Truemors
New York – July 16, 2007 -- Fluoride supplements put
children six and under at significant risk of permanently discolored teeth,
according to a review of studies recently posted on the American Dental
Association’s (ADA) web site in their new section,
“evidence-based dentistry,” for dentists and their patients.
(1)
Fluoride supplements, in graduating
amounts up to 1 mg daily, are often prescribed to children who don’t drink
fluoridated water, ostensibly to reduce tooth decay.
“This review confirmed that in
non-fluoridated communities the use of fluoride supplements during the first 6
years of life is associated with a significant increase in the risk of
developing dental fluorosis, write researchers Ismail & Bandekar and first
published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, February 1999, (2) but
posted to the ADA’s website July 2007.
Fluoride ingestion, once thought to
reduce cavities, can lead to dental fluorosis – white spotted, yellow, brown
and/or pitted tooth enamel. Modern science indicates fluoride absorbs into tooth
enamel topically, primarily.(3)
Studies link dental fluorosis to
children’s kidney damage (4) and bone fractures
(5).
The ADA
and Centers for Disease Control recently advised that fluoridated water should
not be mixed into concentrated infant formula, in order to decrease dental
fluorosis risk – now a growing U.S. problem.
(6)
Never safety-tested by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration) (7), fluoride supplements do more harm than
good.(8)
“While
fluoride is proclaimed a significant cavity reducer, there is little, if any,
science to support that," says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State
Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.
A National Institutes of Health 2001 news release supports Beeber's
assertion: "... the (NIH) panel was disappointed in the overall quality of the
clinical data that it reviewed. According to the panel, far too many studies
were small, poorly described, or otherwise methodologically flawed." (9) Over
560 studies evaluated fluoride among those reviewed by the NIH Consensus
Development Program panel for the Diagnosis and Management of Dental Caries.
Recent research shows that fluoridation delivers risks with little, if
any, benefit.(10)
“Save
money, save our health, save the planet. Stop fluoridation,” says
Beeber.
References:
1) http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/ebd/reviews/fluoride_supplements.asp
2) "Fluoride supplements and
fluorosis: a meta-analysis," Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology, 1999
Feb;27(1):48-56, by Ismail & Bandekar .
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=10086926
3)
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5014a1.htm
4) "Dose-effect
relationship between drinking water fluoride levels and damage to liver and
kidney functions in children," Environmental Research,2007 Jan;103(1):112-6. Epub 2006 Jul 10, by Xiong, et.
al
5) "Dental and Early-State Skeletal
Fluorosis in Children Induced by Fluoride in Brick-Tea," Fluoride
2005;38(1):44–47 Cao, et. al
http://www.fluorideresearch.org/381/files/38144-47.pdf
6) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/s403a1t23.gif
7) http://fluoridedangers.blogspot.com/2005/12/fluoride-never-fda-approved-for.html
8) "The case for eliminating the use
of dietary fluoride supplements for young children," Journal of Public
Health Dentistry, Fall 1999, by Burt
9) http://consensus.nih.gov/2001/2001DentalCaries115html.htm
10) "Community Water Fluoridation and Caries Prevention: A Critical
Review," Clinical Oral Investigations, by Pizzo et.al, 2007 Feb 27; http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/Pizzo-2007.pdf
Comments (0)