Last month I worked on a political commercial in support of adding flouride to the water supply. Last week I saw a sign with a ‘skull and cross-bones’ that said ‘NO FLOURIDE!’
Why the opposition? It seems like 1950s ‘Communists are trying to pollute our precious bodily fluids’ paranioa. People in cities with flouridated water have less tooth decay than cities that don’t. I used to get flouride applied directly to my teeth when I was a kid. While there are people out there who have fewer cavities than I (I’ve had three), I’ve seen people whose mouths were full of fillings. Flouride results in healthier teeth and lower dental bills. It adds a few cents to the water bill every month.
So why do people oppose it? Is there something about it of which I’m not aware?
One possible reason: scattered, if growing, interest in whether fluoridated water might be tied to certain forms of cancer…
BOSTON - Harvard University said it is investigating whether a dentistry professor who edits a newsletter funded by a toothpaste maker played down research showing an increased cancer risk from drinking fluoridated tap water.
The school will work with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to review Chester Douglass’ research into fluoride exposure and osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, Harvard Medical School spokesman John Lacey said.
The institute awarded a $1.3 million study grant in 1992 to Douglass, who found that the odds of having osteosarcoma after drinking fluoridated water were “not statistically different” from the odds for those who drank non-fluoridated water http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8570930/
Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk… ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children’s ice cream. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.
But seriously; some of those out there on the fringes are concerned about possible chronic health concerns regarding fluoride, especially with regard to prostate and colon cancer. Some studies have shown tenative links indicating a slight increase in these cancers as a result of exposure to fluorine. On the other hand, fluoridized water has been an enormous boon to the dental hygiene of the developed world, and one need only look at areas of the United States (such as some counties in New Jersey, South Carolina, Arkansas, et cetera) where water is not fluoridated to see the dramatic difference in quality of life and health for the population overall. If the tradeoff is a marginal increase in chronic illness over a lifetime versus a significantly reduced likelyhood of tooth decay and subsequent disablement (and potentially fatal infection) then the balance weighs for fluoridation.
Unless, of course, you are vitally concerned about the purity and essence of your natural bodily fluids.
I do not avoid women, Mandrake. But I…I do deny them my essence.
NOTE: I am not going to defend this position on the board, I am simply here to report what “they” are saying, as the OP asked:
“They” say that the fluoride we add to drinking water is not the same fluoride that naturally occurs in spring water.
“They” say that the added fluoride is a by-product of some industry (I forget which), which lobbied the gov’ment to let them dump their toxic waste (the fluoride) into the water without adequate safety studies being done.
“They” say that the type of fluoride added to water can interfere with calcuim storage and bone formation, causing the bones to make fluoride bonds instead of calcium bonds, which ultimately weakens bones and leads to porous bones. This is not true of the type of fluoride which is found in water naturally.
“They” say that added fluoride does not, in fact, reduce cavities at all, but instead slows the eruption of teeth, which plays a statistics game (a child may have fewer cavities at age 3, but that’s because he has fewer teeth.)
Finally, (and this one I and my dentist do agree with): *some *children are overly sensitive to fluoride and can develop dark stains, pits and other nasties on their teeth from drinking fluoridated water. WhyKid was one of these. We need to buy him spring water to drink. Ironically, as public awareness about the hazards of children drinking pop and juice becomes wider, more kids may begin drinking mroe water, which could potentially make fluorosis a bigger problem.