I was reading an article in the ADA Newsletter and felt some of the points were too good not to share.
The author. Mark Bronson, DDS, started with this great query?
Isn’t it funny that patients ask their dentist all of the time about the best toothbrushes, best toothpastes, rinses and flosses. Some will ask about foods and drinks that are good and bad for their teeth. But even here in my Bryn Mawr dental office I have never had a patient start a dialogue about the greatest dental healthcare initiative in history. One that the CDC called one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th Century.
You might have figures out that I’m talking about fluoridation of municipal water supplies.
I would call Dr. Bronson’s claim of at least a 25% reduction in decay in children and adults VERY conservative. Statics show the DMF (decayed, missing and filled) rates of teeth dramatically falling upon the initiation of municipal fluoridation over 70 years ago. The results have been incredible. Much more so that you will ever find from a fancy electric, sonic, oscillating, vibrating rota-brush-thinga-ma-bob. The trend continued until about 5 years ago when the combination of municipalities discontinuing fluoridation and people drinking more and more filtered water.
People’s main concern about public fluoridation are based around fluorosis and other diseases.
Fluorosis is a condition that afflicts people that are exposed to high amounts of fluoride in the water. It causes rock-hard teeth that can be disfigured and discolored. It has never been shown to be a problem in areas where the water is fluoridated at levels suggested for municipal supplies. The studies referencing fluorosis are either based on areas that naturally have levels exceeding the .7mg/l, or are areas where industrial waste has caused water supplies to have insanely high levels of fluoride in the water. This last situation is why the UN identified Fluoride as a neuro-toxin when ingested in these areas, NOT levels anything close to the .7mg/l recommended.
Please feel free to contact me at my Bryn Mawr Dental office at 610-525-5497 or email me if you have any questions about fluoride and it’s safety. The safety of municipal water fluoridation is one area that the dental community is in complete agreement as well as the overwhelming majority of the scientific community.
Yours in health,
D