Fluoride fail

Undercover as a “dental health” ad, First 5 Sacramento used misinformation to promote water fluoridation in a recent full-color insert in this paper. In it, the writers lament the lack of dental care in California and go on to make various positive claims for water fluoridation.

Let’s look at the facts. How can we ignore the negative effects of fluoride on the whole body? Recent studies link fluoride to bone cancer, bone fractures, thyroid disorder, lowered IQ and tooth damage.

The bones are effected in three ways: skeletal fluorosis, bone brittleness and cancer. Skeletal fluorosis is readily confused with various forms of arthritis. Long-term consumption of fluoridated water results in increased hip-fracture rates in the elderly, and a Harvard University study found a significant relationship between fluoride exposure and osteosarcoma (bone cancer) among boys.

Findings indicate that fluoride can contribute to a subclinical, if not clinical, hypothyroid condition. Two decades of research has shown fluoride exposure is associated with various indicators of brain damage. Forty-one percent of children now have white spots on their teeth—called dental fluorosis—according to a 2005 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

In the 60 years of water fluoridation, there has never been a study of the results of fluoridation of the quality required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for other drugs. If water fluoridation works at reducing cavities, why do nonfluoridating countries (97 percent of Europe) have about the same levels of cavities as the few fluoridating ones?

When it is pointed out that administering fluoride as a “mass medication” is a violation of our right of informed consent, proponents cloud the waters by insisting that fluoride is not a medicine or drug, but a nutrient. No, it’s not a nutrient. No disease will result from a lack of fluoride.

Many young children swallow more than half of the toothpaste used during teeth brushing, particularly candy-flavored varieties. Research shows that some children swallow more fluoride from toothpaste alone than is recommended from all sources combined. See the full story at www.fluoridefreesacramento.org.