Fictions about Fluoridation
Regrettably, distortions, exaggerations, misconceptions, half-truths, things taken out of context, and outright falsehoods often abound whenever fluori- dation is undertaken. Interestingly enough, they never appear again once a community has taken the step for better health through fluoridation. In other words, all the seemingly worrisome things simply disappear, with no subse- quent mention in the respected scientific literature, because they never existed in the first place. People continue to live their lives just as before, only with added protection for their health.
Why these falsehoods persist is anyone's guess, they are the equivalent of "spam," utterly useless and nonsensical and coming from out of nowhere, meant only to deceive, intrude upon people's attention, and detract from their daily living. This behavior is an oddity of human nature, but oddities and falsehoods should not stand in the way of science and fact, and of better health for everyone.
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A top-notch, very readable, and very well documented source on fluoridation is the ADA publication "Fluoridation Facts" which addresses these fictions standing in the way of better community health.
Keeping up with all these falsehoods can be an endless task (well, maybe permanent employment!) - which is probably what those opposed to better health through fluoridation want - so they keep "spamming." "Hitting the delete key" on this spam and replacing it with facts shows that "creative writing," to put it charitably, better describes these fictions about fluoridation than the claims of having "informed opinion," "the latest scientific findings," or "the real lowdown." Here are some examples:
1) If fluoride is so great, why is the World Health Organization (WHO)
opposed to it and many European countries have banned it?
First of all, a simple check of the WHO website shows that it is not
opposed to fluoridation, indeed it sees it as essential to reducing tooth
decay, worldwide. As for the European countries, none have banned
fluoridation, instead complex water systems with many sources, or the
poor state of water system infrastructure in former Iron Curtain
countries, have meant that the benefits of fluoride are derived through
other means.
******* 2) People can have serious allergies to fluoride.
This is taken directly from p. 34 of "Fluoridation Facts": "There are no
confirmed cases of allergy to fluoride, or of any positive skin testing in
human or animal models. A committee of the National Academy of Sciences
evaluated clinical reports of possible allergic responses to fluoride and
reported, 'The reservation in accepting (claims of allergic reaction) at
face value is the lack of similar reports in much larger numbers of people
who have been exposed to considerably more fluoride than was involved in
the original observations.' The World Health Organization also judged
these cases to represent 'a variety of unrelated conditions' and found no
evidence of allergic reactions to fluoride.
A 1996 review of the literature on fluoride and white cell function
examined numerous studies and concluded that there is no evidence of
any harmful effect on specific immunity following fluoridation nor any
confirmed reports of allergic reactions."
******* 3) The National Research Council says the EPA fluoride levels are too high.
What the NRC says explicitly is this: "Because fluoride is well known
for its use in the of prevention of dental caries [cavities], it is important
to make the distinction here that the EPA's drinking-water guidelines are
not recommendations about adding fluoride to drinking water to protect
the public from dental caries. Guidelines for that purpose (0.7 to 1.2 mg/L)
were established by the U. S. Public Health Service more than 40 years
ago."
******* yearly dental health checkup.
While of some benefit, weekly fluoride rinses are far from being as
effective as water fluoridation. What's more, not all kids participate
in this program, and the kids don't get these rinses when school is out.
As for the yearly checkups, they are just that, checkups, not treat-
ment. A very recent checkup on pre-K through 3rd-graders in Yarmouth
revealed that 52% had untreated decay. This in kids no older than 8.
This is needless suffering.
******* Indeed these were experts, highly qualified and dedicated professionals
who provided the board of selectmen and the board of health with accu-
rate, authoritative information on dental health and on fluoridation, and
answered their several questions, so that the responsible town bodies
could be quite well informed and totally confident in the information they
had in making an important decision benefiting all the people in town.
Insinuations aside from the use of the quotation marks around "experts,"
these people truly were expert, knowledgeable, authoritative, and pro-
fessional, rightly appearing before these two town boards.
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The unfortunate pattern is clear, the tactic is clear-- unfounded statements, disregard for the clearest of facts, a blind eye to the actual and needless suffering going on, and disparagement of people. Like spam, the falsehoods, the distortions, the word manipulations are meant to deceive, get attention for a brief while, annoy, and intrude, ultimately to say "no" to better health for everyone.
For the facts, go to this portion of the ADA website, and for a publication actually called "Fluoridation Facts," because it is just full of them, go here. To be sure, revisit the "Who Supports Fluoridation" page to see the organizations, and people well known about town, in whom one can place confidence about "doing the right thing" for everyone's better health.