Fluoride Treatments
Get Fluoride in Water!!
In 1975, The Journal of the American Medical Association called it "the most common disease of mankind." A few years later, the National Institutes of Health termed it "the leading chronic disease of childhood." The illness referred to was tooth decay, a disorder that may well be on its way out in St. Petersburg, Florida, starting December 7. That is the date when tiny amounts of fluoride will be added to the water of St. Petersburg, Gulfport, South Pasadena, Bay Pines, and Oldsmar.
Numerous responsible studies over the past 40 years have proven beyond a doubt the immense value of adding fluoride to public drinking water. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association, the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Research Council, and every surgeon general since the mid-1950s all have agreed that water fluoridation is a cheap, effective and safe way to reduce cavities, especially in children. Over half of all 12 year old children who live in an area where the water is fluoridated are cavity-free!
Nearly 61% of all Americans drink fluoridated water. So why has it taken so long to add fluoride to our water? One reason is that the debate over fluoride has been taken out of the scientific and thrown into the political arena. A second reason is that many opponents of fluoridation condemn the practice by misrepresenting legitimate scientific research. Scare tactics that fluoride causes birth defects, cancer, heart disease and arthritis are frequently voiced. The discussion becomes intense and emotional rather than calm and objective. The well respected magazine, Consumer Reports, stated in 1978, "The simple truth is that there is no scientific controversy over the safety of fluoridation. The practice is safe, economical, and beneficial. The survival of any controversy is one of the major triumphs of quackery over science in our generation."
What is fluoride, and how does it work? Fluoride is a trace nutrient found naturally in most food, water, rocks and soil. Its specific function is to help teeth resist dental decay or cavities, and it may reverse the caries process once it's begun. When a baby's teeth are developing (before they erupt or appear in the mouth), the fluoride the baby swallows becomes part of the tooth's outer layer, the enamel. Teeth that incorporate fluoride during this crucial period are strengthened against cavities, because the fluoride makes the enamel more difficult for decay- producing acids to dissolve. After the teeth have erupted, fluoride in saliva not only inhibits tooth decay but also causes early cavities to remineralize.
The benefits of optimal fluoride exposure during childhood last throughout adult life, reducing cavities, root decay and tooth loss. Therefore, even adults benefit from continuing topical use of fluoride by reducing dental-care costs from fewer lost teeth and partial dentures. Moreover, several medical centers in the United States are using sodium fluoride as one part of an experimental treatment for osteoporosis, the bone-thinning that afflicts so many older people.
Is fluoridation expensive? The average national cost of fluoridation is about 20 cents per person per year. According to the Centers for Disease Control, every $1 spent on fluoridation saves up to $75 on dental bills. No other method produces comparable caries protection more economically. Eight of the 50 states have passed laws making fluoridation mandatory, and in another 10 states more than 90 percent of the population drinks fluoridated water.
Children living in non-fluoridated areas of Pinellas County should continue to receive supplemental fluoride available by prescription from their child's pediatrician or dentist. In addition, children who drink bottled or well water should also receive added fluoride. Parents of infants being feed breast milk or a ready-mixed formula should contact their child's physician to determine if fluoride drops are needed.
Fluoride has been used safely for so many decades that few adults should worry about its safety. Extensive research has proven conclusively that consumption of fluoridated water does not cause cancer, kidney dysfunction, heart disease, allergies or blood problems, as some have alleged. As one of the most thoroughly studied community-health measures in recent history, fluoridation has proven to be safe and effective--and that's fact, not controversy.
As a reminder, this column is being written to draw attention to the
issues discussed, and should not be relied upon as medical advice and is not
intended to replace the advice of your child's physician.
We would like to thank All Children's Hospital for this article. The link is below!