Give Kids Their Smiles Back - Stop Fluoridation

One day a year, dentists country-wide celebrate “Give-Kids-A-Smile” day, (GKAS), with much self-promotion and merchandising. This year it’s February 2. But for the rest of the year, most dentists refuse children on Medicaid or other government-sponsored insurance (1).

Instead, dentistry promotes water fluoridation to remedy tooth decay disparities between haves and have-nots.

Unfortunately, that’s failing:

New York State Department of Health statistics (2) illustrate fluoridation’s inability to equalize cavity rates between low and high

socio-economic-status (SES) groups, and that fluoridation and tooth decay rates are not inversely related (3) See chart: http://www.freewebs.com/fluoridation/chart.htm

For example, non-fluoridated Nassau, Suffolk and Rockland Counties’ third-graders decay rates: 50%, 54% and 46%, respectively. In slightly fluoridated Albany County 38% have cavities.

Highly fluoridated NYS Counties include Monroe, Erie, Chemung, Broome, Wayne and Jefferson. Third-graders decay rates: 56%, 59%, 55%, 63%,66%,66% and 69%, respectively..

Despite fluoridated water reaching about ¾ of New Yorkers, 54% of third-graders have cavities and more untreated decay than third-graders nationally (33% vs 26%). Only one-fourth of NYS dentists submitted Medicaid claims (4).

Third-graders in 100% fluoridated New York City had more untreated cavities (38%) than their state and national counterparts (4).

Before organized dentistry became fluoride fixated, a 1950 Connecticut study, before fluoridation, clearly linked more fruit, vegetable and milk consumption to less cavities (5) Dentist Weston Price reported a similar correlation world-wide in his 1938 book, “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.”

Today Connecticut mandates fluoridation. Yet 48% of 4-year-olds suffer untreated cavities (6) partially because 85% of dentists won’t or can’t treat patients with low-paying government-sponsored insurance (7).

After 60 years of water fluoridation reaching 2/3 of Americans via public water supplies, virtually 100% via the food supply and fluoridated dental products a multi-billion dollar international business, up to ½ of U.S. schoolchildren sport fluoride overdose symptoms as dental fluorosis – white spotted, yellow or brown, sometimes pitted teeth (8) But tooth decay is still a national epidemic, especially among low-income Americans who can't find dentists willing or able to fix their rotting teeth.

Regardless of fluoride intake, modern science continues to show that young children with fewer cavities eat more produce (9). Only 12% of US kids eat enough fruits and vegetables.(10) And, the poor are priced out of healthful eating. (10a)

Cont'd & references: http://tinyurl.com/6kqtu