Regional Council previously debated this issue in November of 2008. The decision at that time was to defer further consideration until Health Canada had finished its review of the research literature . It has taken a further 3 years of waiting but at last we do have the benefit of this thorough analysis. Health Canada concluded that fluoridation at the recommended level of .7ppm is safe, and effective in reducing the number of cavities in the general population.
During the last 6 months a steady stream of emails came to my 'in box' imploring me to vote against fluoridation. On the other hand vast amounts of research data also arrived at my home courtesy of our Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Bob Nosal. I also followed the fluoride debates as they popped up around the world from Florida, to Maine and Windsor to Auckland.
The 10 hour marathon meeting was quite extraordinary in that all 20 Regional Councillors were fully engaged throughout the day as delegation after delegation presented their particular point of view. Expert delegates included Dr. Peter Cooney, Chief Dental Officer, Health Canada, Dr. Arlene King, Ontario Chief medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Wood, Royal College of Dentists of Canada, Professor U of T.
The list went on and on of expert advisers who repeatedly reminded us of several pertinent points;
- Dental caries (cavities) is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases and as such it is also associated with many other diseases and poor health
- Scientific evidence must be weighted by its quality and applicability. In brief a study using humans is attributed a higher weight than a study using animals. In the case of fluoride we have ample opportunity to test it with humans.
- Thorough reviews of the literature such as was done by Health Canada conclude that fluoride is effective at reducing cavities and that fluoride at the recommended concentration does not cause the myriad of diseases that are sometimes attributed to it
- 90 national and international health and dental health organizations support fluoridation ( including Health Canada and the World Health Organization)
- Any substance in the wrong dosage can be poisonous. One can literally die from drinking too much water. As Dr. Wood illustrated, a bottle of tylenol pills will kill you but 2 pills will have a beneficial effect by reducing pain. It is all about the appropriate dosage.
- The fluoride in toothpaste should be treated with respect as it is much much more concentrated than what is in the water. So much so that great care should be taken to not swallow it.
- Water fluoridation is the great equalizer in that the poor who do not have dental plans or available funds for dental work benefit the most due to the reduced rate of dental decay.
In the end I chose to support fluoridation of our water supply because I believe it is wise to rely on the advice of experts who were unanimous in their support of the practice. At the same time I asked our MOH Dr. Nosal to revisit the information that we provide in our Pre Natal Classes. I think it is incumbent on us to inform new parents of the hazards of fluoride for infants. They need to know that young children should either use unfluoridated toothpaste or they should use only a very small amount of fluoridated toothpaste where they are taught to never swallow it.
If anyone is interested, the full 10 hours of the meeting can be viewed on the Region's website, http://www.halton.ca/cms/One.aspx?portalId=8310&pageId=72892
Should you actually take a look at it, I think you will be impressed by desire of Regional Councillors to fully understand the issue and come to an informed decision. Although many think that a health issue of such importance should be the purview of the provincial level of government, I believe that Halton Region handled it exceptionally well.
You state that experts said "In the case of fluoride we have ample opportunity to test it with humans" however, they did not offer any such evidence because they can not, because no such valid objective evidence exists.
ReplyDeleteThere have been biased reviews and studies of reviews made only by those who support fluoridation slanted and finessed to appear to be legitimate, but no real data have ever supported the claim that fluoridation prevents cavities using hydrofluorosilicic acid, the specific chemical contaminant used for water fluoridation in most of North America and almost exclusively in Canada.
As soon as I stopped drinking this fluoridated water, I started to heal from fibromyalgia. Does my MD agree, no, in spite of the fact that when I was inadvertently exposed to fluoridated beverages, I became ill again until I stopped drinking them. And I'm not alone in this type of situation. Go figure...
Look at the chemistry and you will understand why
What stood out to me (and I watched MOST of this meeting online) was Dr. Nosal's disregard for the parents who had their boiled tap water tested for fluoride and found the levels had increased to such a degree that exceed what is considered safe for a baby to ingest. Dr. Nosal dismissed these parents' concerns by saying they should have only boiled the water for 1 minute to make formula and not the 15 minutes they boiled it for the independent tests.
ReplyDeleteReally? That's your reply to concerned parents!? I boil potatoes and it takes more than 1 minute. I make chicken stock and boil the water for hours and hours - all the while increasing the concentration of fluoride in the water. I go out of my way to provide organic food for my family and then am disgusted that I have to wash and prepare it with water medicated with industrial waste. I volunteer with organic farms to get this food for my family - I can't afford expensive filter systems and bottled water. I was disturbed to hear some of the councillors admit to having the means to provide their families with filtered water (or who lived in areas NOT fluoridated) but still vote to give the 'poor folk' their unregulated, untested unsafe industrial grade fluoride. This council did a disservice to Halton residents by caving to Dr. Nosal's threats at the end of the meeting - he said he'd put out a 'study' right before the next election - well isn't that nice because we know now that pro-fluoride agencies always come up with pro-fluoride studies (that never seem to pass the muster to getting peer-reviewed and published?!). I expected more from this council. I expected campaign promises to be kept, I expected precautionary principle to be applied and I expected a decision that was more protective of the environment and all residents.
I was diagnosed with osteoporosis at the age of 25. I drank bottles of milk daily... in my teens and loved cheese and yogurt. During high school and college I worked out at the gym, after graduating I took a job at the railway repairing trains. I jumped on and off box cars, carried 100 pound knuckles to do my job. Why am I telling you this? I did everything right to support a healthy bone system. How could this have happened? I looked in my environment. You don't see weak bones in many cultures who don't fluoridate their water!
ReplyDeleteWho profits from adding fluoride to the water?...... The chemical companies. Who profits from suggesting pharmaceutical drugs to offset osteoporosis? Medical Doctors will only share science that they have read, for the most part, they do not have funds to do the research themselves. Scientists will only do studies if someone pays them to do the studies. Now? Have you seen the class action law suit against the drugs prescribed to people with brittle bones or osteoporosis?
My children had fluoride treatment as an option. I can choose the amount of fluoride I put on the end of my toothbrush. Why do I have no choice as to how much chemical I ingest in my water supply? How much fluoride do I require a day according to the "science" I feel more and more, I have to purchase bottled water to be able to measure what is safe and what is not. Very sad the counselors don't give us free will to make a choice. We will clearly not die without fluoride but the side effects of ingesting a toxic amount is never mentioned and we all know there has been many a day when there has been toxic levels of chlorine emitted in our drinking water........ to the point that Tim Hortons has been forced to use bottled water. I am presently seeking residence outside of this region. My health is more important to me. I hope your family living in the region never has the same health issues as Richard. Sad day for Halton for not hearing our voice.
Who are you trying to convince, yourself or your constituents for your decision? Theatrics, credentials and anecdotes are not science! Teeth are not the only thing that matters! Why did the council members not even demand to see proper safety, cost and efficacy studies on the substances used to literally contaminate our water! I could not believe how unprofessional the pro fluoride camp is yet most of the Halton councillors could not see this??? At least in Peel, thank heavens, there were some awake to see though all the arm waving and they did demand for proper safety studies which clearly don't exit. Why? And it does not take 10 hours to see through the the pro fluoride rubbish to see this. And prey tell who will pay for the poor mothers for clean water for their infants? The city? What a joke!
ReplyDelete-- All baby foods contain fluoride, according to research presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the International Association of Dental Research
ReplyDelete-- Commonly-consumed infant fruit juices contain fluoride, some at levels higher than recommended for pubic water supplies, according to research was presented 3/17/2011 at the International Association for Dental Research annual meeting in San Diego
-- All infant formula, whether concentrated or not, contain fluoride at levels that can discolor teeth - even organic, according to research published in the October 2009 Journal of the American Dental Association.
-- HHS Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Howard Koh, says all infant formulas, either concentrated or ready-to-feed, already contain some fluoride and, when routinely mixed with fluoridated water, increase the risk of dental fluorosis (discolored teeth), in a video commentary published on Medscape.com, March 8, 2011 References http://www.FormulaFluoride.Webs.com
-- The CDC reports that over 41% of 12-15 years olds are afflicted with dental fluorosis due to fluoride over-exposure. But no one is looking to see how fluoride may have adversely affected their bones, even though there's no dispute that excess fluoride damages bones.
Yet, Tooth decay crises are occurring in all fluoridated cities, states and countries http://www.FluorideNews.Blogspot.com
The USDA lists the fluoride content of some common foods here:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=6312
Legislators can't and shouldn't be asked to dose their constituetns with fluoride when they have no clue about how much is already being consumed by every individual.
Fluoride is neither a nutrient nor essential for healthy teeth. So there's really no good reason to dose people with it against their will.
Disappointing Jane.
ReplyDeleteWhere there's smoke there's fire an that's why this issue won't go away.
Many of us will not rest until this toxic chemical is removed from our water.
Don't put blind faith in the so-called experts. History has dictated how wrong they have been on so many occasions.
Thankfully my local councillor voted against fluoridation ... unfortunately his vote was not enough.
So disappointing.
I am very sorry that you feel it is YOUR choice to decide what medications my family takes. You liken this to Tylenol, which I also choose not to take on a regular basis. Regardless of what you choose to believe about fluoride, I would like it to be MY choice what artificial substances are put in my body and that of my young daughter.
ReplyDeleteIt is to Halton's great loss of personal freedom that you chose to vote as you did.
Had you listened to your constituents,
ReplyDeleteyou'd have noticed the informed ones were unaminously opposed?
Have a great day!
T. Boch
I appreciate that you have researched but I think your choice and decision were wrong. I do not want to be forced to drink something that I think is unnecessary and unsafe in the water that I pay well for.
ReplyDeleteWould just like to point out that the latest report from Health Canada is now headed that it is the opinion of the "expert panel" and not that of Health Canada. So the panel consists of 6 people, 4 pro-fluoride dentists and 2 burecrats, also pro-fluroide reviewing selected material. This is not much of an endorcement. Also the WHO is not hundreds of people studying this issue of fluoride, it is an office of about 30 people, mostly dentists. The WHO also did a study (2007) where 24 cities, fluoridated and non-fluoridated were compared and their was no difference in dental caries. World wide there are thousands of experts in this field who definitely do not recommending fluoride in the public drinking water. Some of these experts, medical Drs, chemists, biochemists, dentists, nurses, dental hygenists etc. While fluoride for the last 60 years has been regarded only in relationship to teeth it does affect the entire body and dentists are not the experts or even qualified to speak to those issues. Many other communities across Canada have also studied the science and voted to cease putting it in the public water while Europe voted against it many years ago. Once all dentists are taken out of the equasion because their mandate is to promote fluoride then the whole discussion becomes clearer. Most of Canada is not fluoridated and that percentage increases everyday - most have opted for safety and freedom of choice.
ReplyDelete