November/December 2001 Alternative Health
Evidence Against Fluoride Overwhelming

Oregon Citizens for Safe Drinking Water have brought to our attention a new document providing an excellent reviews of scientific literature on the effects of fluoride on our teeth. Entitled "Fluoride & Teeth:  Recent Findings," it was prepared by the International Fluoride Action Network (IFIN) and can be found on their website at  http://www.fluoridealert.org/f-teeth.htm. 

The document contains extensive quotes taken directly from recent scientific/medical/dental journals and textbooks, government documents and newspaper articles. Here is a very small sample:

Fluoridation's Effectiveness:
"Recent studies and reports agree that the differences in dental decay prevalence between fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas in New Zealand are small. For 12- and 13-year old children nationally the percentages who were caries-free in each kind of area differed by only 1 or 2 per cent, and were often higher in the non-fluoridated part of a health district." - Colquhoun, J. (1987). Studies Child Dental Health Differences in New Zealand. Community Health Studies. 6(3): 85-90.

Findings on Fluoridation-Cessation Effects:
"The prevalence of caries (assessed in 5,927 children, grades 2, 3, 8, 9) decreased over time in the fluoridation-ended community while remaining unchanged in the fluoridated community." - Maupome G, Clark DC, Levy SM, Berkowitz J. (2001). Patterns of dental caries following the cessation of water fluoridation. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 29(1):37-47.

Mechanism of Action - Topical Vs. Systemic:
"Although the predominant beneficial effect of fluoride occurs locally in the mouth, the adverse effect, dental fluorosis, occurs by the systemic route." - Formon, SJ; Ekstrand, J; Ziegler, E. (2000). Fluoride Intake and Prevalence of Dental Fluorosis: Trends in Fluoride Intake with Special Attention to Infants. J Public Health Dent 60(3):131-9.

Fluoride Supplements:
"The basis for the widespread acceptance of fluoride supplements in caries prevention is a large number of mostly small clinical trials in the late 1950's and 1960's. The early studies have been reviewed again recently in a series of publications and they have again been criticised (8, 13-15). The criticisms are serious and virtually none of the early fluoride supplement studies would be published today, because of methodological and other shortcomings. They present conclusions that are not supported by their data or consistent with their designs." - Riordan P J. (1999) Fluoride supplements for young children: an analysis of the literature focusing on benefits and risks. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology: Vol 27; 72-83, 1999. 

UNICEF on Fluoride:
"It has long been known that excessive fluoride intake carries serious toxic effects. But scientists are now debating whether fluoride confers any benefit at all." - UNICEF. Fluoride in Water: An Overview. See: www.unicef.org/programme/wes/info/fluor.htm

Dental Fluorosis:
"When I first saw that my teeth were discolored, I was teased quite a lot, especially in the middle school by people. They used to say, 'oh you don't clean your teeth or anything' and they used to call me 'shit teeth' which did upset me, even though I knew it was fluorosis." - Amanda Mathews, child with dental fluorosis. (1997). Don't Swallow Your Toothpaste. Health Alert. Channel 4. UK. http://www.fluoridealert.org/dsyt.htm