SCIENTISTS FIND FLUORIDATION OUTDATED & QUESTION ITS
MORALITY
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See:
The Science and Ethics of Water Fluoridation by Howard Cohen, BA, MA, PhD and David Locker, BDS, PhD, Journal of the Canadian Dental Association, 2001; 67(10):578-80.
SCIENTISTS FIND FLUORIDATION OUTDATED & QUESTION ITS
MORALITY: Journal of the Canadian Dental Association
From New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridaton
December 02, 2001
NEW YORK - Fluoridation may be immoral with benefits
exaggerated and risks minimized, reports Howard Cohen, Ph.D.,
and David Locker, BDS, Ph.D., professor and director of the
Community Dental Health Services Research Unit, Faculty of
Dentistry, University of Toronto in the November, 2001, Journal of
the
Canadian Dental Association (http://www.cda-adc.ca/jcda/vol-
67/issue-10/eng/578.html), reports the New York State Coalition
Opposed to Fluoridation. "Ethically, it cannot be argued that past
benefits, by themselves, justify continuing the practice of
fluoridation," write Cohen and Locker.
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Fluoridation is a scientific controversy and substantial benefits
recorded in early fluoridation trials, 50 years ago, are no longer
found today, they write.
"Although current studies indicate that water fluoridation continues
to be beneficial, recent reviews have shown that the quality of the
evidence provided by these studies is poor," report the authors. The
few sound studies that exist indicate small differences in decay
between fluoridated and nonfluoridated child populations, they found.
Studies on Canadian populations show even less evidence that systemic
fluoride reduces tooth decay, they report; further, studies on adults are
largely absent.
Fluoridation does have risks. "Fluoridation increases the prevalence
and severity of dental fluorosis" (white spotted, yellow or brown
permanently stained teeth), they report.
"Currently, the benefits of water fluoridation are exaggerated by the use
of misleading measures of effect, such as percent reductions," writes
Locker and Cohen. "The risks are minimized by the characterization of
dental fluorosis as a 'cosmetic' problem."
"The impact of dental fluorosis from water fluoridation should not be
underestimated." says Hardy Limeback, PhD., DDS, Head of the Preventive
Dentistry, University of Toronto. "The percentage of the population with
severe enough dental fluorosis requiring costly dental restorations to
repair defective tooth structure has been steadily increasing. Dental
fluorosis should never have been classified as a simple 'cosmetic' side
effect - it is a biomarker for systemic fluoride poisoning during early
childhood. Research being conducted at the University of Toronto has shown
that low daily doses of systemic fluoride from drinking water and other
sources permanently affect bone and tooth growth and the mechanical
properties of these hard tissues," says Limeback.
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"Standards regarding the optimal level of fluoride in the water
supply were developed on the basis of epidemiological data
collected more than 50 years ago. There is a need for new
guidelines for water fluoridation that are based on sound, up-to-date
science and sound ethics. In this context, we would argue that sound
ethics presupposes sound science," they write.
"In the absence of comprehensive, high-quality evidence with
respect to the benefits and risks of water fluoridation, the moral
status of advocacy for this practice is, at best, indeterminate, and
could perhaps be considered immoral." writes authors Locker and Cohen. "In
the absence of a full account of benefits and risks, communities cannot
make a properly informed decision whether or not to fluoridate..."
Locker and Cohen also recognize that fluoridation doesn't allow
individuals to opt out, thereby, eliminating their freedom to choose. And,
they explain, psychological studies on adolescents show effects of dental
fluorosis are as serious a concern as overbite and overcrowded teeth.
"Cohen and Locker's investigation does not address other risks of
fluoridation that researchers report, but most dentists ignore,
including increased lead absorption in children, bone fractures,
neurological impairment, thyroid dysfunction and more," says lawyer
Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to
Fluoridation.
Contact:
Paul Beeber, NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation
[email protected]
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
Hardy Limeback, PhD., DDS, Head of Preventive Dentistry
University of Toronto. University of Toronto
[email protected]
http://www.fluoridealert.org
Source: NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation
For more information, contact:
Paul Beeber
President
New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridaton
516-378-7309
[email protected]
Web site: http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
See:
The Science and Ethics of Water Fluoridation by Howard Cohen, BA, MA, PhD and David Locker, BDS, PhD, Journal of the Canadian Dental Association, 2001; 67(10):578-80.
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