Dallas Officials To Reconsider Fluoridation

 Noah DeGarmo - Staff Reporter

Oct 30, 2023

Some members of the Dallas City Council are set to consider whether the City of Dallas should keep putting fluoride in the municipal water system.

The issue was recently raised at a Quality of Life, Arts, & Culture Committee meeting on October 16, as previously covered by The Dallas Express. Experts presented council members with the purported benefits of water fluoridation, but the committee chair, Council Member Adam Bazaldua (District 7), said he would prefer a “less opinionated” presentation and would like the committee to hear both sides of the fluoridation debate.

Both Bazaldua and Council Member Paula Blackmon (District 9) questioned whether fluoridation is genuinely in the best interest of the people or whether it is merely a continuation of a decades-old practice........

Water fluoridation in Dallas will be discussed again at the upcoming Quality of Life committee meeting on November 7. Anti-fluoridation advocates from across the country now have their eyes on Dallas. 

RFK Jr. Presidential Campaign Boosted by $10M Super PAC Contribution

 Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential ambitions got a boost on Monday when a leader of political action committee American Values 2024 announced that it had raised $10.25 million for his campaign, indicating that the long-shot candidate is making in-roads with donors. The New York Times reports that while the precise amount of that fundraising won’t be known until later this month, when the super PACs file their midyear reports with the FEC, its co-chair Tony Lyons said that those contributions were made by a “right down the middle” mix of Republicans and Democrats and included two “very large” donations of over $1 million each. The news is a boon to the White House hopeful, who according to a June Quinnipiac University poll is viewed favorably by 40% of Republicans, compared to only 25% of Democrats. Kennedy has repeatedly criticized the Democratic party and continued his years-long outspokenness against vaccines and prescription drugs, and thus it comes as little surprise that American Values 2024 was formed in 2022 by People’s Pharma Movement, one of whose main financiers, Mark Gorton, claims to have met Kennedy through the anti-vaxx, anti-water fluoridation “health freedom” movement.

The recently published report of the CATFISH study

Conclusion 

Overall, the CATFISH study adds to the body of evidence supporting the view that fluoridation improves dental health and is a cost-effective intervention. It is unrealistic to expect all studies of the same intervention to reveal an identical effect on a population.

The recent non-UK studies report a greater impact on reducing the incidence and cost of tooth decay than the CATFISH study. Interestingly, the seemingly 'modest' benefits reported by CATFISH would be perceived as much more compelling if the authors had calculated and reported the PF differences, for example, the 36% reduction in the proportion of children with four or more dmft.

As the CATFISH study states, 'a single study cannot hope to provide definitive answers'; however, it can add to the existing evidence base within the context of the study's limitations. Dental practitioners, public health officials and health policymakers should recognise the strengths and limitations of CATFISH. Accordingly, they should be aware of the findings from the recent Canadian, American and Israeli studies on the impact of ceasing fluoridation. By doing so, they can offer appropriate guidance to patients and adopt evidence-based policies.

Isle of Man faces issues hiring dentists, minister says 26 October 2023

 The Isle of Man is experiencing huge difficulties when recruiting dentists, the health minister for the island has said.

Speaking in the House of Keys, Lawrie Hoper notes that the island is experiencing trouble hiring qualified dental staff, along with the rest of the British Isles.

He said a special care dentist was recently advertised by Manx Care with a ‘full relocation package’ – but ‘all applicants failed to meet the minimum criteria’, reports the BBC.

Contract changes

Last month, Manx Care made calls for comprehensive reform of the NHS dental contracts on the island.

Statistics show that by the end of July, the number of people waiting for treatment was about 4,000 – double that of April 2022.

Manx Care chief executive Teresa Cope said many dental practices were under-delivering on their contracts due to limited capacity. As a result, she called for changes  to encourage dental practices to take on more patients.

Benefits of fluoridation

The Isle of Man also recently announced that it will look into the benefits of water fluoridation as part of its integrated plan to tackle the issue of children’s oral health on the island.

Published on 20 September, Amalgamated Implementation Plan for Dental Strategy and Oral Health Strategy incorporates strategies such as increased access to dentists and the introduction of a supervised toothbrushing scheme. It will be laid before the Tynwald at their October sitting.

The plan also includes further research into the benefits of water fluoridation. In June, Tynwald members voted in favour of producing a research paper into water fluoridation. This will now be considered by the Council of Ministers by the end of 2023.

The strategies were based on recommendations made by The Social Affairs Policy Review committee in January.

The committee described hospital admissions of Manx children for tooth extractions as ‘remarkably high’, emphasising that this was ultimately ‘preventable’.

House of lords

 

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath 

(Lab)

Sharethis specific contribution

My Lords, I declare my interest as the president of the British Fluoridation Society. Coming to oral health, is he alarmed at the number of intensive dental treatments that children need because of the rise in decay? Could he update the House on any speed up in fluoridation schemes?

Lord Markham 

(Con)

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The noble Lord is absolutely correct. As many are aware, the most common reason for six to 10 year-olds to go into an A&E visit is tooth decay. The noble Lord will recall that we passed an SI quite recently expanding opportunities for water fluoridisation. I know that is now increasing and I will happily follow up with the detail in writing.

Daily Mail

 

• Dr Ricky Allen worked as a GP and hospital doctor for more than 30 years

• An NHS doctor who shared a string of anti-vaxx and derogatory social media posts has been struck off.

  Dr Ricky Allen, who worked as a GP and hospital doctor for more than 30 years, said only a 'brainless halfwit' would get a Covid jab and labelled Scottish people as 'despicable, stingy and small minded'.

  His swathe of insulting posts included calling Islam a 'religion for dirty old men' and suggesting there be 'machine guns every 200 yards' along Kent's coast and bodies that wash up 'burned on the beach'.

 

New Study: Fluoridated Water Weakens Children's Bones

Broken Arms Doubled in States With Widespread Fluoridation

For over fifty years, there have been concerns that fluoridated water and fluoride from other sources may weaken bones and increase the risk of bone fractures. To date, scientific studies have focused on bone fractures in the elderly, especially hip fractures in older women, which are a leading cause of disability and death. This week, the first scientific study of artificial water fluoridation and broken bones in children was published. The article’s title is “Community Water Fluoridation and Rate of Pediatric Fractures” (Lindsay et al 2023).   Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University found that US states with a high proportion of their population receiving fluoridated water averaged twice the rate of common types of childhood bone fracture as states with relatively little fluoridation. They also looked at the level of fluoride in the water and found that in the group of states with an average concentration of around 0.7 mg/L – the level used in artificial fluoridation – rates of child forearm fractures were 2.5 times greater than in the group of states with the lowest average concentration, which was about 0.4 mg/L.   The study used nationwide bone fracture data from over 100,000 children aged 4 to 10 years old, at the state level, obtained from insurance records.  Water fluoridation information came from CDC public data. The authors concluded, “community water fluoridation proportion by both state and fluoridation levels are associated with the increased rate of fracture in children”.

X-ray image of Both Bone Forearm Fracture (BBFFx).   The largest increase was found in the most common type of childhood bone fracture called a Both Bone Forearm Fracture (BBFFx), an example of which is shown in the x-ray image.   For this type of broken arm, the study’s findings are illustrated by two graphs, drawn from data reported in the paper:

The graphs show highly significant large-magnitude associations between child forearm fractures and the percent of people fluoridated (left graph) and the average state water fluoride concentration (right graph).   While the study was a relatively simple design, based on state-level rather than individual-level exposure data, it raises new red flags about fluoride’s effect on skeletal development in young children.   FAN’s Michael Connett predicted back in 2012, based on a study in Iowa, that fluoride may increase risk of bone fractures in children [Connett 2012a, Connett 2012b]. The Iowa study found evidence of decreased Bone Mineral Density (BMD) in girls in fluoridated areas, especially cortical bone which is the outer layer that gives structural strength to long bones like those in the forearm. Connett said the finding was: “… particularly significant when considering that reductions in cortical bone density are a key mechanism by which fluoride can increase fracture rates.”   Twenty-one years ago, long before recent higher-quality studies became available, FAN’s Paul Connett made broader predictions of the effects of fluoridated water on bone:   “… the weight of evidence would suggest that it is highly plausible that exposure to water at 1 ppm … over a whole lifetime will damage human bones and ligaments. It is also probable that this damage will at least lead to the sub-clinical symptoms of skeletal fluorosis, possibly arthritis as well as to hip fractures.”   Those predictions from 10 and 20 years ago are being born out. Two years ago the evidence that long-term fluoride exposure increases risk of broken bones in older adults was greatly advanced by a high-quality study from Sweden. Last week’s first-ever study on childhood bone fractures now raises concern that just a few years of exposure to fluoridation, during ages when children’s bones are rapidly growing, may substantially increase rates of childhood bone fractures.   Chris Neurath Research Director Fluoride Action Network

Mr Bridgen's Parliamentary speech on excess deaths

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The study, led by researchers from the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, examined 271 participants from 190 case studies

 

COVID-19 Vaccines 'May Trigger' Rheumatic Inflammatory Diseases: Study

BY TYLER DURDEN

SUNDAY, OCT 15, 2023 - 02:20 PM

Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A new review suggests that COVID vaccines "may trigger" rheumatic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, including arthritis, vasculitis, lupus, and adult-onset Still's disease.

A health worker uses a needle and a vial of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to prepare a dose at a vaccination health centre in a file photo. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

On average, patients developed rheumatic diseases 11 days after vaccine administration, according to the study. Seventy-five (over 27 percent) of these patients experienced total disease remission, and about 50 percent improved following treatment. Eight were admitted to intensive care, and two died from their symptoms.

"The short time span between COVID-19 vaccine administration and the onset of R-IMIDs suggests the potential possibility of a cause-and-effect relationship," the authors wrote.

Rheumatic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (R-IMIDs) involve inflammation that manifests in the joints, tendons, muscles, and bones due to an unknown cause.

The study, led by researchers from the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, examined 271 participants from 190 case studies published worldwide.

Over 80 percent of the patients developed symptoms after their first or second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and most were treated and improved with corticosteroids.

Almost 57 percent of the injured patients received the Pfizer vaccine, nearly a quarter received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 12 percent of the rheumatic diseases manifested after the administration of the Moderna vaccine.

Reported Diseases

Rheumatic diseases may be less common than myocarditis, a known adverse event of COVID vaccination. A search on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) found that over 3,000 cases of myocarditis have been reported after the COVID-19 vaccine, with over 2,300 cases of arthritis, over 370 cases of systemic lupus erythematosus, the most common type of lupus, and 280 cases of vasculitis. The following are rheumatic diseases that were included in this first-ever systematic review of new-onset R-MIDs after COVID vaccination.

Inflammation of Blood Vessels

Vasculitis was the most common rheumatic disease in the review, with 86 adverse events recorded. The more common vasculitis diseases affect the smaller blood vessels, causing red spots and lumps on the skin and possible organ damage. Medium and larger blood vessels can also be affected, causing tissue, muscle, and kidney damage.

One patient with inflammation in the larger blood vessels presented with fluid buildup in her lungs. Another developed inflammation in the arteries in his head and lost vision in his left eye due to reduced blood flow to his optical nerves.

Connective Tissue Diseases

Sixty-six cases of diseases affected the connective tissues. Diseases that fall under this category include lupus, an autoimmune disease affecting the skin, joints, and internal organs, and myositis and dermatomyositis, which manifest as muscle and tissue inflammation.

Two patients died of their conditions. One was a 44-year-old man who developed myositis, or muscle inflammation, and compartment syndrome in his limbs. Compartment syndrome is a painful and potentially fatal condition where pressure in muscles builds up. Another 62-year-old female died after developing diabetes and dermatomyositis, inflammation of both the skin and muscles, after getting the Pfizer vaccine.

Arthritis

Fifty-five patients developed arthritis after taking the vaccine, primarily manifesting in the knees, elbows, and ankles.

After treatment with steroids, most experienced some improvement in their symptoms, 12 went into remission, and two had persistent symptoms.

Adult-Onset Still's Disease

Twenty-two cases of adult-onset Still's disease were documented in the report. Symptoms of this rare disease include daily fever, arthritis in more than five joints, and salmon-pink rashes on the body. Six of these patients also developed cardiac problems, two of whom developed myocarditis and heart failure.

Five of the patients went into remission, while most experienced improvement in their conditions after being treated with steroids.

Other Diseases

Less common diseases include polymyalgia rheumatica, reported in 21 people. Symptoms of this disease include stiffness and inflammation in the shoulders, neck, and hips, and sarcoidosis, which occurs when inflamed tissues start to grow inside organs, causing tissue malfunction.

Molecular Mimicry Is the Leading Explanation

The authors noted the very short duration between vaccination and symptom onset, with 11 days being the average duration. This duration is similar to those found in other studies investigating myocarditis side effects after COVID-19 vaccines. The authors reasoned that the vaccine may have been a "trigger" for the rheumatoid diseases.

However, some of the patients might have been predisposed to rheumatic diseases, the authors reasoned. Additionally, some might have been predisposed to having a highly inflammatory response to mRNA vaccinations, leading to rheumatic symptoms like joint stiffness and inflammation.

Molecular mimicry, which occurs when the body mistakes foreign substances for its own and mounts an immune response, is the leading explanation for the development of these autoimmune diseases. The authors reasoned that vaccine adjuvants like aluminum may be structurally similar to human proteins. Therefore, the body might have mistaken self-tissue while attacking these adjuvants, perceived as foreign invaders.

However, many studies have shown that the spike proteins on the surface of the COVID-19 virus share structural similarities to human proteins. One study found that antibodies that reacted to spike protein could also react to nearly 30 different human tissues. If the spike proteins induced by the COVID-19 vaccines are similar to the original viral spike proteins, then the vaccine spike proteins may also trigger autoimmunity.

Another possibility is that mRNA vaccines may trigger the formation of inflammasomes. Inflammasomes are clusters of proteins that signal inflammation and viral elimination. This can also cause immune cells to become hyperactive and damage self-tissues in an attempt to clear the vaccine.

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