Study Proves Fluoridation = Money Wasted
written by nyscof , November 11, 2009

Children’s cavity rates are similar whether water is fluoridated or not, according to data published in the July 2009 Journal of the American Dental Association by dentist J.V. Kumar of the NY State Health Department (1).

In 2008, New York City spent approximately $24 million on water fluoridation ($5 million on fluoride chemicals)(1a). In 2010, NYC’s fluoride chemicals will cost $9 million (1b).

Fluoride in water at “optimal” levels (0.7 – 1.2 mg/L) is supposed to reduce tooth decay without creating excessive fluorosis (fluoride-discolored and/or damaged teeth). Yet cavities are rampant in NY’s fluoridated populations (1c).

Attempting to prove that fluorosed teeth have fewer cavities, Kumar uses 1986-1987 National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) data which, upon analysis, shows that 7- to 17-year-olds have similar cavity rates in their permanent teeth whether their water supply is fluoridated or not (Table 1).

In 1990, using the same NIDR data, Dr. John Yiamouyiannis published equally surprising results in a peer-reviewed journal. He concluded, “No statistically significant differences were found in the decay rates of permanent teeth or the percentages of decay-free children in the F [fluoridated], NF [non-fluoridated], and PF [partially fluoridated] areas.” (2).

Kumar divided children into four groups based on their community’s water fluoride levels:

Less than 0.3 mg/L where 55.5% had cavities

From 0.3 to 0.7 mg/L where 54.6% had cavities

Optimal 0.7 to 1.2 mg/L where 54.4% had cavities

Over 1.2 mg/L where 56.4% had cavities

“Dr. Kumar’s published data exposes more evidence that fluoridation doesn’t reduce tooth decay,” says attorney Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.

“It’s criminal to waste taxpayers’ money on fluoridation, while exposing entire populations unnecessarily to fluoride’s health risks, especially when local and state governments are attempting to balance budgets by cutting essential services,” says Beeber.

More fluoride = more money for dentists?

Despite 60+ years of water fluoridation, Americans are spending more than ever on dental care. "between 1998 and 2008 the increase in the cost of dental services exceeded that of medical care and far exceeded the overall rate of inflation," according to Slate Magazine. Americans paid 44.2 percent of dental bills themselves compared to 10.3 percent of physician costs, Slate reports. (3)

Dentists pat themselves on the back claiming they are the only profession endorsing something that would put them out of business. But apparently the more fluoride people get, the more money dentists make.

Dentists' Nominal Net Income for 2000 was $533,000 up from $141,000 in 1982, according to the American Dental Association Survey published in the March 2005 Journal of the American Dental Association. During the same time period, the number of Americans living in fluoridated communities went from 116 million to 172 million. (4)

Analysis of Kumar’s data: http://tinyurl.com/MoneyDownTheDrain

More information about fluoride and tooth decay:

http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/teeth/caries/fluoridation.html#surveys

References:

1) “The Association Between Enamel Fluorosis and Dental Caries in U.S. Schoolchildren,” Kumar & Iida Journal of the American Dental Association, July 2009 (Table 1)

1a) http://www.scribd.com/doc/1823...ter-Page-1

1b) http://www.council.nyc.gov/htm...ection.pdf

1c) http://www.freewebs.com/fluori...ewyork.htm

2) Fluoride: Journal of the International Society for Fluoride Research
April 1990 (Volume 23, Issue 2, Pages 55-67) “Water Fluoridation & Tooth Decay: Results from the 1986-1987 National Survey of US Schoolchildren,” by John A. Yiamouyiannis, Ph.D.

3) Slata Magazine, "The American Way of Dentistry, The Oral Cost Spiral" by June Thomas (September 29, 2009)

4) Fluoridation Statistics:

http://www.cdc.gov/nohss/FSGrowth_text.htm



New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.

http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
http://www.FluorideAction.Net

Fluoride causes Hashimoto's Disease
written by Lesley McMillan , November 12, 2009

Fluoride causes Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroiditis, a common form of hypothyroidism which I was diagnosed with in 2007. Now that I avoid fluoridated water and all products containing it, I have normal thyroid activity and I take no medication. According to Thyroid Australia this affects 6-10%, between 1-2 million people. Fluoride was used to lower the metabolism for people suffering from hyperthyroidism (over active thyroid) in 1930’s so it is not surprising that it impairs thyroid function in normal healthy individuals. See my story at www.fluoridefree.net

floride
written by mr yu , November 12, 2009

wahhh...so meaning our daily toothpaste contains floride? am i right?? is it dangerous too? pls advice

Fluoride prevents caries
written by Ms Dentist , November 13, 2009

Fluoride is a substance present naturally in water, food such as tea and fish and even in the air we breathe. The level of fluoride in water varies between places. Water fluoridation is the practice of adding fluoride compound into water system (in areas with low natural fluoride content) with the intention to reduce caries prevalence in a population. It is a safe, cost-effective method of delivering fluoride on a community basis. It also helps reduce inequalities in dental health across social classes. The beneficial effect of fluoride in preventing caries was discovered 30 years after Dr. McKay noticed fluorosis (mottled enamel) in many of his patients in Colorado in 1900s. These patients also had low caries level. Subsequent studies have found that fluoride over 2.0ppm was responsible for this mottling, as well as low caries activity (Dean, 1942). Based on findings, 1ppm fluoride was recommended as the optimum level of fluoride in drinking water.
Many researches have been performed since then. Data from 113 studies involving 23 countries have shown that water fluoridation is associated with 40-49% caries reduction in the primary dentition and 50-59% decrease in caries in the permanent dentition (Murray, 1993). The University of York has conducted a systematic review on the efficacy and safety of water fluoridation (MacDonaugh et al, 2000). A well-conducted systematic review looks at all available evidence from relevant studies and grades the level of evidence (whether it’s good, moderate or poor) based on how well the studies were conducted and makes conclusions based on these. From this review, it was found that water fluoridation was associated with an average of 2.25 reduction in decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft) and an increase of 15% in caries-free proportion in children. Isn’t that fantastic! They also looked at risks associated with water fluoridation such as cancer, bone fracture, Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia and Down’s syndrome. There is currently insufficient evidence to support these negative effects of water fluoridation. I have read the articles in fluoridealert.org website myself. It is very important to be careful when reading articles from the internet. The following questions must be asked:
1.What is the source of the statement?
2.Is it based on a research study?
3.If it is, is it a human-based or animal study? (Results from animal studies should be carefully interpreted and may not be extrapolated to human population. Why? Different genes, different body mass, different anatomy.
4.Was the study well-conducted? Who did the study? How did they perform the study? Any control group? (There are certain criteria that need to be met in order for a study to be a considered as good)
5.What was the result of the study? Did they perform correct statistical analysis?
In this modern day, we are moving towards evidence-based health care. The Cochrane Collaboration provides a reliable source of evidence in medical or dental field (www.cochrane.org). It has a database of systematic reviews to help clinicians and others make evidence-based decisions. They only include the best available evidences in their reviews based on very strict criteria. You can find reviews on the efficacy of different forms of fluoride delivery system including toothpaste, mouthwash, gel and varnish.
Sad to know, caries level in Brunei is among the highest in the region. The Department of Health Promotion of the Dental Department has been working really hard to improve the dental health of our population including the implementation of water fluoridation. This decision, I believe, was based on the evidence to support its efficacy in preventing caries. We, as Bruneians, should support our ministry in achieving a better oral health. Not only we must clean our teeth properly with the correct fluoride-containing toothpaste, we have to watch what we eat and go for check-ups regularly.

Somebody's trying to market their non-fluoride products......
written by He-Man , November 13, 2009

Somebody's trying to sell their non-fluoride products....

Fluoride does more good than harm
written by Decay fighting , November 13, 2009

Fluoride is put in the water to help strengthen the teeth and prevent decay. Fluoride is beneficial to the teeth.

Many studies have shown that the decay of teeth is remarkably reduced by putting fluoride in the water. It was seen that in areas where they didn't put fluoride in, the decay pattern seen the people's teeth were horrendous.

I was told that the Bruneians' decay incidence is very high, and this is WITH fluoride added in the water. Imagine, removing the fluoride out of the water, it'll be worse. You can argue that fluoride could be just given to those who needs it (eg. people with lots of decay), but the thing is, those who needs it won't use it. Treating decay is not as good as preventing it, as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.

There are lots of anti-fluoridation people around claiming that fluoride causes bone cancer and what not. This is not true. There's no evidence showing that.

The amount of fluoride placed in the water is not high enough to cause problems. Anything in high doses can be toxic, even oxygen and water. There was a news saying that a person died because he/she was drinking too much water. Would that mean that you shouldn't drink water because of the risk of death? No right? The benefit of drinking water far outweighs the risk of death.

Overall, everything should be taken in moderation and balance out the benefits and risk. In this case, putting fluoride in the water gives more benefits.