More Fluoride = Less Teeth
NYSCOF
steadily receive more fluoridated water and food, according to recent
government statistics.
Fluoride, hailed as a cavity preventive is supposed to enhance tooth
retention; but fails expectations.
In 1999, 24.4% of Americans over 65 were reported edentulous(1) by the
Centers for Disease Control, ranging from 14% in Hawaii (9%
fluoridated) to 48% in West Virginia (87% fluoridated).
However, the April 2003 Journal of the American Dental Association
reports toothlessness averages 30.3% with poor seniors suffering the
highest rates at 45.1%.(2)
Yet 65.8% of Americans receive fluoridated tap water, up 3.7% since
1992 (3) and virtually all Americans consume a fluoridated diet.(4)
This seems to be a trend.
"The states that were awarded A's (in the Nation's Oral health Report
Card(5)) for having the highest percentage of their population on
fluoridated water had the lowest grades for the percentage of people
who still had their teeth," according to an analysis by Hardy Limeback
PhD, DDS, Head, Preventive Dentistry, University of Toronto(6).
Limeback found that "people were more likely to have missing teeth if
they lived in the states where more than 50% of the population was
fluoridated. Ironically, the states with the lowest percentage of
communities with fluoridated water had the highest grades for oral
health - in terms of missing teeth (e.g. more people kept their teeth
if they lived in communities without fluoridation)."
Despite a high fluoridation rate, school oral health curriculum and
fluoride supplement programs, 47% of 2 - 5 year old Kentucky children
suffer tooth decay (7) at a rate much higher than the national average
(8). So do New York City Children(9), Maryland children (10), and
Connecticut children (11), all fluoridated.
Actually, dental crises appear in many fluoridated cities. (See: Cavity
Crises In Fluoridated Cities
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof2/_pgg5.php3)
Embarrassed dentists, with no evidence, try to blame fluoride-free
bottled water(12) for the cavity increase. But, instead of a fluoride
deficit, dental journals report fluoride excess(13a-L). Water is only
one of too many fluoride sources creating dental fluorosis, an
unsightly, sometimes tooth destroying disease.
Lack of dental care rather than lack of fluoride is the real cavity
promoting problem.(14) Medicaid-refusing dentists, poor insurance
coverage, empty pockets, and/or lack of nearby dentists send many to
hospital emergency rooms for dental care.
Louisiana's Medicaid program wouldn't pay for a woman's $70 tooth
extractions but did pay thousands for her hospitalization for a fever,
infection, pneumonia and subsequent heart attack initiated by the
infected tooth, according to the Gainsville Sun (14a)
Severe tooth decay is responsible for 2/3 of hospital visits by
children under six in New York State (15), where almost 70% of the
population drinks fluoridated water. More fluoridated New York City
children required cavity-related hospitalizations, proportionately,
than two of New York State's largest non-fluoridated counties, Suffolk
and Nassau, whether payment was made by Medicaid or privately.
Because of abysmal diets, an astounding 76% of American Indian and
Alaska Native (AI/AN) preschoolers have cavities(16). But the lowest
rate among AI/AN is in one of the least fluoridated states, California,
according to a 1999 Oral Health Study.(17)
The emblem of dentists zeal are teeth discolored or disfigured by
fluoride over-ingestion. Dental fluorosis, white spotted, yellow, brown
or black and sometimes pitted teeth, the only outward sign of fluoride
toxicity, that some say predicts fluoride-induced bone damage, is
increasing in prevalence and severity in the U.S.(18) along with an
increase in cavities(19).
Incredibly, 3% of those cavity-prone 6 - 14 year old AI/AN population
have moderate or severe fluorosis which the American Dental Association
defines as marked wear on biting surfaces, brown stain, and/or pitting.
It seems the dentist's major weapon, fluoride is shooting blanks and
damaging teeth.
Over 91% of fluoridated communities use silicofluorides, recently
linked to children's higher blood lead levels. Lead causes cavities(20)
and displaces tooth building calcium in the body.(21)
Despite the evidence indicating dentist need and poor diet causes
severe tooth decay - not fluoride deficiency, misinformed dentists
still push fluoridation before too-trusting legislators.
Coalitions of public health professionals and doctors campaigned hard
to convince Salt Lake City, Utah, to fluoridate its populace, which
started October 1, 2003, despite a Utah study showing more hip
fractures in fluoridated Brigham City compared to non-fluoridated Logan
and Cedar City (22). And, Utah , the least fluoridated state (2%) has
one of the lowest tooth loss rates.
Connersville, Indiana, dentists lobbied successfully for fluoridation
(23) despite a study showing many Connersville children, specifically,
already consumed too much fluoride.(24)
"Not only is fluoridation ineffective at reducing tooth decay; but it
is exposing Americans to needless health problems and wasting dwindling
tax dollars that could be used to actually save lives. Fluoridation
must stop," says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State
Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.
References:
(1)Total Tooth Loss Among Persons Aged Greater Than or Equal to 65
Years -- Selected States, 1995-1997, March 19, 1999,
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056723.htm
(2)"Oral Health status of older rural adults in the United States,"
Vargas, et al, April 2003, Journal of the American Dental Association
(3) Fluoridation Status, CDC,
http://www2.cdc.gov/nohss/FluoridationV.asp
(4) Water Fluoridation Costs in Texas
http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/dental/flstudy.htm
(5) Oral Health in America 2003
http://www.oralhealthamerica.org/Report%20Card%202003%20final.pdf
(6) Oral Health in America: Fluoridation, Tooth Loss and Oral Cancer,
by Hardy Limeback, http://www.slweb.org/oralhealth.america.html
(7) "The 2001 Kentucky Childrens Oral Health Survey: findings for
children ages 24 to 59 months and their caregivers," Pediatr Dent. 2003
Jul-Aug;25(4):365-72 by Hardison JD, Cecil JC, White JA, Manz M,
Mullins MR, Ferretti GA.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=13678102&dopt=Abstract
(8) Healthy People 2010
http://www.healthypeople.gov/document/HTML/Volume2/21Oral.htm#_Toc489700408
(9) "Dental caries among disadvantaged 3- to 4-year-old children in
northern Manhattan," Pediatr Dent. 2002 May-Jun;24(3):229-33, by Albert
DA, Park K, Findley S, Mitchell DA, McManus JM
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12064497&dopt=Abstract
(10) "Oral health status of preschool children attending Head Start in
Maryland, 2000," Pediatr Dent. 2002 May-Jun;24(3):257-63 by Vargas CM,
Monajemy N, Khurana P, Tinanoff N
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12064502&dopt=Abstract
(11) Fluoridation Fails Poor Children, News Release, New York State
Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation
http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1364E000000F3733F2C0618E21B27
(12) http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=30052002-022918-7269r Bottled
water not affecting tooth decay,By Joe Grossman,UPI Science News,
Published 5/30/2002
(13 a) J Am Dent Assoc 1999 Nov;130(11):1593-9 Assessing fluoride
levels of carbonated soft drinks, Heilman JR, Kiritsy MC, Levy SM,
Wefel JS.
b) J Am Dent Assoc 1997 Jul;128(7):857-63 Fluoride concentrations of
infant foods,Heilman JR, Kiritsy MC, Levy SM, Wefel JS
c) J Am Dent Assoc 1996 Jul;127(7):895-902 Assessing fluoride
concentrations of juices and juice-flavored drinks,Kiritsy MC, Levy SM,
Warren JJ, Guha-Chowdhury N, Heilman JR, Marshall T.
d) J Clin Pediatr Dent 1991 Fall;16(1):38-40 Fluoride levels and
fluoride contamination of fruit juices, Stannard JG, Shim YS,
Kritsineli M, Labropoulou P, Tsamtsouris A.
e) J Public Health Dent 1995 Winter;55(1):39-52 Sources of fluoride
intake in children, Levy SM, Kiritsy MC, Warren JJ.
f) Behrendt A, Oberste V, Wetzel WE. (2002). Fluoride concentration and
pH of iced tea products. Caries Research. 36(6): 405-410.
g) Fein NJ, Cerklewski FL. (2001). Fluoride content of foods made with
mechanically separated chicken. J Agric Food Chem. 49(9):4284-6.
h) Turner SD, et al. (1998). Impact of imported beverages on
fluoridated and nonfluoridated communities. Gen Dent 46(2):190-3
I) Stannard JG, et al. (1991). Fluoride Levels and Fluoride
Contamination of Fruit Juices. Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry.
16(1):38-40
j) ASDC J Dent Child 2001 Jan-Feb;68(1):37-41,10 Fluoride content of
infant formulas prepared with deionized, bottled mineral and
fluoridated drinking water,Buzalaf MA, Granjeiro JM, Damante CA, de
Ornelas F.
k) J Public Health Dent 1999 Fall;59(4):229-34 Fluoride intake by
infants,Fomon SJ, Ekstrand J.
L) J Dent Res 1992 Jul;71(7):1382-8 Fluoride intake from beverage
consumption in a sample of North Carolina children, Pang DT, Phillips
CL, Bawden J.W.
(14) Much of America Is Running Short Of Dentists ABC TV 13, Virginia,
September 21, 2003 http://new.wset.com/news/stories/0903/103462.html
(14a) Dental care gaps hurt poor, elderly Gainsville Sun, October 12,
2003
http://gainesvillesun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031012/LOCAL/31012019
(15) "Early Childhood Caries-related Visits to Hospitals for Ambulatory
Surgery in New York State," Wadhawan, Kumar, Badner, Green, Journal of
Public Health Dentistry Vol 63 No.1, Winter 2003
(16) Indian Health Service January 2001,UPDATE,Oral Health Initiative
http://www.ihs.gov/publicinfo/publicaffairs/bios/previousdirectors/trujillo%20stmts%20initiatives/initiatives/oral2001nov.asp
(17) The Oral Health Status of American Indian/Alaska Native Preschool
Children: A Crisis in Indian Country, September 2001, THE IHS PRIMARY
CARE PROVIDER, Indian Health Services, US Dept of Health and Human
Servcies
http://www.ihs.gov/publicinfo/publications/healthprovider/issues/prov0901.pdf
18) Prevalence and Trends in Enamel Fluorosis in the United States From
the 1930s to the 1980s Beltrán-Aguilar E.D.[1], Griffin S.O.[2],
Lockwood S.A.[3] , The Journal of the American Dental Association,
February 2002, vol. 133, no. 2,pp. 157-165 (9 pages)
(19) The Wall Street Journal, "Health Journal: As kids' cavities rise,
some dentists advocate using tooth sealants," Tara Parker-Pope, March
8, 2002
a) "Are Cavity Rates Rising," Delta Dental
http://www.deltanj.com/kids_club/news_wisdom_1002.shtml#6
b) NBC Arkansas News Report, April 2, 2002, "Are the amount of cavities
rising in children?"
c) University of Rochester News Release "Dental cavities on the rise
again; back to 'drill and fill'"
http://fluoride.oralhealth.org/papers/2000/eurekaalert040800.htm
d) "Rise in tooth decay may be tied to sugary pop, sports drinks and
even bottled water," Seattle Times , May 21, 2002, by Judith Blake
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=cavity21&date=20020521
e) "Early Childhood Tooth Decay," by Stephen R. Branam, D.D.S
http://www.drbranam.com/pgeArticle_Early.htm
f) "Special Report: Cincinnati's dental crisis, Shortage, cost can be
torture for poor" Erica Solvig, October 6, 2002
http://enquirer.com/editions/2002/10/06/loc_special_report.html
(20) Moss ME, Lanphear BP, Auinger P. Association of dental caries and
blood lead levels, JAMA 1999;281(24):2294-8
(21) http://www.loe.org/series/lead2003/
(22) "Hip fractures and fluoridation in Utah's elderly population."
JAMA. 1992 Aug 12;268(6):746-8. , Danielson et al.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1640574&dopt=Abstract
(23) U.S. Communities Recently Voting to Adopt Fluoridation, American
Dental Association
http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fluoride/us_fluoridation.pdf
(24) Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology 1999 Aug, "Fluoride intake
from foods, beverages and dentifrice by young children in communities
with negligibly and optimally fluoridated water: a pilot
study"Rojas-Sanchez F, Kelly SA, Drake KM, Eckert GJ, Stookey GK,
Dunipace AJ
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10403089&dopt=Abstract
For more information, contact:
Paul S. Beeber President & General Counsel New York State Coalition
Opposed to Fluoridation PO Box 263 Old Bethpage, NY 11804
nys...@aol.com
Web site: