Dentists Are Fluoride Misinformed

New York – Bottled water does NOT contribute to tooth decay despite dentists scientifically unverifiable cautions disseminated through the media. Studies actually show the opposite. America’s children are fluoride-overdosed, it’s ruining their teeth and researchers advise cutting back.



The Centers for Disease Control reports from 1/3 to 1/2 of U.S. schoolchildren sport dental fluorosis1 – white-spotted, discolored and/or sometimes pitted teeth, caused by fluoride over-ingestion.



The Academy of General Dentistry advises against fluoridated water for infant formula or food preparation because many studies show this ups children’s fluorosis risk.2



The U.S. Surgeon General reports that excessive fluoride increases susceptibility to cavities.3



To avoid crippling skeletal fluorosis, the Environmental Protection Agency sets 4 parts per million (ppm) or 4 milligrams per quart of water as fluoride’s maximum contaminant level.4



The Iowa Fluoride Study’s principal investigator, Steven Levy, found that some babies exceed that level daily. Furthermore, Levy found 90% of 3-month-olds consumed over their recommended fluoride levels.5



Levy et al. report, “There is no specific nutritional requirement for fluoride…given the increased prevalence of fluorosis, it may be necessary to revise downwards the adequate intake levels of fluoride.”



Levy also found:



- 77% of soft drinks had fluoride levels greater than 0.60 ppm

- two ounces of baby chicken food provides baby’s maximum dose

- foods high in fluoride – teas, dry infant cereals, dried chicken, and seafood

- grape juice, especially white, contains very high fluoride levels

- 42% of juice and juice drinks tested revealed unlabeled fluoride levels greater than 0.60 ppm

- cereals processed in fluoridated areas contain from 3.8 to 6.3 ppm fluoride


The USDA provides a database of fluoride contents of food

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Fluoride/Fluoride.html


Reports that bottled-water drinkers risk more cavities are unsubstantiated. The Wall Street Journal reported, “Little research has been done on the use of bottled water and risk of tooth decay, dental experts concede.6" UPI wrote: “(P)ublished literature shows little cause for alarm.7” Australians drinking fluoridated or non-fluoridated water have similar cavity rates.8

“Fluoride ingestion, whether through tap or bottled water, delivers health risks without benefits, says Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.. "I urge Dentists to read the mounting scientific literature indicating fluoride's harm and ineffectiveness and not remain fluoride-misinformed.”

Adequate daily intake of fluoride from all sources, according to the Institute of Medicine, in order to avoid moderate fluorosis9, which the ADA describes as "All tooth surfaces affected; marked wear on biting surfaces; brown stain may be present10:”

· infants up to 6 months old - less than 0.01 mg
· babies from 6 - 12 months - less than 0.5 mg
· children from 1 to 3 years old - less than 0.7 mg
· children from 4 to 8 years old - less than 1 mg

In 2003 the Center for Science in the Public Interest criticized the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) for "selling out" to the Coca-Cola company by accepting a $1 million grant from the company that produces cavity causing beverages.11 On January 31, 2006, the AAPD helped Coca-Cola launch their new product - fluoridated bottled water - in a joint news release which says, "The awareness campaign recognizes that children in the United States may not be getting enough fluoride.12"

There is no evidence that US children do not get "enough" fluoride.


References:

1) Beltrán-Aguilar et al. Surveillance for Dental Caries, Dental Sealants, Tooth Retention, Edentulism and Enamel Fluorosis – United States, 1988-1994 and 1999-2002. MMWR. CDC August 26, 2005

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5403a1.htm

Tara Parker-Pope. Wall Street Journal. "Some Young Children Get Too Much Fluoride," December 21, 1998 http://www.actionpa.org/fluoride/wsj.html


2) Monitor Infant's Fluoride Intake. News Release. Academy of General Dentistry, Accessed January 31, 2005 http://www.agd.org/consumer/topics/baby/fluoride.asp

3) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. Released in 2000; Page 203

4) Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2004 Edition of the Drinking Water Standards and Health Advisories. Washington DC. Winter 2004 http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/drinking/standards/dwstandards.pdf


5) "Current and future role of fluoride in nutrition," Warren & Levy,
Dental Clinics of North America 47(2003)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&...

6) Betsy McKay. Bottled Water and Tooth Decay: Kids May Not Be Getting Enough Fluoride. Wall Street Journal. January 24, 2006

http://money.aol.com/wsj/investing/3canvas?id=20060124065909990001

7) Joe Grossman. Bottled water not affecting tooth decay. UPI Science News, May 30, 2002 http://www.upi.com/inc/view.php?StoryID=30052002-022918-7269r

8) Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, August 2004 Consumption
of nonpublic water: implications for children's caries experience,
by Armfield JM, Spencer AJ. http://tinyurl.com/cetlf

9) Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Fluoride. Dietary Reference Intakes: Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press; 1997:288-313 http://darwin.nap.edu/books/0309063507/html/301.html

10) American Dental Association, Fluoridation Facts 2005
http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fluoride/facts/fluoridation_facts.pdf

11) http://www.cspinet.org/new/200303041.html



12) http://sev.prnewswire.com/health-care-hospitals


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New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.
PO Box 263
Old Bethpage, NY 11804

Press contact: Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coaltion Opposed to Fluoridation nyscof@aol.com

This release was published on openPR.