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UK Against Fluoridation

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Canadian behind controversial fluoride research spoke to conference featuring anti-vaxxers, COVID conspiracists

 Christine Till said she didn’t learn who else was presenting until organizers sent her an agenda two weeks before the event

Author of the article:Tom Blackwell

British doctor Andrew Wakefield, whose licence was revoked over a study linking autism and vaccinations, headlined a Nashville medical conference where York University professor Christine Till also spoke. 

As she battles critics of her research linking fluoridated water and lower child IQ, Christine Till won some powerful validation this month.The U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) commented favourably on the York University professor’s study and others examining the issue. Fluoride is “presumed to be a cognitive neurodevelopmental hazard,” concluded the government agency in a revised report on the issue that echoes Till’s own concerns. But the neuropsychologist’s virtual appearance at a Nashville conference earlier in September is unlikely to reassure the naysayers.

Till spoke on her fluoride research, but fellow presenters at the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology event included a who’s who of the anti-vaccination and COVID-19 conspiracy-theory movements.

Among them were defrocked British doctor Andrew Wakefield, whose study linking vaccines and autism was exposed as fraudulent, and Judy Mikovits, a former biochemist who starred in a viral video that promulgated a litany of false information on the coronavirus.

Wakefield and another of the presenters have had their medical licences revoked, while Mikovits was briefly arrested after she allegedly took lab notebooks and other proprietary information from a research facility where she’d worked. It’s difficult to say what obligation scientists have to vet fellow speakers, but in giving top billing to Wakefield and Mikovits, this conference was “patently absurd,” says Tim Caulfield, a University of Alberta health policy professor and crusader against health misinformation.

“Having a legit scientist present at an iffy event gives credibility to both the event and the ideas that are pushed,” he said. “It sends the message that speakers like Wakefield and Mikovits are on par with respected scientists espousing scientifically plausible views.”

Till said she was invited in January to address the conference, held physically in Nashville as she spoke by internet from Toronto. She said she didn’t learn who else was presenting until organizers sent her an agenda two weeks before the event.

Till also said she wasn’t aware of Mikovits’ role in Plandemic. Viewed millions of times online, the video suggested falsely that wearing a mask could “activate” COVID-19, that Italy’s outbreak was linked to flu shots and that beach sand and sea water could cure the virus. Facebook and other social-media platforms took the film down.

Meanwhile, the Canadian academic stressed that she accepted no payment from the IAOMT, and does back childhood vaccination of the sort her fellow speakers decry.

“You might be wondering ‘What was I thinking, why did I accept the invitation?’” she said in an interview. “Just because I speak to an organization does not mean I subscribe to the views of the other speakers … To me the invitation to speak is to present our research findings, make them accessible to this group.”

York University associate professor Christine Till has strenuously defended her work, saying that it’s in line with other research looking at the neurological effects of fluoride.

International experts call for independent probe of Canadian research linking fluoride and lower IQ

“We’re scientists. We let the data tell us the story and still people don’t believe it,” said the fluoridation study’s senior author, York psychology professor Christine Till.

'So much is at stake': Academics call for release of data behind controversial Canadian fluoride study

A study published on August 19, 2019 links exposure to fluoridated tap water during pregnancy to lower IQ scores in infants, but several outside experts expressed concern over its methodology and questioned its findings.  Fluoride has been added to community water supplies in industrial countries to prevent tooth decay since the 1950s. Very high levels of the mineral have been found to be toxic to the brain, though the concentrations seen in fluoridated tap water are generally deemed safe.

U.S. experts push back against Canadian study on effects of fluoride in water

IAOMT itself is not exactly a mainstream scientific organization. Its chief cause is to end the use of metal amalgam dental fillings, arguing the mercury in them is toxic. But while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently suggested that children under six should consider avoiding amalgam fillings, based on “very limited” evidence, it says a raft of studies have found them safe for most people.

Most famous of the Sept. 10-12 conference speakers is Wakefield, who has found a home in the U.S. anti-immunization movement since his study on autism and vaccines was discredited and his British licence removed.

Mikovits gained some prominence in 2009 with a study that seemed to identify a mouse virus as the cause of chronic-fatigue syndrome. Further research disproved the theory, leading to her original paper being retracted. Since leaving her research facility, Mikovits has promoted anti-vaccine ideas.

Marc Geier, who also addressed the conference and links vaccines and autism, had his medical licence in Maryland and other states revoked over his treatment of autistic children and misrepresenting himself as an epidemiologist and geneticist. Another speaker was retired chemistry professor Boyd Haley, who has long espoused the discredited notion that mercury in vaccines causes autism. Just because I speak to an organization does not mean I subscribe to the views of the other speakers

Till has become something of a lightening rod in the debate over fluoridated water since she published a study last year that found an increase in fluoride levels in pregnant women was associated with their children having slightly lower IQ. Fluoridation experts wrote to York University last week, demanding it convene an independent investigation of the professor’s research, suggesting she may be putting ideology over science.

Some reviews of her study have questioned its methodology and statistical analysis. But the NTP cited it and other research in saying there is a “moderate level” of evidence that fluoride is associated with cognitive effects in children.Till said the conclusions were no surprise, given the high-profile journal that published her own work first subjected it to an unusual amount of scrutiny and peer review.

“We responded to hundreds of critiques just to get the study published,” she said. “I haven’t heard anything new.”

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Gov’t Calls for Less Fluoride in Water

 For the first time in 50 years, your drinking water may change. Due to an increase in fluorosis, a condition that causes spotting and streaking on the teeth of children, the federal government is recommending altering the levels of fluoride in U.S. drinking water. The government wishes to set the amount of fluoride in drinking water at 0.7 milligrams per liter, as opposed to the range of 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams per liter which has been instituted since 1962. Fluoride was added to U.S. drinking water in the 1940s to prevent tooth decay, but there have been increases in dental fluorosis in recent years due to an abundance of fluoride in toothpaste or mouthwash, as well as the increased popularity of air conditioning, the lack of which had led to different levels of water consumption by regional climate.

Sunday, September 27, 2020

A new conspiracy against blacks? What was Gates?

Saturday, September 26, 2020

From Ann Wills

 An ITV documentary ‘In Cold Blood’ will be broadcast tomorrow night on Sunday 27 September at 10.20pm - midnight.  It’s about the NHS Infected Blood Scandal in which NHS patients were given blood transfusions & blood products infected with hepatitis C & HIV.  Over 1,000 people died, including children.   For a description of the documentary click:  https://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week40/cold-blood    & scroll down.

--

Daily Mail 26.9.20  “NHS CHIEF: DRUG FIRMS ARE TRYING TO RIP OFF TAXPAYERS” by Sophie Borland, Health Editor.

The head of NHS in England has hit out at drugs firms which try to “price-gouge” taxpayers.  Sir Simon Stevens claimed one co. was attempting to raise the cost of a drug for mental health disorders by 2,600%.    The firm. Essential Pharma, raised the costs of lithium carbonate tablets from £3 to £87 in 2016.  They’ve withdrawn one of their  cheaper products, which means the NHS may be forced to switch to this costly version.  He said up to 50,000 patients could be affected.  Sir Simon called for it to be made illegal for “bad apple” companies to hike their prices arbitrarily.    Essential Pharma owns the rights to 2 other brands of lithium carbonate & the costs to NHS (taxpayer) for the drug are now likely to rise from £2million to £17million.  It’s used to treat bipolar & depression.  Sir Simon was speaking at the Health Service Journal’s virtual Integrated Care Summit on 25.9.20.

Ann

One inch in twenty-three miles

 Former CDO, Barry Cockroft, looks at current provisions within dentistry.


This summer saw the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the first artificial community water fluoridation scheme in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1945. The American dental health community celebrated this through July with a series of four webinars hosted by the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry. There was a wide range of speakers and it was a really fascinating programme. In the US about 70% of the population lives in areas where the water is fluoridated so their main issue is not initiating more new schemes but defending those that already exist.

It was really interesting to see that the challenges they face when attempts are made to challenge existing schemes are very similar to those we see in this country when new schemes are proposed.

Since I first became interested in the subject as an undergraduate in Birmingham every single disease or malady known to man has been blamed on fluoridation by its opponents and subsequently it has been proved that there is no link.

If, as I hope, we start to see movement on initiating new schemes in the next couple of years I am sure another obscure study will be quoted as a reason not to proceed despite the great wealth of evidence that it is both safe and effective.

Fluoride is the thirteenth most common ion in the earth’s crust and tea contains more fluoride that almost any other foodstuff, but I have not heard of tea being blamed in a similar way!

It is often said by opponents of water fluoridation that fluoride is a poison. This is not correct, but anything can be poisonous in the wrong dose. Six litres of water taken at one time can be fatal, oxygen given under pressure can cause blindness in premature babies, and did so on many occasions when incubators were first invented and used.

A speaker from the Royal Society of Chemistry confirmed this at the seminar in Hull organised as part of Hulls celebration of being that year’s city of culture in 2017. Understanding the meaning of dosage can be really difficult. Someone speaking during the US webinars, when making the point about dosage, said that if you put it into context and compare with distance, the recommended level in the US, of 0.7 parts per million is equivalent to one inch every 23 miles!

I believe everybody has the right to an opinion, but nobody has a right to their own facts, and this is what some people often confuse.

Like the UK, the US has inequalities, though some of the inequalities in America make ours look small by comparison. The key benefit of water fluoridation is that it requires no compliance to be effective so those most deprived or less knowledgeable benefit the most, therefore reducing the impact of inequality.

Fluoridation is not a “silver bullet” that totally prevents dental caries but hundreds of studies since 1945 have shown that it reduces the prevalence of dental caries and especially so in the more deprived parts of society.

Reducing the prevalence of dental caries requires a combination of national, community based and individual actions. When we first published Delivering Better Oral Health in 2007, we focussed on what clinicians could do for their patients in the primary care environment, but we did also recognise and advise on the wider determinants of oral health. It is always easier to criticise public health initiatives and difficult, sometimes, to explain the benefits when statements made without supporting evidence get just as much media coverage as unsubstantiated personal views.

Governments can really influence by supporting evidence based proposals. I was surprised and impressed to hear of the way Ronald Reagan put pressure on individual states to do the right things around controlling alcohol consumption and tackling obesity and drug abuse, over which he had no control as president, by making federal funding for other projects conditional on doing the correct thing on these health issues. I am not sure the current incumbent would do the same unless such policies had a positive impact at the ballot box.

Public Health England has come in for a lot of criticism during the current pandemic but a lot of the work it does, both locally and nationally, will have a significant positive impact on health in the years to come. The green paper on prevention published last year must have involved months of work behind the scenes and is a hugely positive document for the future, including the overt support for the development of new targeted water fluoridation schemes.

I hope the direction of travel indicated in that document does not get lost in the inevitable fallout from the pandemic and the potential descent into looking for scapegoats.

He led the drive to fluoridate Southampton's water and despite his manipulative debating skills it failed

Bill



Thursday, September 24, 2020

British Fluoridation Society: plans and predictions in a post-COVID world

 The British Fluoridation Society discusses the future of fluoridation in light of COVID-19 and the abolition of PHE

The British Fluoridation Society discusses the future of water fluoridation in light of COVID-19 and the abolition of PHE.

How important is fluoridation in a post-COVID world?

The appeal of water fluoridation has never been greater. COVID-19 and the consequent imperative to avoid aerosol generating procedures (AGP) underscore how counter-intuitive it is to be treating disease when it could and should be prevented. COVID has informed us that we need to invest in public health programmes that build health resilience. Especially in deprived communities where health is poorest. Water fluoridation is the most cost-effective and far-reaching of preventative measures.

As expressed by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry in its position statement on water fluoridation, it is: ‘unique in its ability to reach all people at minimal cost.’ A fluoridated water supply allows populations to drink and cook with water that will benefit their oral health.

Manufacturers in areas where there is fluoridated water contribute to a so-called halo effect, their fluoride-containing food and drink products being distributed to non-fluoridated areas, extending their beneficial reach.

Dental caries is more prevalent in non-fluoridated areas, with the impact being greatest in the most deprived areas (PHE, 2018). This is backed up by copious research papers, the most recent from New Zealand (Hobbs M, 2020).

The scale of the problem in England was highlighted recently by the Local Government Association. It estimated that in the most recent year (ie prior to the pandemic), 177 hospital-based procedures were taking place every day in England to remove multiple teeth in children – at a cost of more than £41.5m annually.

Can you bring Dentistry readers up to date on BFS activities?

The green paper (Cabinet Office, 2019) published last year gave fluoridation schemes in England a timely boost. The government pledged to remove the funding barriers to fluoridating water to drive expanded coverage of this important measure.

It’s worth pointing out that following the introduction of the world’s first water fluoridation scheme in 1945, the UK was one of the first countries to trial and then introduce water fluoridation. Several schemes followed but there have been no new programmes in the UK since the 1980s. Only 10% of the population in England have the benefit of water fluoridation compared with over 70% in the US. It’s time to push forward.

We are trying to work proactively to support local authorities and communities who are interested in reducing oral health inequalities in this way. We anticipate that two schemes will go out to public consultation in the North East in 2021.

Meanwhile, the work of the BFS is boosted by the activities of the CWF (Community Water Fluoridation) network. This is linked to the grass roots Local Dental Committee movement. Every year for the last few years, the conference has voted unanimously or overwhelmingly in support of water fluoridation.

What are the implications of Public Health England (PHE) being abolished?

Currently the future is very unclear. Besides its statutory and contractual functions on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health, PHE also has a role in supporting local authorities in developing oral health plans, including fluoridation proposals. PHE has produced valuable documents to assist local authorities wanting to pursue water fluoridation:

  • Health monitoring reports (the most recent in 2018) and
  • A toolkit for local authorities (PHE, 2016)

While there appears to be support from on high for water fluoridation, it’s uncertain how local authorities will develop their proposals for Community Water Fluoridation (CWF).

What can dental practices do?

A survey we carried out recently showed that the public view dental practices as a valued source of information on water fluoridation. Additionally, they are seen as a really important part of our campaign for positive change.

We are planning to produce resources for dental practices to give to patients. This highlight how important fluoride and fluoridation are to the maintenance of healthy teeth. We are aware there are parents who do not fully understand fluoride or its benefits; dental teams are valuable channels of communication for unbiased, evidence-based information.

We encourage dental teams to get involved, especially those in the North East of England. For example, Durham, Sunderland, South Tyneside and Northumberland are expected to move to public consultation in the Summer of 2021.

Meanwhile, for those who want to develop their knowledge and understanding, our website has copious resources: www.bfsweb.org. BFS has worked closely with the CWF Networks and LDCs to develop the one part per million website: https://onepartpermillion.co.uk

What are your predictions on the future of water fluoridation?

Reducing inequalities is a priority. Professor Sir Michael Marmot, professor of epidemiology at UCL, the foremost UK authority on health inequalities, believes that austerity made England easy prey for COVID-19.

In a recent article, he explains that since public health was taken out of the NHS and made the responsibility of local authorities, the budget for public health services was reduced by £700m in real terms between 2014-15 and 2019-20.

Water fluoridation is indisputably the best way to reduce oral health inequalities. It is a measure endorsed by the World Health Organisation since the 1960s. As stated at the outset, it makes sense for all four UK governments to champion it.

Despite the loss of PHE, we believe the time is right for expansion of fluoridation coverage. The most deprived areas are the highest priority – and we like to think this will start to happen in 2021.

Dream on


Wednesday, September 23, 2020

From Ann Wills

 It doesn’t seem good news that Dido Harding is reportedly going to be made head of the body which will replace Public Health England.  It will be called “National Institute for Health Protection.”    According to press reports, she’s made a muddle of almost every important position she’s held, leaving problems behind.  In the last one, the press reported about 3 weeks ago that when things went badly wrong Dido just disappeared & could not be found.  I found this heading on the internet but I couldn’t open it without agreeing to subscribe, so don’t know any details about her views on fluoridation   Ann.

Fluoridation of water prevents tooth decay safely and effectively, according to the ... Dido Harding:

International experts call for independent probe of Canadian research linking fluoride and lower IQ

 An arm’s-length review is needed to determine whether 'ideology is being misrepresented as science,' the group of academics and health officials says in a letter

Several international experts have taken the unusual step of urging a Canadian university to arrange an independent investigation into research that controversially linked fluoride in drinking water to lower intelligence in children.

The academics and public health officials from six countries say studies by York University’s Christine Till have been widely criticized, yet are still influencing often-emotional debates over fluoridation in American and Canadian cities................

Saturday, September 19, 2020

Interesting web page

 

Fluoride Facts

Information to edify your awareness.

Fact #1

danger

FLUORIDE IS MORE TOXIC THAN LEAD, and just like lead, even in minute doses, accumulates in and is damaging to brain/ mind development of children, i.e. produces abnormal behavior in animals and reduces IQ in humans.

Thursday, September 17, 2020

F.A.N. Newsletter

 We continue to receive emails from supporters wondering about the status of the TSCA lawsuit.  In short, the trial is still ongoing as we await a ruling by the Court.  The judge will hold a status hearing on November 5th to see if the EPA has made any progress towards independently re-assessing the hazard posed by fluoridation chemicals, or if FAN intends to submit an updated TSCA petition that the EPA will have no choice but to assess over a 90-day period.    

In the meantime, I urge you to watch and share this exciting new video. Attorney Michael Connett recently sat down with environmental lawyer, author, and consumer advocate Robert F Kennedy, Jr. (Chairman,Children’s Health Defense) for an engaging discussion on the ongoing TSCA fluoride lawsuit. Michael Connett is the lead attorney for plaintiffs in the trial seeking to force the Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate the “unreasonable risk” of neurotoxicity that fluoridated water presents to the American pubic.

New Video Series: Witness Spotlight

FAN’s Outreach and Education Director, Jay Sanders, has created a new video series putting the spotlight on the four expert witnesses our attorneys called to the stand to testify at trial.  The short videos feature information about the qualifications of each expert along with their opinions on the neurotoxicity of fluoride taken from their declarations for trial. Click on the link below to view them all, along with accompanying links to their full declaratory statements and a graphic for each witness that you can save and share on social media to inform others.

 

Sincerely, 

Stuart Cooper
Campaign Director
Fluoride Action Network


Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Fluoride Linked To IMPAIRED Kidney And Liver Function In Adolescents, Warn Researchers

 NATURALNEWS

 

A study that was recently published in the Environment International journal showed just how dangerous fluoride can be in adolescence.

 

The study looked at the relationship between the levels of fluoride in young people’s drinking water and blood and the health of their kidneys and livers. The adolescents studied were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey.

 

The researchers discovered that exposure to fluoride can spur complex changes in the function of these organs in young people. Although fluoride has already been linked to liver and kidney toxicity in adults and animals, the study focused on how low-level, chronic exposure can affect young people’s bodies. There are significant differences in the way that children’s bodies excrete fluoride compared to adults.

 

They looked at the levels of fluoride measured in blood taken from 1,983 adolescents as well as the fluoride content in the tap water found in the homes of 1,742 adolescents. Even though the researchers characterized the tap water fluoride concentrations as being low in general, it was still enough to contribute to liver and kidney dysfunction.

 

Experts believe that the relationship between exposure to fluoride and indicators of liver and kidney damage is dose-dependent, which means that those who are exposed to more fluoride may incur greater damage. Some of the potential health effects identified by the researchers include thyroid dysfunction, liver damage, renal system damage, impaired protein metabolism and tooth and bone disease.

 

 

Most countries do not add fluoride to drinking water

 

It’s a very concerning finding when you consider the fact that nearly three fourths of public water systems in the United States regularly add fluoride to tap water on account of its purported benefits to dental health.

 

According to the Fluoride Action Network, around 185 million people worldwide drink artificially fluoridated water. Most developed countries do not add this chemical to their water, and those that have high natural levels of fluoride in their water take steps to remove it because of its dangers.

 

In addition to damaging children’s kidneys and livers, it also accumulates in the body in calcifying tissues such as the pineal gland and bones. It can also affect thyroid function.

 

There is some evidence that it could damage the brain, with animal experiments showing that fluoride can accumulate in the organ and change the mental behavior of animals in a way that is consistent with a neurotoxic agent. More than 100 different animal studies have shown that fluoride can harm the brain and affect behavior and learning. These effects were even seen at very low doses. Dozens of studies have also shown an association between exposure to fluoride and a reduced IQ.

 

Moreover, it may not even be accomplishing its aim. In the biggest study ever conducted in the United States into this matter involving more than 39,000 children, little difference was found in tooth decay between the children who drank fluoridated water and those who did not. Large surveys from Australia have found an even lower benefit. Moreover, tooth decay remains high even in low-income communities that have long had fluoridated water.

 

Meanwhile, in places where fluoridation was once used but has since been discontinued, such as Finland, Canada, Cuba and the former East Germany, dental decay has not gone up with the removal of the fluoride in drinking water supplies.

 

Perhaps most notably, there has never been a randomized, controlled trial illustrating the effectiveness or safety of fluoride even though it has been added to water supplies for more than 60 years. Given all these potential dangers for so little benefit, it makes no sense that fluoride continues to be added to American drinking water.

Saturday, September 12, 2020

Should patients spit or swallow fluoride toothpaste?

 Sharif Islam argues that dentists should advise patients to rinse after they brush instead of to spit, to avoid high concentrations of fluoride.

Poor Dr Frederick McKay.

He set up a practice in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the turn of the last century. Only to find that the need for dental treatment was disproportionately low among the local population’s mottled nashers.

Sure, the teeth were brown, pocked and rather unsightly. But cosmetic dentistry was barely nascent.

Taking up the gauntlet to find out why he eventually discovered (along with a little help from GV Black, the grandfather of modern dentistry) that fluoride in the water supply had rendered human dental tissue a degree of resistance to acid.

Continued research discovered that people of all ages living around fluoridated water supplies, with the optimum level being 1ppm, had a lower incidence of dental caries and fewer restorations.

Today we know that fluoride is ubiquitous in water supplies around the world. And even present in tea and other water borne crops.

Fluoride in toothpaste

Over a century later we all take for granted that our toothpastes, with around 1,400ppm fluoride, help to protect our teeth against the scourge of dissolution from acid.

In varying quantities it is both the conventional and nuclear option for the prevention and treatment of early caries.

The ion of the otherwise poisonous fluorine incorporates itself into the apatite crystalline structure of hard tooth substance. This replaces the hydroxyl group to make the tooth slightly less soluble in acid.

We have toothpastes available now, on the prescription of a dentist, that offer up to 5,400ppm fluoride.

It even has bacteriostatic properties.

And for as long as I can remember the standard advice is to spit after brushing instead of rinsing.

The rationale being that some of the fluoridated paste can remain in the mouth as a topical application. Therefore, it offers further protection. A bit like a national guard force remaining behind to counter further acid incursion and help reconstruct spent enamel.

Rinsing supposedly clears it away too efficiently to guarantee this protection.

Except the advice I give out is the exact opposite of that.

The potential for fluorosis

Leaving globules of high concentration fluoride paste in the mouth doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Anything left in the mouth has the potential for ingestion, even in small quantities.

When anything past 8ppm fluoride in a water supply can cause mottling in teeth, what rationale is there to accept the ingestion of anything up to 5,400ppm?

It would seem spitting is only one small step away from swallowing.

If children accidentally ingest fluoride toothpaste, we tell them to have a glass of milk immediately. We know the calcium in the milk will bind to the fluoride and render it harmless to the body.

But apparently, it’s perfectly acceptable to allow the same toothpaste to loiter in the mouth in small quantities. Some, if not most of it, our patients will inevitably ingest anyway.

To say nothing of the detergent present in most toothpastes, sodium laureth sulphate.

Even during a pandemic how many of us would happily eat our soap?

Modern day habits

Aside from the consequences of ingesting something that dangles its feet on the periodic table just above that popular chemical weapon, chlorine, secondary teeth will undoubtedly exhibit some signs of fluorosis.

Of course, these teeth are more resistant to decay. But they are not necessarily structurally stronger.

And the patient may in fact become more self-conscious about their appearance.

Later attempts at tooth whitening may make the fluorosis less obvious, but it is a difficult nut to crack. Even with stronger teeth.

We can easily argue that foaming at the mouth twice a day with a topical paste containing 1,400pm fluoride confers plentiful protection to our teeth.

Leaving some of that paste behind to abseil down the gullet and gain access to the rest of the body is surely unnecessary and may possibly imperil our health.

Even rinsing will leave some remnants of fluoride behind.

And since most people generally don’t eat after their nocturnal brush, what exactly is the imminent danger that will require so much fluoride protection?

Diet and dental decay

We have all become indoctrinated to believe that fluoride is somehow a panacea of protection for our teeth.

But as I stated earlier, it only makes our teeth slightly less soluble in acid than they were previously.

Colorado is a beautiful state, bulging with the Rocky Mountains, sinewed with deep canyons and there is no shortage of sugary treats available to its inhabitants.

Between bouts of firing guns and devouring steak I’ve tried many of them and they’re delicious.

But the inhabitants of Colorado Springs in the early part of the last century may not have had access to the refined sugar and acid that their descendants have today.

Fluoride aside, this may also have accounted for the dearth of decay in the population.

Indeed, in many developing countries children have wide beaming smiles that would make Tom Cruise jealous. Despite having no fluoride available to them.

For what they also lack is the diet of refined sugar and acid typical of industrialised nations.

Of course, genetics and inherent dispositions to decay play a role.

But, alas, it seems the dental community (including the dental media) would rather spend less time educating patients on the main causes of dental decay and erosion, and more time plugging the products to treat them. Something about a horse and a barn door springs to mind.

Time to rinse

Fluoride is a valuable weapon in the prevention of dental caries.

No one would dispute that (except perhaps the anti-fluoridation lobby).

I advocate people use fluoride toothpaste twice daily. Apply it as an ointment to exposed and sensitive root surfaces. Even dip interdental brushes in it.

But I can see no additional benefit to, and only potential harm from, spitting toothpaste out instead of rinsing it out.

Perhaps sage and prudence would each encourage patients to learn more about the foods that have the potential to cause dental decay. Rather than solely rely on fluoride products to offset such consumption.

Either way it’s a notional lotion that’s worth swilling.

We need clean water

 As in the case of Spokane, the city of Portland, Oregon, has also voted against water fluoridation multiple times. In reviewing the reasons why, a couple of things jumped out at me. First, city engineers estimated that it would require adding some 215,000 lbs. of chemical fluoride to the Portland water supply annually. Shocked by that fact, the Portland chapter of the Sierra Club became one of the leading voices against fluoridation. Concern over the known and unknown impacts to fisheries also led the Columbia Basin Inter-Tribal Fish Commission to become a strong fluoridation opponent.

To date, the Spokane City council has failed to reveal how much fluoride would need to be added to Spokane’s water supply annually in order to maintain so-called, “optimal” levels. Nor has the council fully assessed how the addition of thirty, fifty, or seventy tons of fluoride would affect downstream aquatic ecosystems that are already burdened under a heavy chemical load.

Studies conducted at the John Day reservoir from 1982-1986 conclusively proved that an accidental industrial fluoride discharge had devastating impacts on salmon migration. The citizens of Spokane deserve to know the potential impacts from accidental discharges as well as the cumulative effects of intentional daily releases of fluoride. The Spokane City council’s job is to insure that our water supply remains clean and safe, not just for city residents, but for other living creatures as well.

Steve Busch

Mead

Friday, September 11, 2020

From Ann Wills

 Guardian 9.9.20.  “OXFORD UNIVERSITY COVID VACCINE TRIAL PUT ON HOLD DUE TO POSSIBLE ADVERSE REACTION IN PARTICIPANT”

An Oxford University & AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine trial has been halted to review the ‘potentially unexplained illness’ in one of the participants.  The participant who triggered a global shutdown of AstraZeneca’s Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trials was a woman in UK who experienced neurological symptoms consistent with a rare but serious spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis, the drug maker’s Chief Executive, Pascal Soriot said.

Tuesday, September 08, 2020

Sunday, September 06, 2020

Saturday, September 05, 2020

FLUORIDATION NATION – PART 1

 by Steffi Santos in EDUCATION, HEALTH & WELLBEING, HEALTH & WELLBEING, HUDSON MOHAWK MAGAZINE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY on 9.4.2020

Part one of “Fluoridation Nation” features clips from two webinars.

The first featured webinar was for the continuing education of medical and dental professionals and is titled “Patient Engagement about Fluoride and Fluoridation.” The webinar was originally presented in August of 2018 by Professor of Dental Hygiene, Meg Atwood, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Albany Medical College, Dr. Melinda Clark. The full webinar can be accessed via the following link: https://www.albany.edu/cphce/fluoridation_webinars_aug2018.shtml 

The second featured webinar is from Fluoride Action Network. Their Research Director, Chris Neurath, details the available scientific evidence regarding fluoride’s developmental neurotoxicity. The full webinar can be accessed via the following link: http://fluoridealert.org/studies/neurath-powerpoint-developmental-neurotoxicity/

“Fluoridation Nation” is a radio segment series dedicated to presenting the whole truth about the addition of fluoride to municipal drinking water, a practice that impacts the health of 71% of New York residents, by hearing from both sides of the controversial topic.

This story is nationally relevant as the US EPA was recently sued on the grounds that fluoride poses a risk to the developing brains of fetuses and infants. This story is also locally relevant as the City of Albany does not fluoridate its drinking water, while the Cities of Troy and Schenectady do.

Friday, September 04, 2020

Dentistry on line

 

‘No fluoride for me thanks’: a brief guide to holistic dentistry

dentist offering holistic dentistryAsha Pandya-Sharpe discusses holistic dentistry, what it involves and what conventional dentists should be aware of.................

Thursday, September 03, 2020

Wednesday, September 02, 2020

From Ann Wills

 Daily Mail 2.9.20  “MISSED CHANCES TO STOP BREAST CANCER BUTCHER” by Liz Hull.

Disgraced breast cancer surgeon Ian Paterson was allowed to butcher patients despite serious concerns being flagged to his NHS bosses 10 years before he was jailed, it emerged yesterday.  Concerns were raised in 2004, & by 2007 senior colleagues at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham where he worked, were aware of 9 reports of patients suffering botched operations.  Despite this, by 2010 only one case had been reported to General Medical Council (GMC) for investigation & Paterson was allowed to continue operating.  A tribunal in Manchester heard that 5 further reviews of his conduct were held in secret at the GMC before Paterson was finally suspended from medical practise in 2012, after complaints from 30 patients.  In April 2017, he was jailed for 15 years after being convicted at Nottingham Crown Court of 17 counts of wounding with intent & 3 counts of unlawful wounding.  This was later increased to 20 years.  New details emerged at a preliminary hearing of Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, where 2 senior doctors who are accused of failing to stop Paterson, began a legal battle to save their careers.  Mark Goldman & Ian Cunliffe face being struck off, if found guilty.  They were referred to the GMC following an investigation which concluded that a culture of “denial” at the NHS Trust enabled Paterson to perform over 1,000 botched or unnecessary operations.  He carried out faulty operations where the cancer returned & 675 of his patients died.  Other patients were given surgery they did not need, with some women finding out years later that they had never had cancer, which he operated on them for. 

Ann 

Tuesday, September 01, 2020