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UK Against Fluoridation

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Australia - Dentists urge Beattie to fluoridate Qld water

....................Dr McCray says the cost of fluoridating water would be worth it in the long-term.
"We'd certainly love them to come around to the point of view that there's an economic, social and health argument that ticks off all the boxes on this, and if they decided to do it tomorrow then no-one would be happier than us," he said.........

Just loving fluoride today

Australia - Queensland - Health Minister Stephen Robertson loves fluoride

Fluoridated water would improve oral health: Robertson
Health Minister Stephen Robertson says he would "love" to see fluoride added to south-east Queensland's drinking supplies when the State Government takes over control of bulk water.It has previously been up to local councils to add fluoride but under new water ownership arrangements, the State Government could assume responsibility.The Premier says he has made no decision on whether that will happen.
Mr Robertson says only 5 per cent of Queensland has access to fluoridated drinking water compared with 85 per cent for the rest of Australia.
"It is something that I would love to see because you can't do anything better than fluoridating water supplies to improve the overall oral health of the community," he said."But it is an issue that we would need to work through in terms of the new water supply arrangements. I've made my view known to the Premier." Mr Robertson says the cost of the move would have to be considered. "We do know from previous studies that we were looking at a bill to add fluoridating equipment of at least $60 million capital plus the annual maintenance and running costs," he said.

That's a lot of money.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Fluorosis : Bone crusher in Assam

...........Unfortunately, fluorosis has no cure. However, it can be prevented from deterioration if diagnosed at an early stage. The fluoride replaces hydroxide in bones and this is deposited in bones and causes chronic skeletal fluorosis. It affects both young and the old.

Fluoride can enter the human body through food, toothpaste, mouth rinses, other eatable products and of course, more swiftly through drinking water. A colorless and odorless natural pollutant, Fluoride comes to contact with the groundwater from its original source of rock minerals. Another important aspect is that most of the fluoride compounds in the earth's upper crust are soluble in water. When fluoride containing minerals come in to contact with ground water, they release fluoride into water by the process of hydrolysis......................

UK - Manchester Bid to put fluoride in water

Bid to put fluoride in water
Amanda Crook
30/ 5/2007
FOUR schemes for adding fluoride to tap water across Greater Manchester are being considered. Health bosses have asked United Utilities to price up four options for the highly controversial scheme to improve the region's terrible dental health. They argue adding fluoride to the water supply could help improve dental health - it strengthens tooth enamel. But some anti-fluoride campaigners claim it is potentially dangerous mass medication.
The costs of the different projects are being kept a closely guarded secret until September when they will be given to health trusts around the region, who will have to decide if any of the options are cost effective.
If primary care trust bosses decide any of the options are viable, NHS North West will hold a public consultation - expected to last four months - into the plans. The four options are to add fluoride to: The entire north west water supply (84 water plants); water supplied to Greater Manchester (26 plants); Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Blackburn water (42 plants); the 14 largest plants in the region, which supply most of Greater Manchester except for some of Rochdale.
Councils and health trusts across Greater Manchester have publicly supported the idea of fluoridating the water supply since 2005.
Some five-year-olds in North Manchester have an average of three and half decayed, missing or filled teeth. Almost half of five-year-olds in the north west have a filled, missing or decayed tooth.
Salford Council's Community, Health and Social Care Scrutiny panel met to hear presentations on the issue. More meetings are now expected across the region. Guy Harkin, director of North West Fluoridation Evaluation group, said: "In 2005 the chief dental officer wrote to all PCTs requiring them to consider fluoridation and there are lots of health trusts now looking at the costs involved." "The first step is to decide if fluoridation is cost effective."
Anti-fluoride campaigner Paul Cline said: "I am not against the health authority providing fluoride toothpaste or sprays to children with poor dental health but they cannot justify mass medication of all children, their parents, grandparents and neighbours."

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Florida oral hygiene company aims for major toothpaste deal

Florida oral hygiene company aims for major toothpaste deal
BY ANTHONY CLARK

NYT REGIONAL MEDIA GROUP

ALACHUA -- A local company makes an ingredient for toothpaste and other dental products that mimics and amplifies the body's own mechanism for restoring teeth and gums.
NovaMin Technology Inc. is talking with 35 companies around the world, including most of the major brands of toothpaste, and it hopes the ingredient will become the next standard in a $30 billion industry. Randy Scott, president and CEO, said NovaMin is one of a handful of companies marketing calcium phosphate formulas. "The industry has acknowledged that they're going to be in every tube of toothpaste in the not-too-distant future. Our task is to prove that we're the best one so that we can become the technology standard," he said. The stakes are huge, Scott said -- about a $1 billion slice of the pie. The calcium sodium phosphosilicate addresses a wide range of dental problems. It reverses early tooth decay, eliminates hot and cold sensitivity, kills more of the bacteria that cause gum disease than regular toothpaste, and strengthens and whitens hard tissue. Whereas fluoride builds a shell over a cavity, NovaMin rebuilds the tooth from the bottom up, Scott said. "For us, the big break would be when one of the household-name companies launches a NovaMin-contained paste because that will create the pressure for everyone to follow suit, the same way that when Diet Coke adopted NutraSweet, within six months every other diet soda had NutraSweet in it," he said.
If they win the sweepstakes, the "Powered by NovaMin" label could be ubiquitous in oral hygiene aisles, dentists' offices and pharmacies.
"Eventually, we'd like there to be Colgate with NovaMin, Crest with NovaMin, chewing gum with NovaMin, whatever," Scott said. Despite the uncertainty, he said competition was the best thing that ever happened to his company. Their pitch was going nowhere, in part because it sounded too good to be true. "Then other people, competitors came along. All of the sudden there's three or four people telling the story and that automatically adds credibility. It took on a little bit of life of its own. Within the last year, the question in the industry has become not do these things make sense, it's which one of these is best."
In the meantime, NovaMin is already in Butler NuCare, a dental hygienist tooth polish; a few prescription products for tooth sensitivity; Dr. Collins Restore toothpaste; a toothpaste in China; and a whitener in Greece. The company also sells its own toothpaste, Oravive, on the Web. Scott said the company made more than $2 million in sales last year, will do substantially more this year and will probably make its first profit next year.
The company started with a dozen employees 31/2 years ago and has 20 now. NovaMin will soon move from its current location in Progress Corporate Park in Alachua, where it has people in six different rooms, into a new building in the park with 8,000 contiguous square feet of its own. The company has its roots in a bone regeneration compound invented by Dr. Larry Hench at the University of Florida in the 1970s.
Two dentists at the University of Maryland invented the dental application with research funded by USBiomaterials, a former Alachua County company now in Jacksonville.
Scott grew up in Florida and Georgia. After earning a degree in management science from Georgia Tech, he went to work for Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati, marketing Folger's Coffee.
From there, he managed a food and beverage startup and was a vice president of marketing for Easy Spirit shoes. His family wanted to get back to Florida, and a contact from the shoe business then at USBiomaterials helped him land the job in Gainesville. Scott and NovaMin product spun off from USBiomaterials in January 2004. "It was a complete gamble," he said. "We left with enough money to operate for a few months and it was kind of 'eat what we kill.'"
Scott said NovaMin was fortunate early on to land additional investments and a couple of business deals, "and it's been a roller coaster ride ever since. One week you're not sure you're going to make it and the next week you think you're going to conquer the world."
In June 2006, the publication TechJournal South named NovaMin second in its Biotech 15 "brightest future stars" in biotech in the Southeast.
Scott said the company is now in the transition from the research phase to the commercial phase. "Now we finally seem to be at the tipping point," he said. "Probably nobody would ever start a business if they knew how long and how hard it would be. We all suffer from a little overoptimism when we do it."

Sounds good, at least they won't have to put it in the water.

Effective, Yes, but Is It Safe? A Drug’s Risks

.....But reliable surrogates are hard to find. There are plenty of endpoints that in theory should do the job, but do not. Tumor size, for instance: there are drugs that can shrink tumors without prolonging a patient’s life. Bone density is another example. Fluoride can increase it in people whose skeletons have thinned from osteoporosis, so fluoride should prevent fractures. But it doesn’t. In fact, it makes fractures more likely, because it turns bones brittle. ...........

Worth reading

Monday, May 28, 2007

Israel - Exceeded Air Quality Standards

46% of Factories Checked in 2006 Exceeded Air Quality Standards
Updated: 05/27/2007
For the sixth year running, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has carried out spot checks, including stack sampling, in industrial plants throughout the country. In 2006, out of 334 spot checks conducted in 48 industrial plants, 22 plants (about 46%) violated air quality standards.

Health Hazards of Exposure to Air Pollutants

Total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs): Significant impacts of benzene on human health follow exposure to very high concentrations of benzene (some 160,000 micrograms benzene per cubic meter of air). Long term impacts include chromosomal changes and impaired production of blood cells which may cause leukemia. Hazards related to exposure to low concentrations of benzene are not clear-cut. Occupational exposure to high concentrations of benzene has been proved to be associated with leukemia. Since benzene is recognized as a carcinogen, awareness is rising that low levels of benzene in open air may be related to blood cancer in the general population.
Ethyl Acetate: Short term exposure to high concentrations of ethyl acetate may lead to eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, and, in the case of very high concentrations, to loss of consciousness. Long term exposure leads to blurring of vision, damage to lungs and heart, and kidney and liver problems.
Methanol: Short term exposure to high concentrations of methanol may lead to headaches, vomiting, nose and throat irritation, dilation of pupils, loss of muscle coordination, excessive sweating, bronchitis, convulsions and even death. Especially high exposure may lead to loss of consciousness, convulsions and vision problems, sensitivity to light and blindness. Recovery is not always complete and symptoms may recur without additional exposure. Removal of methanol from the body is a slow process and recurring exposures are responsible for accumulation in the body, which may cause severe symptoms. Chronic exposure to low concentrations may harm the central nervous system and cause respiratory system and skin irritation.
Ethanol: Exposure to ethanol causes eye, skin, nose and respiratory system irritation, headaches, vomiting, nausea, drowsiness, depression, inner eye pressure, loss of coordination, involuntary movements, and impacts on the digestive system and on the glands. Exposure to high concentrations suppresses the central nervous system and leads to tertogenic impacts.
Toluene: Toluene exposure causes light eye and respiratory tract irritation. Acute and chronic exposure damages the central nervous system. Acute exposure to high concentrations may also lead to disturbances in heart rate and to liver and kidney damage as well as to fatigue, drowsiness, headaches and nausea. Chronic exposure irritates the upper respiratory tract and the eyes and causes headaches. Toluene exposure is also associated with reproductive system impacts, developmental impacts, neurological impacts and tertogenic impacts. Developmental disturbances and lack of concentration have been observed in children whose mothers were exposed to toluene during pregnancy.
Styrene: Acute exposure to styrene may irritate the mucous in the respiratory system and the eyes and may impact on the digestive system. Chronic exposure may lead to headaches, fatigue, weakness, depression, and reduced hearing. It may impact on the central nervous system including slow reactions and memory loss, and may impact on the motor reactions of the eye. Exposure is also associated with damage to the peripheral nervous system.
Dioxins and Furans: Dioxins are a group of extremely toxic substances even at low concentrations. They may cause cancer and damage to the reproductive and immune systems. In addition, dioxins are persistent substances, which pass through the food chain and accumulate in the fatty tissues of the human body. Exposure of agricultural areas and fish ponds to dioxins may expose the consumers of agricultural produce to the impacts of dioxins as well.
Hydrogen fluoride (HF): Acute exposure to hydrogen fluoride may lead to respiratory system damage including severe lung irritation, edema of the lungs, severe eye irritation, and burning of the skin. Chronic exposure to high concentrations may lead to fluoride accumulation in the skeleton.
Particulate Matter (PM): The wide-scale impacts of particulate matter on public health are expressed in coughing and irritation of the windpipe and of the eyes. Particulate matter exists in different sizes. Larger particles are less dangerous since they are more easily trapped in the nose or throat and are forced out by breathing, coughing or are swallowed. Smaller particles are inhaled into the windpipe and may reach the lungs. Particles that are smaller than 10 microns may lead to reduced lung function as well as to respiratory, cardiac and circulatory disease. Particles that are 2.5 micrometers and less are the most dangerous: they can easily penetrate the most sensitive parts of the lungs and damage breathing. They may also adsorb other toxic substances. Particulate matter is especially hazardous to sensitive populations including people suffering from chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma. The irritation caused by the particulate matter may aggravate their conditions, increasing coughing, infections, and shortness of breath. Particulates increase lower respiratory tract diseases in children. Chronic exposure to small particulates may lead to death from heart and lung diseases and from lung cancer.
Sulfur Oxides (SOx): Exposure to sulfur oxides by healthy people is usually associated with temporary irritation and discomfort. Sulfur dioxide mainly impacts on sensitive populations, such as asthmatics. Research studies show immediate reactions to exposure to relatively low concentrations of sulfur dioxide, including asthma or bronchitis attacks. Research studies conducted among children show that exposure to high levels of sulfur dioxide together with particulates may lead to temporary disturbances in lung function. Sulfur dioxide also leads to irritation of the respiratory tract and of the eyes. High concentrations may aggravate respiratory, cardiac and circulatory diseases.
Nitrogen oxides (NOx): Due to its relatively low water solubility, nitrogen dioxide penetrates deep into the respiratory system and may cause different respiratory symptoms. In low concentrations it causes lung and eye irritation. In high concentrations, it weakens the body?s resistance to respiratory diseases such as pneumonia. Research shows that children are the most sensitive to nitrogen dioxide pollution. Children who were exposed to high levels of nitrogen oxide tend to be more prone to respiratory and lung diseases, to develop bronchitis, cough accompanied by phlegm and general respiratory diseases. Asthmatics are also sensitive to nitrogen dioxide as this pollutant lowers their sensitivity threshold to materials which cause a narrowing of the airways. Acute exposure to nitrogen dioxide leads to a decline in lung function. Asthmatics and people with heart-lung disease are especially sensitive. Chronic exposure increases the risk of respiratory disease.
URL contains illegal characters so printing it here
http://www.environment.gov.il/bin/en.jsp?enPage=e_BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=Object&enDispWho=News^l3523&enZone=e_news

Previous post is correct about the assault on our health from harmful substances in the air we breathe.

USA - THE 1775 PATRIOT IN 2007

THE 1775 PATRIOT IN 2007
By: Devvy
May 28, 2007
© 2007 - NewsWithViews.com
"It is Kissinger's belief, according to his aides, that by controlling food, one can control people, and by controlling energy, especially oil, one can control nations and their financial systems. By placing food and oil under international control along with the world's monetary system, Kissinger is convinced a loosely knit world government operating, under the frame-work of the United Nations can become a reality before 1980." --Gary Allen

One of the most often asked questions to me in e-mails is: What will it take to wake up my family or friends? Why do Americans care so little for their freedom that they refuse to even consider the truth about the mechanisms in play destroying this republic? Here's how I see it and it's not a pretty picture...............

Certainly isn't - long read and a lot of it applies here in the UK.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Irish Medical News

IMB responds to claims of illegal water fluoridation
Julie-Anne Barnes
juliea@imn.ie
The IMB has responded to criticism from VOICE (Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment) that it is in breach of legislation surrounding water fluoridation.
In a letter to the IMB, VOICE has asked the IMB to enforce the provisions of EU Council Directives and Irish legislation.
However, the IMB said it considers that neither drinking water itself nor the fluoride added to drinking water in the form of fluoride salts of silica fluoride should be categorised as medicinal products requiring marketing authorizations.
“The IMB have (sic) consulted with colleagues in other regulatory regimes and are not aware of any country that treats tap water as a medicinal product. The IMB considers that the fluoridation of drinking water should be seen as a measure more consistent with general public health management. Since fluoridation is provided for by… legislation, it is clearly not unlawful or in breach of EU regulations,” said a statement from the IMB.
The IMB also went on to say that the Supreme Court has addressed this matter in the case of Ryan – v – The Attorney General (1995) and stated that:
“The Court does not accept that the fluoridation of water is, or can be described as, the mass medication or mass administration of ‘drugs’ through water. It has already been pointed out that the fluoridation is a process by which an element which normally occurs in water is, in the case of a particular water supply, raised to a level of concentration at which it is found in wholesome water and that the fluoride ions thus are added are not different in nature, or action, from the fluoride ions occurring naturally in water.”

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Dentists say the equation is simple: less fluoride equals more tooth decay. Soda and sweets just add fuel to the fire. Video news

Bit different from previous report about Alaska and how before the change over to Western diet their teeth were perfect.

Friday, May 25, 2007

FDA Bans Toothpaste from China after 51 Deaths in Panama

FDA Bans Toothpaste from China after 51 Deaths in Panama
Foreign-Made Toothpaste Found in Many Discount Stores
By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.Com
May 24, 2007
Toothpaste
FDA Bans Toothpaste from China after 51 Deaths in Panama
Foreign Toothpaste Illegally Imported, Sold in U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration said it is blocking all shipments of toothpaste from China after 51 Panamanians apparently died after brushing with poisonous toothpaste from China...................

Not just black people

4 Pillars We All Need To Stay Healthy
By Makeisha Lee, Health and Nutrition Consultant
www.CleanseFormula.com and www.GuideToCleansing.com
Have you ever marveled at the architecture of a well designed building from the outside and were so impressed that you just had to see what the inside looked like? Well many of us may not realize it, but our bodies in and of themselves are also well constructed and excellent architectural designs. They have the ability to astound in that same manner and ultimately perform miracles. While they may have been designed as such, if we do not give our bodies what they need to function on a daily basis, they will cease to perform for us and begin to look more like a rundown shack that everyone wants to avoid looking at and has lost interest in.

How may we prevent the latter from happening? Just the same as a beautiful, strong, well designed building requires a good support structure, so does our health. They can be defined as pillars because they are fundamental principles or practices that keep our health well supported.

Pillar #1 - Nutrition
By now most of us are witty enough to understand that we should be eating nutritious meals. Sad to say though the food that is being manufactured today is depleted of good nutrition and most are left nutritionally bankrupt. With proper nutrition you help build your body up to be in a position to ward off degenerative disease. There are foods that help the body and foods that do not belong in the body – point blank. So guard what is going into your body like a bulldog and be selective!




Pillar #2 - Exercise
You have heard it a million times; here is a million and one more. 80% of the U.S alone is overweight because of what we eat and what we don’t do in the form of exercise. Besides that fact, consistent exercise is necessary for good cardiovascular health in addition to good lymphatic health which is commonly overlooked. Let’s keep it moving!

Pillar #3 - Pure Water, Food, and Clean Air
These all need to be considered as one pillar, as we know that today man has caused these things to become contaminated. So much so, we now have to seek these once already pure substances out because they are no longer just a given. Our air that we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat is toxic. Chemicals such as flame retardants, steroids, chlorine, fluoride and more are in our food, air and water supply. So we all must cleanse these harmful substances from our body, seek out the purest source of all the above to put into our bodies from here on out. This is not optional if we expect to have pristine health now or ever. Choose organic foods, purified water and perhaps seek out suitable air purification systems. Most importantly- cleanse and detoxify your body, regularly!

Pillar #4 - Stress Management
In the last decade we have heard a great deal about stress being a silent killer. Please do not take this lightly. You may be stressed and not recognize that you in fact are. If you are not getting proper rest (6-8 hrs) of sleep nightly you are not managing stress. If you don’t give your body that downtime it needs, it will do a half job for you and deplete you of energy. Energy is our life force that keeps all bodily functions going. Only surround yourself with positive people to manage your stress levels. We are a composite of our 5 closest friends and/or family. If they are negative in nature, they are stressed and so we will be as well. On that note give away things that you have no control over and begin to focus on what you can do, what you do have control over.

Your health is within your control and you can make the decision today to take care of it!

UK - Cumbrians against Fluoridation

IT WAS uplifting to read of the promotion of breastfeeding in the Maryport area (Times & Star, May 11).
Apart from all the known benefits it brings to mother and child there is an additional incentive to avoid baby formula in this area as it will probably be mixed from a powder with fluoridated water. On the American Dental Association website parents are advised to avoid fluoridated water for baby formula. If a baby is drinking only formula milk at an age when its development and systems are sensitive then it is ill advised to introduce large quantities of the hexafluorosilic acid (by product of the fertiliser industry) which is used to dose our water.
Cumbrians against Fluoridation wrote to health minister Rosie Winterton and asked why this government is failing to give information or advice to parents in fluoridated areas. Her response was that the Department of Health advise breastfeeding and failing that to consider purchasing ready made infant formula. In effect their advise is to avoid using fluoridated water. That information however will only be given to parents on enquiry. The group which is statistically most likely to bottle feed is a low income one. The government's own independent York Review on fluoridation identified that 44 per cent of local children could be receiving excess fluoride but there is no quality research on long term accumulation.
Without that it is negligent to be introducing fluoride into infant bodies. Please contact your MP Tony Cunningham and Jamie Reed and make your own personal request to receive details of the quality research that has been undertaken on long term accumulation (40 years) of artifical fluoride in communities dosed with Hexafluorosilic Acid.
DIANNE STANDEN
Cumbrians against Fluoridation

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Fluoride Journal

Letter to the editor
Fluoride 40(1)75–76
January-March 2007
“Tardive photopsia’ and the Tiel-Culemborg study
Moolenburgh
75 75
“TARDIVE PHOTOPSIA” AND THE TIEL-CULEMBORG STUDY
In his wide-ranging editorial on “tardive photopsia” in the July-September 2006 issue of Fluoride,1 managing editor Bruce Spittle served up an intellectual feast of scientific discoveries that ultimately overturned many widely held but mistaken notions and beliefs. He presented a cogent analysis of what is now known versus past misconceptions about water fluoridation and tooth decay with telling examples from recent official studies in New Zealand. Its promoters, by selectively citing data, try to make fluoridation look effective in preventing tooth decay. However, when findings from large-scale surveys are compared, the supposed caries reductions are often not very evident, or they disappear. In Holland, the Tiel-Culemborg fluoridation study was promoted and is still cited in the dental literature as an example of the effectiveness of water fluoridation to reduce tooth decay. But after fluoridation was discontinued in 1974, dental caries continued to decline throughout Holland. However, as I have
noted previously, there is more to the story. At the time fluoridation of Tiel began in 1952, there were significant dietary differences between Tiel and the nonfluoridated control city of Culemborg. Children in Culemborg ate twice as much yogurt as children did in Tiel, and, like most Dutch children, they usually sweetened their yogurt heavily with sugar.2 Not only that, the planners of the study, Professors O Backer Dirks, KG Konig, and B Houwink, arranged for the infant center in Tiel—but not in Culemborg—to make available to mothers a less cariogenic, sugar-free form of Liga cake, the first solid food commonly given to infants and toddlers.2 Only after fluoridation in Tiel had ended in late 1973 were physicians throughout Holland informed by the manufacturers that the sugar-free form of Liga cake would be made available outside of Tiel. Thus when fluoridation started, children in Tiel were quietly given an advantage with less sugar in their diet. We were also told that fluoridation had been proved to be absolutely safe, but after Dr Meta Asselbergs found a preponderance of mold infections compared to bacterial infections in the sputum of bronchitis patients in Tiel and refused to stop this research, she was fired. Only later did she discover that Tiel was fluoridated.
My biologist colleague in Haarlem, Dr GW Grimbergen,3 similarly found that mold overcame bacterial growth in fluoridated water, whereas bacterial growth dominated in nonfluoridated water.
At a meeting of health officials after fluoridation had ended, the question was asked: Was there was any evidence of changes in the bodies of the people in Tiel compared to those in Culemborg? An official responded: “Well, you know, the average weight of people in fluoridated Tiel was one kilogram more than in nonfluoridated Culemborg.” He was hastily hushed up, but the word was out that there was a measurable difference between the two cities, whatever the exact reason might have been. Another report, which I have also noted,4 revealed that certain neurological disorders and cancer among women had become more prevalent in Tiel than in Culemborg..................................

From the fluoride Journal

Editorial
Fluoride 40(1)4–6
January-March 2007
The precautionary principle and “evidence-based dentistry”
Foulkes
4 4
THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE AND
“EVIDENCE-BASED DENTISTRY”
SUMMARY: The precautionary principle as applied to minimize the risk of harmfulhealth effects of fluoride requires that evidence-based dentistry should employ thebest available evidence drawn from the widest array of research, methodology, and echnology. eywords: Precautionary principle; Evidence-based dentistry; Water fluoridation.
For almost 40 years, this journal has published original peer-reviewed research eports, reviews, abstracts, editorials, and special articles on the ethical debates
regarding dental and other aspects of fluoride and water fluoridation, both original nd reprinted from other sources. Throughout, a cautionary approach has been
strongly advocated. In November 2002, my review of “Thirty-five years................

UK - Five in ten toddlers 'suffer from tooth decay'

Five in ten toddlers 'suffer from tooth decay'
Half of toddlers aged below fiver-years-old are suffering from tooth decay, a report has found.The numbers of fillings and removed teeth remains at a high level in Britain despite industry efforts to reduce sugars in food and drinks.
It is thought that a culture of allowing children access to snacks and fizzy drink without asking permission could be the root cause.Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation which carried out the research, said: "What we've seen as well over that time is the change from three square meals a day into seven to 10 'snack attacks', and the constant sipping of fizzy drinks.
"That's starting to cause a problem with children's teeth and we think we're beginning to see the signs of an increase, or certainly a levelling off in the reduction [of tooth decay among children]."
To redress the balance however, it appears that Britain's teeth and gums are at least becoming healthier, thanks to added fluoride in the country's toothpaste.

USA - Resident appeals for removing fluoride from water

Resident appeals for removing fluoride from water
By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gbarnes@telegram.com
ATHOL— Citing information she found on the Internet, a local woman is looking to have the town eliminate fluoride from its water system. Vernalee Marie of Cottage Street told selectmen she suffers from chronic fatigue and fybromyalgia and believes her problems stem in part from fluoride in the town water. “Fluoride in the water is unsafe, unnecessary and costly,” she said. Ms. Marie said for two years she has been looking into what may be causing her health problem. Information she found on the Internet led her to believe fluoride is at fault.
She said she found that fluoride causes depletion of magnesium in the body. She said a study of rats has shown that those who were given fluoride in their water had offspring that were hyperactive. She added that it could also cause muscular, skeletal and neurological problems.
Ms. Marie told the board she was at the meeting to see how she could bring a proposal to eliminate fluoride before town voters. She said if fluoride is eliminated from the town water, people who still want it could fluoridate their drinking water.
Selectman Wayne Miller said he disagreed with Ms. Marie’s assessment of fluoride. He said the fluoridation program was established in this country 50 years ago to improve the dental health of children and reduce the amount of dental care needed.
“It has really served that purpose well,” he said. Dr. Miller said he could see no reason to eliminate the program. “I don’t think there has been any solid evidence that fluoride has been detrimental,” he said. Dr. Miller said there has been anecdotal evidence but no conclusive studies to show that fluoride is a problem.
Ms. Marie said she has observed that older residents seem to be in better shape skeletally than people in their 20s and 30s and she believes that is because the fluoride now in use is causing bone depletion.
Selectman Susannah Whipps told Ms. Marie that the selectmen are really not the board to consider such an issue. She said she should go to the Board of Health.
Ms. Marie was also told that if she wishes to bring the issue before voters, she could need to collect signatures on a petition and submit it to the town clerk. Ms. Marie said after the meeting she plans to continue to pursue the issue. “It’s not just my problem,” she said. “It is other people’s problem too.” Selectmen also rejected a proposal by Selectman Jim Meehan that would have required people making requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act to go through the town manager. Mr. Meehan said he made the proposal to make the process more efficient.
“It was not to put bars in front of anyone getting any document,” he said.
Other board members said with the state public records law and the Freedom of Information Act, there was no reason to add a town policy.
Board members voted 4-1 against the policy.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

USA - Yarmouth fluoridation gets one more hearing

Yarmouth fluoridation gets one more hearing
By Jen Ouellette GateHouse News Service Tue May 22, 2007, 04:57 PM EDT
Yarmouth - The Yarmouth Board of Health has spent a lot of time lately listening to experts on both sides of the fluoridation issue. Monday night they heard from residents. And they got an earful.
“I’m adamantly opposed to putting this poison in our pure drinking water,” said John Newton of West Yarmouth. “I have stated my intentions [to the selectmen] to pursue a class action suit. I will solicit other people to join me and I might even seek help from the ACLU,” he said, calling the plans a mass medication that takes away the rights of residents.
The anti-fluoridation forces outnumbered the pro-fluoridation side at the hearing, the last by the board of health before it decides on fluoridation, probably in June.
Laurie Trzcinski, the mother of a 4-year-old son who is chemically sensitive and allergic to all medicines agreed. “People need to have a choice – and if it’s in the water, there’s no choice,” she said. “One of the pluses that they’re saying is to help the poor families out by giving us fluoride and I don’t want it.” Trzcinski said good oral health could be achieved just as easily with proper care of one’s teeth.
“I just like to say that whatever this is going to cost us, we were told this was because children could not afford fluoride toothpaste. I suggest with the money it costs you buy them fluoride toothpaste,” argued Vi Pacitto of South Yarmouth who referred to the project as pollution.
Alan Amirault of Yarmouth Port called the idea of fluoridating the water irresponsible and was angry that the town was considering the notion of playing doctor. “What doctor is going to issue me my prescription? What doctor is going to monitor my dose,” he asked. “What doctor is going to monitor my progress on this drug that I’m taking for the rest of my life if I live here?”
Many other residents talked about whether treating an entire town for something that may only be necessary for a few is wise. “I’m a cardiologist,” said Dr. Kristine Soly, “so my patients die of heart disease. We find if we put them on cholesterol- lowering drugs they, in fact, don’t have heart attacks and don’t die,” she said. “But I think you would find it pretty preposterous that I would want to put (heart medications) into our drinking water.” Soly went on to say the world of medicine often moves too fast. “Hormone replacement therapy was prescribed for many, many years only for medicine to make one huge collective ‘oops’ and say ‘we were wrong’.”
While the majority of residents at the hearing opposed the fluoridation of the town’s water supply, there were some proponents. Sheila Gagnon of South Yarmouth said she has raised four children and many foster children here and she is in favor of fluoridating the water. The wife of a retired dentist, she has been following the issue since it first came up and countered some of the comments made at previous hearings. “I was particularly upset with Dr. Connett when he mentioned that all researchers that are pro-fluoride come out with pro-fluoride results. That’s patently wrong,” she said. “Most researchers go into research to find the truth.”
Peter Laband, a retired dentist had some research of his own. “About 60 percent of the US in total is now drinking fluoridated water,” he began. “The Centers for Disease Control has not come up with any difference in morbidity or mortality figures for any of the fluoridated versus non-fluoridated communities.” The former part-time teacher at Harvard Dental School said the one thing that does come out of fluoridation is fewer cavities. “Fluoridation is an integral part of any public health measure against cavities,” Laband concluded.
Board of health members did not make any comments on the issue. The board is expecting a report from the Yarmouth Water Department the first week of June about the cost of the project. At that time that the board will vote on the issue.
If the board decides to implement fluoridation, residents can attempt to put the matter to a townwide vote. Ten percent of registered voters must sign petitions calling for the vote.

UK - Foreign Toothpaste Illegally Imported, Sold in U.S.

.........................The primary concern with foreign toothpastes is the level of fluoride. Much of the water consumed in the U.S. is fluoridated, according to the Centers for Disease Control. But in many other countries, particularly poorer countries, there is limited or no fluoridation. Because of that, individual countries may require more fluoride in their toothpaste – a recipe that could be detrimental for Americans..................

Is the amount of fluoride in toothpaste different in UK fluoridated areas?

The toothpaste that claims to rebuild your teeth

The toothpaste that claims to rebuild your teeth
By COLIN FERNANDEZ A new toothpaste promises to end the agony of sensitive teeth by rebuilding tooth enamel.
The 13 million Britons who wince when they eat hot or cold food have long been able to buy products to mask the pain.
The new treatment, however, claims to be the first on the market that actually treats the causes of sensitive teeth.
Arm & Hammer's Enamel Care Sensitive is said to contain a liquid form of calcium, the key component in tooth enamel.
The idea is that the calcium rebuilds the tooth by plugging microscopic gaps in the enamel. The repair stops dental nerves becoming exposed, preventing pain. The makers are hoping the product will attract some of the £60 million a year spent on treatments by those for whom simple pleasures such as drinking a cup of tea or eating ice cream can be unbearable. Dentist Graham Barnby, who tested the treatment at his clinics in the south of England, said: "This is a unique product. "Patients with sensitive teeth who have used the paste have experienced dramatic improvements in just two weeks. "The liquid calcium is the key. It uses the minerals naturally present in teeth to help the body mend itself, coating the teeth in a natural substance similar to enamel. "Current toothpastes aimed at people with sensitive teeth simply mask the pain - this one solves the problem."
The toothpaste, which has been five years in the making, will be available in Britain at the end of this month priced at £3.49 for a 75ml tube, before going on sale in the U.S. Dental sensitivity is an increasing problem as the population ages and teeth become more sensitive as a result of gum recession or erosion of the enamel by acidic food and drink. Dr Barnby added: "We are living much longer and more people are reaching 60, 70 and 80 with their teeth - but many of them are left suffering pain from sensitivity. "This calcium-based toothpaste could offer them some much needed relief." A spokesman for Arm & Hammer said: "This is a totally natural way to protect teeth. "The toothpaste has eight times the amount of calcium in saliva, it coats the teeth and encourages the enamel to recover." Gordon Watkins, a member of the British Dental Association's science committee, greeted the new product cautiously and said full scientific trials were necessary to see if it was as effective as claimed.
Mr Watkins went on: "Sensitive teeth are a significant problem for many people. This new toothpaste from Arm and Hammer claims to treat this problem with new technology.
"The British Dental Association will be interested to see the results of properly constructed clinical trials that demonstrate the claimed benefits for this product together with the long-term outcomes." One in five Britons believes their partner has bad breath, according to a survey. The result was the same for men and women, the National Smile Month survey found. Residents of Edinburgh had the freshest breath, while those in Cambridge were most likely to suffer from halitosis. The research, involving 1,000 men and women, was commissioned by the British Dental Health Foundation in association with the health plan provider HSA. Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the foundation, said: "Bad breath can be a real turn-off for both sexes so it must be a worry that so many people are noticing it in their partners.
"With a further 42 per cent revealing they have friends or colleagues with bad breath it seems that this is still very much a common problem.
"Most bad breath is the result of poor oral hygiene. People need to brush their teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, cut down on how often they have sugary foods and drinks and visit the dentist regularly. "With the survey's findings that the majority of people wouldn't risk their friendship by telling someone they had bad breath it seems that people need to find out for themselves. "Lick the inside of your wrist, leave it a few seconds then sniff. If the smell is unpleasant chances are your breath is, too."

UK - 50% of 5-year-olds suffering from tooth decay

50% of 5-year-olds suffering from tooth decay
22 May 2007
The British Dental Health Foundation has stated that despite the huge amounts of progress gained in dental healthcare for the under-fives in the last 30 years, half of all five-year-olds still suffer from tooth decay.
While the initiatives to remove harmful sugars from children's food and drinks had certainly helped to lower the amount of dental problems, snacking and access to fizzy drinks has meant that many children are still at risk of fillings or even having teeth removed.
Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "What we've seen as well over that time is the change from three square meals a day into seven to 10 'snack attacks', and the constant sipping of fizzy drinks.
"That's starting to cause a problem with children's teeth and we think we're beginning to see the signs of an increase, or certainly a levelling off in the reduction and possibly even an increase [in tooth decay among children]."
There was some good news however, such as the fact that the decay figures had halved in recent times and that since fluoride had been introduced to Britain's toothpastes in the 1970s, in general the nation's teeth and gums were healthier.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Dentists Agree All Toothpastes Are Not Equal

.............Many dentists felt that fluoride toothpastes are best, suggesting consumers check to be sure they select fluoridated toothpastes. As one New Hampshire dentist put it, "Generally it is true [that any toothpaste you buy today will clean your teeth perfectly well], since they almost all contain fluoride."

Fluoride has been proven to strengthen tooth enamel, but a number of dental practitioners and health advocates have expressed serious concerns about over-fluoridation. "I say it matters [what toothpaste you use] for a different reason," cautioned an Arkansas dentist. "Toothpastes without toxic fluoride compounds are better. Note the warnings on the tube." (This is the cautionary message (USA only) appearing on fluoridated toothpastes: "Warning: Keep out of the reach of children under six years of age. If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.")....................

Australia - Poison drains into river daily

Poison drains into river daily
IT is illegal for anyone to dump fluorosilic acid (FSA/hydrofluorocilicic acid) into the environment because it is a very toxic S6 poison.FSA can also be classified as an S5 or S7 poison depending on its toxicity as stated in the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule.It is illegal to allow even one litre of this substance to enter the environment, which includes waterways.
Any individual or business caught doing so is prosecuted.Fluoridation of Wodonga’s water supply will add on average 6445 litres of pure industrial fluorosilic acid (an industrial waste by-product) to our water supply every year.Ninety eight per cent of that fluorosilic acid then ends up in the river.If the health department deliberately dumped any FSA into the river it would be a crime.But through Wodonga’s water supply, FSA will be dumped at a rate of 17.66 litres of FSA every day of the year.The EPA does not appear to care and does not monitor the fluoride levels in the river.How many towns along the Murray River have water fluoridation?
How much fluoride is added to the river?
The EPA says that monitoring the levels of fluoride, or fluorosilic acid, entering the river is not its job.The EPA stated that it did not know who monitored fluoride.
But it suggested that I contact the Department of Sustainability, who in turn referred me back to the EPA because it’s not their job either.
— MARILYN EDGAR,
Fluoride Education Awareness Team, Wodonga

USA - Majority oppose fluoridation at heated Yarmouth hearing

Majority oppose fluoridation at heated Yarmouth hearing
Alan Amirault of Yarmouthport tells the board of health he is “absolutely outraged” by the proposal to fluoridate town water. He expressed the majority sentiment at last night’s hearing.Cape Cod Times/Kevin Mingora
By PATRICK CASSIDY STAFF WRITER
May 22, 2007
SOUTH YARMOUTH — In sometimes heated testimony last night, residents gave the Yarmouth Board of Health angry opposition to consider before making a decision on fluoridating town water. "I would like to know who is going to prescribe this drug to me," said Alan Amirault of Yarmouthport. "I'm absolutely outraged," he said, adding that he was "fed up" with being lied to by all levels of government including Yarmouth's board of selectmen. The public hearing was the last in a series that began with a call by Selectman William Marasco that the town consider fluoridation. The board of health heard earlier from nonresident advocates on both sides of the debate over whether to fluoridate the water.
Amirault was among a strong majority who stood in opposition to fluoridation, and after the hearing he was one of the first to sign on to a proposed civil suit against the town should it happen. He was not alone, as row after row of residents demanded the board vote against fluoridation. Should the panel vote affirmatively there would be a 90-day waiting period, and if a petition is signed by 10 percent of the town's registered voters, the question would go to a townwide referendum. Some attendees considered the entire debate a waste of time.
The board of health should focus on other problems such as obesity in young children, said Tom Kelley of South Yarmouth.
"Get the Pepsi-Cola and the Coca-Cola machines out of the schools," Kelley said, pumping his fist and drawing applause from the crowd of approximately 50 attendees. Other opponents to fluoridation listed a plethora of reasons against adding the chemical to town water, including potential health problems and the financial impact on water ratepayers. Much of the United States has fluoridated water, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not documented any increase in illness in those places where fluoride is added to the water, said Peter Leband, a retired dentist from South Yarmouth and one of a small group who spoke in favor of fluoridation. "The one thing that has happened in all the fluoridated communities is that the cavities have gone down," he said. The board of health is waiting for a cost assessment by the superintendent of the water department before making its decision, said board member Patrick McDermott. That figure is expected in the first week of June, and the board should be in position to make a decision by their June 18 meeting, he said. The major argument for fluoridation was questioned by Laurie Trzcinski of South Yarmouth, who said her family was among the lower-income groups who fluoridation proponents said would most benefit from adding the compound to town water. Her son is chemically sensitive to fluoride, and the addition of fluoride to the water he drinks could make him very ill, she said. "I deserve the right to make a choice as to what can be given to my son," she said. No town on Cape Cod now treats its water with fluoride. In the United States 170 million people drink fluoridated water in 10,000 communities. Statewide, 139 communities fluoridate their water.
Patrick Cassidy can be reached at pcassidy@capecodonline.com.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Dentists Discuss Brightening Effect

The Right Way To White
Dentists Discuss Brightening Effect
By Marla Hinkle
Bright eyes and white teeth are signs of vitality. But what if the teeth are so bright you have to wear shades? Dentists have said natural looking teeth should generally match or be no brighter than the whites of a person's eye. If the so called "Hollywood Smiles" of even and blindingly bright teeth are any indication, the rest of us might be left to become slaves to bleaching techniques. Fortunately, most people do not desire blazing white choppers. This look is probably better left to celebrities whose mission is to stand out in a crowd, many dentists agree.
The degree of tooth shading is left up to his patients, said Dr. Ken Berley, a Rogers-based dentist. "If whitening is what a patient wants, then we can do it, whether it's bleaching veneers or whiter teeth," Berley said. Of course, there are times when the doctor doesn't agree. One patient wanted a more natural look and chose three shades darker than the brightest shade Berley offered. The doctor thought it was a little dark, but that's what the patient wanted. Another patient with a dark complexion chose a shade Berley said he believed was too bright, describing her teeth as "neon white." "There is no ideal shade of white; it depends on a person's complexion and hair color," he said. A dark-haired very tan young woman or man will have teeth that will naturally appear brighter than a person with fair hair and complexion. Blacks, for example, require a brighter shade because their gum tissue and skin is darker, and the teeth appear brighter. "Shading is relative to a person's background," he said.
Age is also a factor in determining how bright a person should bleach his teeth. Teeth naturally become darker in the aging process. For example, Berley recently finished a case on a 70-year-old woman. He explained that her crowns looked bad, so they discussed a correct shade. Age appropriateness in whitening techniques is something many dentists are beginning to address, he said. If a dentist makes someone "neon white" at age 40, using good techniques that last a long time, what is that person going to look like at 65, Berley said. Teeth yellow as they age, due to the enamel wearing thinner over several years of brushing. The dentine, the yellow part of the tooth, starts to show through.
Our society is more affluent than that of previous generations, and doesn't have to endure the natural aging process, he said. Whitening is increasing in the United States, Berley said, noting that most people from Europe and South America are not as interested in whitening. And Northwest Arkansas residents are not bleaching junkies. Berley said 50 percent of his patients select a more natural smile.
Extreme White
So how white is too white? Berley said 15 years ago, he wouldn't have done a cosmetic case in Hollywood white or "toilet bowl white," but now, not a month passes that patients do not request this, he said. This extreme bleaching is fine as long as that's what a patient wants, he said. But off-the-charts bright does have some pitfalls. Consider texture. If veneering material is not given texture, the teeth can end up looking like pieces of shiny chicklet gum," writes Rebecca W. Smith and faculty in "The Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery's Guide to Family Dental Care ( W.W. Norton & Co.). She writes, "Bleaching is done to lighten teeth. It will not give them the 'Hollywood' white. If this is what you want, bonding or veneering, alone or in conjunction with bleaching, will be a better alternative." "Some people have extremely white and very prominent restored teeth that do not fit the lips and rest of the face," said Dr. Robert Hodous of The Dental Spa in Fayetteville.
"I don't have a problem with bleaching as a rule, unless the teeth are so white that they are almost bluish and fluoresce. I want to blend the teeth to fit a person's facial structure. A different shape or shade doesn't fit on some skin tones and facial forms," Hodous said.
If patients have teeth that are gray, they will not whiten. Natural teeth will whiten, he said, but existing restorations like crowns will appear darker.
Dr. Berley said he hasn't seen a case where his staff didn't see fairly satisfactory results. But he does admit that some shades of white are easier to achieve than others. Tetracycline stains usually take longer, he said. Other stain culprits are tobacco, coffee, tea, red wine, colas, illness and genetics.
Bright Smile Styles
There are no real negatives to bleaching, except for teeth sensitivity," Berley said. One of the most effective methods is in-office bleaching using the popular Zoom! technique, a light activated gel system. Zoom! offers dramatic results in a short period of time, Berley said. "Many times we will use this to jump start a bleaching case, like a young lady getting married in a week, who really doesn't have time to take home a brightening tray." The tray technique is not as speedy but is more controllable in that a patient determines how white he or she wants to bleach, he said.
Most people do not understand the difference between teeth shades and the fact that not all of their teeth are the same shade, Berley said. "You have the centrals, the two front teeth, and front laterals, which are half a shade darker. The eye teeth are a shade and a half darker. So there's not one primary shade. You are going to carry a natural progression of shade throughout your mouth. So most dentists who are really exacting in their work won't make all the teeth the same shade if you are trying to achieve a truly natural look." Berley uses the da Vinci Dental Studios in California as seen in "Extreme Makeover" and "The Swan." The results, he said, are truly remarkable and very "life-like." Dr. Hodous offers a Luma Arch whitening laser and take-home treatments. He is not big fan of over-the-counter treatments like Crest White Strips. "The strips require a lot of work and take so much longer, about six months to a year. Ultimately, people spend more money, time and energy with that type of product than a laser. Most people want to expedite the whole process, get it done and get out," he said.
Patients are required to restrict their diets of dark foods and red wine, so once the whitening is completed, they can begin to eat normally after a week or two, Hodous said. Also, he's concerned with the safety of OTC treatments, which may be high in acidity and make teeth more porous.
Kelly Bridges, a former dental assistant and office manager based at Lowell Family Dental, said she doesn't like the strips because they are difficult to use. "Your teeth have to be straight for the strips to work, because they go straight across. If your teeth aren't straight, there are some spots that will not bleach," she said. The dental office gives patients a take-home bleaching kit that is 22 percent hydrogen peroxide with fluoride, she said.
Berley said he uses two shade guides in his practice, one is natural and one is the bleaching guide. "I like to keep on the natural shade guide ... I prefer the way shades appear in nature but that doesn't really happen a lot anymore. It's really in the eye of the beholder."
American Dental Association Issues Statement
On Safety, Effectiveness of Tooth Whitening Products
From The American Dental Association
For more than a decade, the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs has monitored the development and the increasing numbers of whitening oral hygiene products. As the market for these products grew, the association recognized a need for uniform definitions when discussing whiteners.
For example, "whitening" is any process that will make teeth appear whiter. This can be achieved in two ways. A product can bleach the tooth, which means that it actually changes the natural tooth color. Bleaching products contain peroxide(s) that help remove deep (intrinsic) and surface (extrinsic) stains. By contrast, non-bleaching whitening products contain agents that work by physical or chemical action to help remove surface stains only. Whitening products may be administered or dispensed by dentists or purchased over-the-counter (OTC) and can be categorized into two major groups:
* Peroxide-containing whiteners or bleaching agents
* Whitening toothpastes (dentifrices)
Peroxide-containing whiteners or bleaching agents
Dentist-dispensed and OTC home-use products
All of the products in this category that bear the ADA Seal of Acceptance contain 10 percent carbamide peroxide; however, participation in the program is not limited to products of this concentration. There are many whitening options available to consumers both from the dentist as well as from retail outlets. The ADA recommends that if you choose to use a bleaching product you should only do so after consultation with a dentist.
In a water-based solution, carbamide peroxide breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and urea, with hydrogen peroxide being the active bleaching agent. Other ingredients of peroxide-containing tooth whiteners may include glycerin, carbopol, sodium hydroxide and flavoring agents.
Accumulated clinical data on neutral pH 10 percent carbamide peroxide continue to support both the safety and effectiveness of this kind of tooth-whitening agent.
The most commonly observed side effects to hydrogen or carbamide peroxide are tooth sensitivity and occasional irritation of the soft tissues in the mouth (oral mucosa), particularly the gums.
Tooth sensitivity often occurs during early stages of bleaching treatment. Tissue irritation, in most cases, results from an ill-fitting tray rather than the tooth-bleaching agents. Both of these conditions usually are temporary and stop after the treatment.
Professionally applied bleach whiteners
There are many professionally applied tooth whitening bleach products. These products use hydrogen peroxide in concentrations ranging from 15 percent to 35 percent and are sometimes used together with a light or laser, which reportedly accelerates the whitening process.
Prior to application of professional products, gum tissues are isolated either with a rubber dam or a protective gel. Whereas home-use products are intended for use over a two-to-four week period, the professional procedure is usually completed in about one hour.
Currently, all of the professionally applied whiteners that have the ADA Seal contain 35 percent hydrogen peroxide, although this concentration is not a requirement of the program.
As with the 10 percent home-use carbamide peroxide bleach products, the most commonly observed side effects of professionally applied hydrogen peroxide products are temporary tooth sensitivity and occasional irritation of oral tissues. On rare occasions, irreversible tooth damage has been reported.
The ADA advises patients to consult with their dentists to determine the most appropriate treatment. This is especially important for patients with many fillings, crowns and extremely dark stains.
A thorough oral examination, performed by a licensed dentist, is essential to determine if bleaching is an appropriate course of treatment. The dentist then supervises the use of bleaching agents within the context of a comprehensive, appropriately sequenced treatment plan.
Whitening toothpastes
Whitening toothpastes (dentifrices) in the ADA Seal of Acceptance program contain polishing or chemical agents to improve tooth appearance by removing surface stains through gentle polishing, chemical chelation, or some other non-bleaching action. Several whitening toothpastes that are vailable OTC have received the ADA Seal of Acceptance.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

EDINBURGH - City's gleaming performance in dental survey

City's gleaming performance in dental survey
EDINBURGH has emerged top of a survey to find the city with the best oral health.
Only one per cent of interviewees in the British Dental Health Foundation study said their partner had bad breath, and less than one fifth reported they had a friend or colleague with the problem.
In contrast, 53 per cent of people in Cambridge said their partner had bad breath. r Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "This is excellent news and suggests that people in Edinburgh have been listening to warnings that they need to improve their oral healthcare. "Nine out of ten people are now brushing their teeth twice a day and that is higher than anywhere else in the country. "However, these stats still show that around 15 per cent of people know someone with bad breath and one in ten are only cleaning once per day so there is still plenty to do.
"People should brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, cut down how often they have sugary foods and drinks and visit the dentist regularly."
One hundred Edinburgh residents were interviewed for the survey, and one quarter said English football legend David Beckham has the nicest smile.

100 surveyed - not much of a survey. Still, makes a change from the usual negative reports about Scottish dental statistics.

NYSCOF - Fluoride Linked to Gum Disease

Fluoride Linked to Gum Disease

New York -- May 2007 -- Scientists report a link between dental fluorosis and periodontal disease in the June 2007 Indian Journal of Dental Research. (1) Dental fluorosis - white spotted, yellow, brown stained and/or pitted teeth - is a visual manifestation of fluoride overdose during childhood. Dental fluorosis afflicts from 1/3 to 1/2 of U.S. schoolchildren, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. (2) Inhabitants of the Davangere district of India were studied where natural water fluoride levels ranged from 1.5 to 3.0 parts-per-million (ppm) which is similar to fluoride levels allowed in U.S. water supplies (up to 4 ppm). The sample consisted of 1,029 subjects between 15- and 74-years-old. As the degree of dental fluorosis increased, periodontitis (advanced gum infection) increased. “The results suggest that there is a strong association of occurrence of periodontal disease in high-fluoride areas,” write Vandana and Reddy.
“Surprisingly, studies have not paid attention to the periodontal status in high-fluoride areas from a research perspective,” the authors write.
“In addition to inflammatory process, which remains common to high- and low-fluoride areas, the fluorosis induced changes in hard and soft tissues of periodontium requires … attention to suspect fluoride as an etiological (environmental) agent for periodontal disease,” the authors conclude. Two thirds of U.S. public water suppliers purposely add fluoride chemicals (silicofluorides) in an attempt to reduce tooth decay in tap water drinkers. Some U.S. communities have natural fluoride levels up to 4 ppm..
“How much longer do the American people have to be the guinea pigs in the U.S.’s fluoridation experiment,” asks lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.
The National Research Council advises more studies are required on fluoride's effects on reasoning ability, endocrine functions, the immune deficient, fertility, gastric response, bladder cancer, kidney and liver enzyme functions and more. (3) Studies already link fluoride to cancer, genetic defects, IQ deficits, thyroid dysfunction, kidney, tooth and bone damage. (3a) But government officials want even more studies before they condemn fluoridation. “Who will decide when fluoride’s mounting risks outweigh its questionable benefits. The individual or the government?” asks Beeber. “Fluoridation leaves it in the hands of the government.”
“Fluoridation chemicals are in short supply these days,” (5) says Beeber, “This would be a good time to gracefully bow out of water fluoridation.”
END
Contact: Paul S. Beeber, Esq nyscof@aol.com
President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc
PO Box 263
Old Bethpage, NY 11804
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
References:
1) “Assessment of periodontal status in dental fluorosis subjects using community periodontal index of treatment needs,” Vandana KL, Sesha Reddy M, Indiana Journal of Dental Research 18(2) 2007
http://www.ijdr.in/temp/IndianJDentRes18267_150451.pdf
2) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/s403a1t23.gif
3) http://www.fluorideaction.net/health/epa/nrc/excerpts.html
3a) http://www.FluorideAction.Net/health
4) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_11/sr11_248.pdf
5) “Fluoride shortage affecting water,” The Indiana Courier Press, by John Lucas May 11, 2007
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/may/11/fluoride-shortage-affecting-water/

Saturday, May 19, 2007

USA - The Charleston Gazette

The Charleston Gazette - News: "West Virginia led all states with 60 percent of people ages 18 and older who have lost at least one tooth." West Virginia is 92% fluoridated.

"In terms of tooth loss, 62 percent of West Virginia’s poorest older adults lost all their teeth, while just 18 percent of the state’s highest earners were living without teeth."

Posted by NYSCOF

USA - For the love of God

capemom (registered user) writes:
FOr the love of God, maybe Yarmouth can show the rest of the Cape that it is on the cutting edge of a movement which was entrenched in most of America 40+ years ago: fluoride in the water supply.

It's good for teeth, people. How many hours and dollars have I wasted making trips to CVS and paying co-payments for my kids' fluoride prescriptions? How fabulous are my cavity-free teeth since I grew up in places where the water had fluoride?

Is the rest of America suffering from cancer and disease rates 10x higher than the Cape because of fluoride in the water? No.

You can always find a quack MD in a white coat who spews junk science against established and proven public health measures, such as vaccination and fluoridation, but at some point it doesn't make common sense.

Who is voting against this? People with false teeth?
[ Show all comments by this user ]
05/18/07 @ 1:37 pm bizarrocod (registered user) writes:


Probably the same people who believe in'intelligent design'!
[ Show all comments by this user ]
05/18/07 @ 2:14 pm capemom (registered user) writes:


There is a great website run by a retired MD called quackwatch.com which debunks hundreds of so-called "alternative" or "wholistic" medical claims--it's a blast to read .

I hope the NYSCOF reply to this

Australia - Dad was instrumental in getting fluoride added to the Sydney water supply

............"Funny, I haven't thought about that for years," said Lynch in a meeting room at mall operator Westfield's unspectacular national offices in Newmarket.

"We bagged pills, stapled them into packets and folded the packages. Dad was instrumental in getting fluoride added to the Sydney water supply - at the expense of his own business because he made and sold fluoride tablets. But he wanted it added to the water because it was the right thing to do. He would be embarrassed by my talking about it. It was one of his achievements."............

I wouldn't be too proud of that.

Brown tips on a spider plant

Brown tips on a spider plant
Q: I have one spider plant left and it is dying. The leaves turn brown beginning from the tips and the browning moves back until it is dead. I even check it with a water meter once a week to make sure it is getting enough water. What can I do?

A: Sadly, you have found out that your spider plant, Chlorphytum comosum, is generally easy to grow until the tips brown out.

This tip burn is usually caused by chemicals in the water. City water probably is chlorinated and treated with fluoride and either one can cause a burn.

I know this is well known but worth reprinting.

Friday, May 18, 2007

UK - I.O.M

Fluoride meeting tomorrow
A PUBLIC meeting in the campaign against water fluoridation takes place tomorrow (Friday).
Organised by the Isle of Man Campaign for non-Fluoridated Tap Water, the meeting will be addressed by Dr Paul Connett, professor emeritus of chemistry at St Lawrence University, USA, and co-founder of the Fluoride Action Network the worldwide coalition against Fluoridation.

The meeting takes place at the Meeting Room of the Promenade Methodist Church, Loch Promenade, Douglas, at 7.30pm. All are welcome.

I hope their meeting is better supported than the one held in Southampton with Dr Paul Connett.

Links:
Save our water
Last Updated: 17 May 2007

Worth reading

Give us our daily chemicals ...
Are plans to add folic acid to bread a sensible precaution, or a cavalier experiment with the nation's health? Joanna Blythman reports
Friday May 18, 2007
The Guardian
If you subscribe to the "magic bullet" school of public health, then you won't have any problems with the Food Standards Agency's recommendation yesterday that bakers should be obliged, by law, to add folic acid to their bread or flour. After all, the government already forces millers to fortify the nation's flour with calcium carbonate, otherwise known as chalk. Likewise, all British infant cereals must contain added thiamin (vitamin B1), while margarines routinely have vitamins added to match the levels you would find in butter. And there aren't any riots in the street about that, are there?
The FSA's argument is that since a lack of folic acid before and during pregnancy has been linked to profound disabilities in babies, including spina bifida, adding it to bread must be a good thing. In the words of Andrew Russell, chief executive of the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus: "Demographics show that it is the poorest and most educationally underprivileged women who are most at risk of a spina bifida pregnancy." To its critics, however, the FSA seems to have had its ear bent by a paternalistic faction of the health establishment.
The notion of adding folic acid - the synthetic form of vitamin B9, also known as folate - to bread has been bubbling away in government committees for years. The fortification of the nation's food supply with vitamins and minerals dates back to the post-second world war era, when the British population was stricken with diseases such as rickets that were caused by poor nutrition. In those days, the mass-medication of the entire population seemed a pragmatic, last-ditch option. But nowadays, when there is plenty of food on our plates, the blanket addition of vitamins looks more dubious.

In the specific case of folic acid, medical authorities are not united. New evidence has recently been emerging of possible adverse effects. High intakes of folic acid have been associated with a speeding-up in the progress of certain cancers. Folic acid is also known to mask symptoms of anaemia caused by a shortage of vitamin B12, commonly suffered by vegetarians and elderly people.

In the US, the now mandatory fortification of bread was driven by a vocal lobby that organises a highly effective annual telethon, using the slogan "Helping babies, together". But there are concerns that in the rush to save America's babies, older people have suffered. Several studies in the US now suggest that folic acid supplementation is harming vulnerable old people. "We already know that folic acid, given without B12, is creating problems for the elderly," says nutritionist Patrick Holford. "And that's at half the amount that the FSA is proposing to add to British flour." Some scientists are also questioning whether we can blithely assume that synthetically produced folic acid will work in the same way as naturally occurring folate. They are calling for further research.

The other main objection is that fortification is a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The estimate is that adding folic acid to bread will save 120 babies in the UK every year from spina bifida, but for every baby saved, half a million people, male and female, will have to take the added folic acid. "Why not target potential young mothers rather than mass-supplementing the population at large ?" asks Holford.

Others, such as Andrew Whitley, author of Bread Matters: the State of Modern Bread, see mandatory fortification as an admission of defeat, implying that there is no way to get women of child-bearing age to consume enough B9 other than by sneaking folic acid into their bread. "This is just another step into making our daily bread into a repository of 'nutraceuticals'," he says. "It is noticeable that the FSA isn't proposing adding it to wholemeal bread because it already contains it. Why doesn't the FSA just tell people to eat more wholemeal bread?"

When it comes to fortification in general, the philosophical divide between those who would medicate our food, and those who want to keep it natural, is vast. To campaigners for natural and organic food, fortification is unacceptable, just a way of trying to cover up the deficiences of over-processed foods. Calcium carbonate, for example, is routinely added to flour to compensate for the natural calcium destroyed in the modern roller-milling process. As Jessica Mitchell, director of the independent food watchdog the Food Commission, puts it: "Why de-nature bread into sawdust and then chuck in chemicals again to attempt to replace what you've taken out?" The same applies to folate. Half the folate in whole wheat is lost in the milling to white flour.

The reason that vitamin B1 is required by law to be added to infant foods such as baby rice is equally disturbing. Processed cereals used for these products would otherwise be deficient in the necessary B vitamins. "It's pretty bad that our conventionally produced cereals don't have enough natural folate to produce healthy babies," says Lizzie Vann, founder of the babyfood company Organix. "The ideal has to be to eat food grown on properly manured, fertile soil that has loads of naturally occurring nutrients in it."

The debate over folic acid has a clear parallel with mass fluoridation of our tap water. Several local authorities in the UK routinely add to their water the controversial chemical and known toxin, fluoride, in the hope of reducing the number of children with teeth rotten from the over-consumption of sugar. Educating children to eat less sugar is just too difficult, not to mention ineffective, they argue. So bring on the magic bullet - and too bad for all those people with perfectly fine teeth, or those grumblers who say that fluoride increases rates of osteoporosis and hip fractures.

Whether it is fluoridation or fortification, these blanket public health measures are seen by many as the thin end of the wedge - a wedge that runs completely counter to the "choice" and "personalisation" agendas set out by the government in its 2005 white paper Choosing Health.

Where does it all stop? Why don't we medicate our food with everything our bodies might possibly be short of, just in case? Or why not give up food entirely and just eat pills, like the astronauts in sci-fi films? "It's all too James Bond," says Vann. "What we need is not someone telling us what to eat, but better farming methods and lots of public health education".

Australia - We didn’t ask for this poison

We didn’t ask for this poison
THIS week I received notification in the mail, as did all other North East Water customers, that my drinking water was going to be dosed with fluoride.

I strongly object to my drinking water being polluted with yet another poison.
The question is not whether fluoride being administered into my drinking water is good for my dental health, it’s that I don’t want yet another pollutant freely administered into my drinking water because some organisation thinks it has the right to tell me, and the rest of us, that it knows what’s good for me and will do whatever it likes without my consent.
Were any residents asked if they wanted fluoride put into their drinking water?I can hear a resounding “No!”
If the Victorian Human Services Department believes that people who have poor dental health require fluoride, then it should supply the people who want it with free fluoride tablets and leave our drinking water fluoride-free for the majority.
If the Human Services Department was dosing our water for dental health purposes as it claims, then perhaps I am to assume that dental health is far more important and far more life-threatening than all the pain and suffering caused by smoking?
If the department was worried about our health and our children’s health, then why is it that you constantly see mum and dad puffing away in the car and the kids strapped in the back seat?
I would like to see the figures relating to death caused by poor dental health.
— TREVOR NEWTON,
Wodonga

USA - City Authority won’t fluoridate its water supply

City Authority won’t fluoridate its water supply
By William Kibler, bkibler@altoonamirror.com
The Altoona City Authority voted Thursday not to fluoridate the water system.The vote comes two years after the Altoona Hospital Partnership for a Healthy Community asked the authority to add fluoride to the water to help prevent tooth cavities, especially in children.
Three months ago, the partnership reiterated that request during a meeting at which new authority member Tom Martin declared himself an advocate for the practice, which is followed by public water systems serving 170 million people in the U.S.
With two other members of the five-person board saying they were open-minded, it seemed the authority finally would begin fluoridating, as requested by various groups periodically since the 1950s.
But all such efforts have generated opposition, which has included concerns about health effects and philosophical opposition to “mass medication.” A resident who came to an authority meeting in March as part of a small delegation read from anti-fluoridation literature that claimed the practice originated decades ago as a profitable way to dispose of an industrial by-product.Martin was the only authority member who voted Thursday to fluoridate after Chairman Maurice Lawruk called for a resolution on the matter.“Things have been dragging out too long,” he said.
Lawruk said that after researching fluoridation, he decided against it with the help of a professor he met recently in Florida, who wondered why Altoona would want to add the element to its good mountain water.
The authority adds chemicals only to remove impurities, not to “enhance” the water, as fluoridation would, in-house engineer Mike Sinisi said.Member Tony Ruggery said he would have no problem with fluoridation personally, but he figured “it isn’t right for us” because most customers are older and wouldn’t benefit much and because fluoridation might be a liability for the authority.
If families want their kids to have fluoride, they can give them tablets, he said.
Member Patrick Dumm had “no problem with the concept,” but be believes the authority’s responsibility ends when it delivers pure drinking water.
While Martin said he respected the majority decision, he said “evidence is overwhelming” in favor of fluoridation. Customers are getting shortchanged without it, especially kids whose families can’t afford good dental care, he said.
“We’re way behind the times,” Martin said.
Marian Fifer, executive director of the partnership, said the group was disappointed with the decision.
“We would hope they’d continue to consider it,” Fifer said.
The partnership had offered to pay half the $186,000 startup cost.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

From Edward Priestley.

From Edward Priestley.
Re: New Scientist report on Lupus cluster in Atlanta, USA, near old oilfield. (You get similar condition in those exposed to old gas works, toxic waste sites and incinerators in the UK).
Auto-Immune disorders are found everywhere resulting from exposure to many drugs, chemicals etc. The medical profession often make out that auto-immune disorders are some defect in the sufferers.
It has been found for example that auto-immune disorders can be triggered off by .2ppm (one fifth of the FLUORIDE level the UK Government say is a safe level and added to tap water). (Note that is point 2ppm not 2ppm.) Ref. Dr. McLaren Howard of Biolab Medical Unit. One very common auto-immune disorder is Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism where the thyroid gland destroys itself. Any prescribed drug, chemical or radiation that is toxic to the bone marrow and immune system (100's of products) can trigger off auto-immune disorders, arthritic type condition etc.
Edward in France

USA - Ore. fluoride bill stalls

Ore. fluoride bill stalls
05/16/2007
Associated Press
Opponents appear to have successfully brushed aside the latest effort to require cities to add fluoride to their water supplies.
Sponsors of a bill that would mandate fluoride in cities with at least 10,000 people did not have enough votes to win House passage Tuesday. Rather than risk defeat, they sent the item to the joint Ways and Means Committee for possible retooling.
Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, the bill's co-sponsor, said the bill could be modified to allow to cities to "opt out" if its citizens don't want fluoridation. Such a move would make House Bill 3099 largely symbolic.
Two-thirds of the U.S. population drinks from fluoridated water supplies. Proponents cite the 60-year history of fluoridation and its track record of safety and effectiveness in strengthening teeth against decay. The Oregon Dental Association has pushed the state Legislature for years to mandate that Oregon's drinking water be fluoridated.
But fluoride opponents — a loose-knit coalition of environmentalists, local control advocates and small-government conservatives — say it doesn't make sense to add a chemical to clean water and argue that research is beginning to show the health benefits of fluoride have been overstated.
They also cite evidence that increasing the levels of fluoride in water can cause a white spotting of the tooth surface.
Water systems in cities such as Salem, Forest Grove, Coquille, Florence, Astoria and Corvallis do fluoridate, and advocates for local control say such decisions should remain on a community-by-community basis.

Oregon ranks 48th, trailed by Hawaii and New Jersey, in percentage of residents with fluoridated water.
__

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

Chocolate Toothpaste?

Chocolate Toothpaste? Extract Of Tasty Treat Could Fight Tooth Decay, Tulane University Researcher Says
For a healthy smile brush between meals, floss regularly and eat plenty of chocolate?

According to Tulane University doctoral candidate Arman Sadeghpour an extract of cocoa powder that occurs naturally in chocolates, teas, and other products might be an effective natural alternative to fluoride in toothpaste. In fact, his research revealed that the cocoa extract was even more effective than fluoride in fighting cavities.
The extract, a white crystalline powder whose chemical makeup is similar to caffeine, helps harden teeth enamel, making users less susceptible to tooth decay. The cocoa extract could offer the first major innovation to commercial toothpaste since manufacturers began adding fluoride to toothpaste in 1914.
The extract has been proven effective in the animal model, but it will probably be another two to four years before the product is approved for human use and available for sale, Sadeghpour says. But he has already created a prototype of peppermint flavored toothpaste with the cavity-fighting cocoa extract added, and his doctoral thesis research compared the extract side by side to fluoride on the enamel surface of human teeth.
Sadeghpour's research group included scientists from Tulane, the University of New Orleans, and Louisiana State University's School of Dentistry.
Tulane University
http://www.tulane.edu

USA - Fluoride rant had wrong info

Fluoride rant had wrong info
By Mary Lynn O'Brien, MD, May 17, 2007 and VIRGINIA FELDMAN, M.D. and ERIC BRODY, M.D.
The Oregonian said it best: “Oregon isn’t known for its movie star teeth, unless you count horror movies.” Two-thirds of the U.S. population drinks from fluoridated water supplies and it has a 60-year history of safety and effectiveness. Yet anti-fluoridationists like Dr. Osmunson continue to spread untruths.
Untruth No. 1 – European Dental Association no longer recommends fluoridation.

Fact: Europeans are very pro fluoride, they just use different vehicles to deliver fluoride to the public as many people do not drink public water. So, using the public water system to provide fluoride for public health doesn’t make sense. Examples are fluoridated salt at 200-250 parts per million, fluoridated chewing gum, and fluoride varnish (at 22,600 parts per million concentration). In the UK, where the water is mostly potable and people drink it, fluoridation is more widespread. Ireland has a majority of its public water systems fluoridated. Great Britain, while only 10 percent fluoridated, has been discussing ways to increase fluoridation of its public water supplies.

Untruth No. 2 – Harvard study links boys who drink fluoridated water with an increased risk of bone cancer.

Fact: There is no proven association between fluoridated water and bone cancer in the preliminary study by Bassin as part of her doctoral thesis for the Harvard School of Dental medicine. In fact, an accompanying letter by a faculty member of that institution cautions against using the results of this preliminary study in formulating public policy about fluoridation, because his larger study with a more direct measure of biologic exposure to fluoride fails to confirm the finding. Dr. Donald Austin of OHSU and an expert in oncology/epidemiology reviewed Bassin’s thesis and agrees that there is no connection.

Untruth No. 3 – New warnings on mixing infant formula with fluoridated water.

Fact: Breast milk is best and new moms in Oregon rank No. 1 in the U.S. for breastfeeding at 89 percent. There is a small increased risk of the milder forms of fluorosis if powdered infant formula is given as the primary source of nutrition. However, it is important to understand that flourosis is not a disease and these children will benefit from fluoride’s protection against cavities.This is not an argument to avoid fluoridation for the other 79 years of people’s lives. The most efficacious way to reduce cavities throughout our lifespan is delivering frequent small amounts of fluoride to one’s teeth via water.

“Some would have you believe that a public warning on this matter has been issued, and that the ADA is now saying that fluoridation poses a danger to children, which is flat out wrong,” states Dr. Pollick of the UCSF School of Dentistry. “The public should know that both the dental professional community and the scientific community continue to support fluoridation based on an overwhelming number of juried scientific studies and reviews.”

The facts are:

1) Virtually every major dental, medical, scientist and public health organization in the U.S. recognizes water fluoridation as safe, effective, economical, and socially equitable.

2) Fluoridation will reduce the rate of decay between 18 and 40 percent. This will save our state millions of dollars, especially in Medicaid expenses for our low-income population.

3) Specifically, for every dollar spent for fluoridation, we will save $38 in dental repair costs.

Lastly, we want to share a quote by former Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. David Satcher:

“Fluoridation is the single-most-effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay and improve oral health over a lifetime for both children and adults”.

House Bill 3099 will be voted on soon in the House. We urge everyone to contact their legislators to vote for this important public health measure.

Mary Lynn O’Brien, MD
Lake Oswego
Virginia Feldman, MD
Portland
Eric Brody, MD
Lake Oswego

Rant ? rant, mouth off, jabber, spout, rabbit on, rave. Bit emotive!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

USA - Skagit County will add fluoride to water supply

Skagit County will add fluoride to water supply
05:31 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 15, 2007
By ROB PIERCY / KING 5 News
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - People in Skagit County will have fluoride added to their municipal water supply.
Tuesday, county commissioners voted in favor of fluoridation – an issue that has divided the community for years and could now end up in a courtroom.
It was a mix of cheers and jeers Tuesday as Skagit County commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of fluoridating the county's water system.
Commissioner Sharon Dillon cast the lone opposing vote.
"I could not assure myself that this was 100 percent the right thing to do for Skagit County," she said.
For years, people on either side of the fluoride issue have battled it out, each pointing to studies that support their respective positions, some suggesting fluoride can cause cancer and brittle bones while the overwhelming majority of science shows it helps prevent tooth decay.
"We appreciate what the commissioners have done and in a few years, they'll see the benefits in their healthcare costs," said Dr. Harold McClure, fluoride supporter. "This decision affects some 65,000 Skagit County residents who get their water from the public system.
That is why some people are upset and threatening to sue the county. In an advisory vote last year, only a slight majority cast ballots in favor of fluoridation. Jo Roark says everyone else shouldn't have what she and others call "forced medication."
Their next move will be trying to get new people on the county commission. "We're going to just continue fighting this, kind of in the background, and getting them out of office," she said. In the meantime, work is already underway on a grant to pay for fluoridation equipment at Skagit County's Judy Reservoir. The only cost to taxpayers, we're told, will be upkeep and supplies, and that will be fairly inexpensive.
There have been fights over fluoridation in several Western Washington communities. In 2005, people in Bellingham voted against fluoridating that city's water.

Dry infant formula contains up to 3.98 parts per million (ppm) of fluoride.

Baby formula, fluoride alert
WITH fluoridation of Wodonga’s drinking water to commence on May 23, it’s time to consider ways of minimising total fluoride intake to protect the most vulnerable.
Infants are in particular danger of overdose as some infant formulas have high levels of fluoride.
The National Health and Medical Research Council in 1991 suggested a need to lower fluoride intake in infants.
The suggestion was based on a study that found that dry infant formula contains up to 3.98 parts per million (ppm) of fluoride.
The Health Department would have us believe that 1ppm is safe and yet some infants are receiving almost 5ppm of fluoride when they drink Nan formula mixed with fluoridated water.
Every formula exceeded 1ppm when mixed with fluoridated water.
There is no indication of fluoride content on infant formula tins to alert parents of the danger.
Infant formula manufacturers all claim that they do not have to list the fluoride content on their packaging because they did not put the fluoride in the formula, the fluoride is in the milk before them receiving and packaging it.
Breast milk contains 0.01ppm of fluoride — perfect for infants.
No one in authority will tell you what the fluoride levels are in formulas, not even manufacturers.
The World Health Organisation stated that before fluoride being added to a water supply, the existing fluoride intake should be measured — no studies are ever done.
Studies of children’s teeth show 45 per cent in fluoridated areas have some form of dental fluorosis which is a fluoride overdose — the first visible signs of poisoning.
Recent studies indicate that infants and children under six years should have no added fluoride.
Use unfluoridated toothpaste and select infant formulas that have a low fluoride content.
Others who are at risk from increased fluoride are those with low thyroid function, kidney or liver disease, those on fluoridated medications, those taking fluoride tablets — about 5 per cent of the population is allergic to fluoride.
For more information contact Marilyn on 0409 511 484.

— MARILYN EDGAR,

President, Fluoride Education Awareness Team

USA - Board OKs fluoridation plan

Walker board OKs fluoridation plan
Published: May 16, 2007 - Page: 3b
WALKER — The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to institute a water fluoridation program to help fight tooth decay in the community.
The decision during Monday’s meeting ended months of planning and discussions about the program which promises to afford Walker residents a defense against tooth decay and other dental problems.
The cost of obtaining necessary equipment to begin the fluoridation process will be largely borne by the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals. A grant from DHH that had been delayed for several months has won final approval, Mayor Travis Clark told the council.
Dr. C.J. Richard, a Walker dentist, told the council that the primary beneficiaries of the fluoride treatment would be infants, children and youths through their teenage years.
He added that fluoride in the water should help reduce tooth decay for all residents.
Richard said that he had researched other communities of similar size to Walker and had learned that the cost of the treatment would be about $500 per month.
Noting that the town has about 4,200 water “hookups,” he said that the cost breaks out at about 13 cents for each water user.
Richard conceded the fluoride program will be something of an extra burden on the town’s Water Department crews but said that the equipment is not difficult to use and has a fail-safe feature.
“This is a good thing to do, but it’s your decision,” Richard said., “The benefits have been proven over and over again for many years. I recommend that you accept the grant now and move ahead with this fluoride program.”

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

UK - Oral health campaign is off and running

Oral health campaign is off and running
14th May 2007
Government ministers, MPs and Lords joined dentists at the House of Commons as the British Dental Health Foundation officially launched National Smile Month.
The national campaign to improve oral health education runs from May 13 to June 12 using the tagline Two Minutes Twice a Day to raise awareness of the importance of twice daily brushing as part of a good oral healthcare routine.
The Parliamentary launch, sponsored by P&G Professional Oral Health, included speeches by some of dentistry’s leading experts including Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the BDHF.
He said: ‘Brushing your teeth for two minutes twice-a-day with fluoride toothpaste is by far the most important thing when it comes to oral health – but clinical research has found that most people only brush for 45 seconds. People need to be made aware that good oral healthcare starts at home.
‘Our own research has found that one in five people brush less than twice a day, while one in 200 don’t even use a brush!
‘If everybody in the country were to adopt the ‘two minutes twice a day’ rule for brushing with fluoride toothpaste there is no doubt that we would see a significant improvement in oral health in this country.’
Juan Alanis, Western European Director of P&G Professional Oral Health, added: ‘We commend and wholeheartedly support the efforts of the British Dental Health Foundation to address the issue of compliance with respect to two-minutes brushing. Indeed, our leading power toothbrush Triumph will shortly be launched with a wireless remote display, which amongst other things, will help take the guesswork out of brushing duration.’
For more information on National Smile Month visit the website www.nationalsmilemonth.org

Survey asks these questions.

Fluoride helps whiten teeth Fluoride is a mint flavour Fluoride can help reduce decay Fluoride is a marketing gimmick

7- Is your water supply fluoridated? Yes No Don't know

7a- Would you like it to be? Yes No