, these can often be the most difficult people to reach.

FAN Newsletter

The primary argument made by the pro-fluoridation lobby is that adding the fertilizer industry’s wet-scrubber slurry to the public’s drinking water is not only an effective strategy to reduce dental decay, but absolutely necessary regardless of what alternative oral health strategies are implemented.  While a potential minor reduction in cavities is a weak reason to ignore the plethora of studies showing harm from fluoride--or the current fluorosis epidemic, or the ethical issues with medicating our water supply—it’s important we understand the issue of effectiveness when talking about fluoridation.
To help with this, our team has created an efficient 1-page handout (see below).  Before we get to that, we have to stress that none of the studies we summarize actually rises to a top level study.  This is because in the over 70 years of fluoridation practice and promotion, there has not been one single randomized control trial (RTC) to demonstrate that swallowing fluoride lowers tooth decay.

• FAN's Fluoridation Effectiveness Handout

It’s ready for immediate use and distribution.  Some possible target audiences include the public, city councilors, state legislators and the media.

1. It’s one page in lay-friendly language, making it a quick, easy read for anyone.
   
2. Citations are included.
   
3. It can be printed in either color for small higher-level groups or black and white for higher quantities inexpensively.
   
4. Fluoridationists carefully cite only percentages of higher estimates of fluoridation’s effectiveness. In contrast, the one-pager includes the lower estimates and the actual numbers of cavities reduced, enabling readers to be more fully informed.       

FAN has additional information and resources on fluoridation’s effectiveness, which can be converted to PDF or a printer-friendly format by scrolling to the bottom of any webpage and clicking on either the printer or PDF icons on the left.

Overview page on effectiveness

Report: Fluoride & Tooth Decay – The Facts

Studies: Topical vs. systemic effect

Studies: Decay rates in fluoridated vs. non-fluoridated communities

Studies: Tooth decay trends in fluoridated vs. non-fluoridated countries

Studies: Decay rates after fluoridation is stopped

Studies: Fluoridation and “Baby Bottle” decay

Studies: Does water fluoridation help the impoverished

It’s also important to keep in mind what the promoters of fluoridation don’t want to talk about: choice, dental fluorosis, the origins of the chemicals used, environmental justice, or the serious health consequences of systemic exposure to fluoride that outweigh any potential oral health benefit.

They also don’t want to discuss safe, targeted, more effective, non-controversial alternatives that have been used in non-fluoridated communities and nations that have the same or lower decay rates than their fluoridated counterparts.  This includes school sealant and dental screening programs, early nutrition and dental health education (brushing, flossing), and increased access to cleanings and treatments for Medicaid and uninsured patients (mid-level providers, higher reimbursement rates, dental homes and clinics).

A Campaign Documentary from the U.K.

A determined group of residents in Bedford, UK have produced an excellent mini-documentary about their efforts to stop fluoridation and hold local officials accountable for their actions.

The veteran campaigners of Fluoride Free Bedford used new council procedural laws to the test, and were successful in postponing the approval of fluoridation, getting the Adult Services and Health Scrutiny committee to recommend the fluoridation scheme be "terminated", and getting the council to go through a full public consultation prior to taking any future action.  Watch their video below, and visit their website for more info and videos about their campaign.  

WATCH HERE

Latest Fluoride News

-Tecumseh to Hold Public Meeting on Fluoride January 29 (Ontario)

-Juneau Has No Plans to Add Fluoride to Water Following Study (Alaska)

-Ready for Another Fluoride Debate in Calgary (Alberta)

-Trucking Company Fined $250,000 for Fluoridation Chemical Discharge (Ontario)
-Fluoride Reduces IQ Ad is Accurate Says Standards Authority (New Zealand)

-Kentucky Lawmakers Want to End Mandatory Fluoridation (Kentucky)

-Yorktown Aims to Return Fluoride to Drinking Water (New York)

-Fayette Commission Tells State: Let us Decide on Fluoridation (Georgia)

-$14,000 Wasted on Fluoridation Campaign in Clark County (Ohio)

Thank you,

Stuart Cooper
Campaign Director
Fluoride Action Network