Letter to editor in Seattle,WA on fluoride

[Guest guest]

-

<arnoldgore

Letter to editor in Seattle,WA on fluoride

 

 

A similar editorial, as the one I sent out this a.m. in the Tri City Herald,

appeared in a Seattle newspaper last month. Emily Kalweit responded with a

letter. Her very well-referenced letter is below so we all know what a sham

the

oral health america report card is.

 

Dear Editor

 

The Post-Intelligencer's editorial board should get a D- for their May 27th

editorial, " Fluoride puts dent in oral health woes. " The editorial painted a

woeful picture regarding oral health care here in Washington, mainly due to

our " very spotty job of putting fluoride in water. "

 

The editorial failed to analyze both the status of oral health care within

this state and the effectiveness of fluoridation.

 

One would hope that the editorial board could have taken a few minutes to

investigate the following points: This 2003 " Keep America Smiling " report by

the

Oral Health America foundation provided no statistics on the cavity rates

amongst children here in Washington State. How can this publication possibly

make

an assumption about dental health of our kids without this critical piece of

information?

 

Oral Health America's first report, which was published in 2000,

demonstrated

that Washington was one of only three states in the nation to receive an A

in

the category that evaluated actual cavity rates. (<A

HREF= " http://www.oralhealthamerica.org/MissingtheMark.pdf " >

http://www.oralhealthamerica.org/MissingtheMark.pdf</A>)

 

That year, a lower State Grade of C was only applied after assessing

achievement of social agendas, such as the percentage of the state that is

fluoridated, for which Washington received a D. Regarding the effectiveness

of

fluoridation: a 1995 study -- the Washington State Children's Dental Survey,

a statewide

comprehensive examination of about 3,000 children within this state --

proved

that there is no significant difference in cavity rates between fluoridated

and non-fluoridated areas (<A

HREF= " http://www.keepers-of-the-well.org/WA_stats.pdf " >http://www.keepers-of

-the-well.org/WA_stats.pdf</A>).

 

This should come to no surprise to many professionals within the dental

community -- the fact is, fluoride works topically, not through ingestion.

As one

dental researcher put it, " There is now overwhelming evidence that the

primary

caries-preventive mechanisms of action of fluoride are post-eruptive through

'topical' effects for both children and adults. " (<A

HREF= " http://www.fluoridealert.org/topical-systemic.htm " >

http://www.fluoridealert.org/topical-systemic.htm</A>).

 

In other words, ingesting fluoride is about as effective as ingesting

sunscreen to stop a sunburn. Not only is fluoridation ineffective, it adds

to the

burden of toxins that permeate our state waters.

 

In February 2000, a toxicologist within our state health department found

numerous red flags that implicated fluoride as being harmful to salmonids

and

invertebrates at very low levels. (<A

HREF= " http://www.keepers-of-the-well.org/Dept_of_Health_survey.pdf " >

http://www.keepers-of-the-well.org/Dept_of_Health_survey.pdf</A>).

 

These environmental concerns have motivated Environment Canada (an agency

similar to our EPA) to recommend strict guidelines for inorganic fluoride

within

fresh water. (<A

HREF= " http://www.ec.gc.ca/ceqg-rcqe/English/Html/GAAG_Fluoride.cfm " >http://w

ww.ec.gc.ca/ceqg-rcqe/English/Html/GAAG_Fluoride.cfm</A>)

 

Certainly, there are many children within our state who need assistance with

their oral health care. But first, let's have an impartial and

factually-based

analysis before solutions are drawn. Emily Kalweit

 

 

CK

New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

<A

HREF= " http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof " >http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof</

A>

<A HREF= " http://tinyurl.com/ad9k " >http://tinyurl.com/ad9k</A>

 

Fluoride Action Network

<A HREF= " http://www.fluoridealert.org/ " >http://www.fluoridealert.org</A>