#64 July/August 2003
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
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A Fortress of Bureaucracy
How Tom Ridge's Department of Homeland Security plans to make us safe
by Briana Olson

Free Press Wins Project Censored Recognition

Your Smile Creaks
poetry by Kelly Russell

Rubber Ducky Contest Winner

High Schools Must Give Equal Rights to Gay-Straight Clubs
from ACLU of Washington

Spokane Restricts Free Speech
from ACLU of Washington

Mark Twain: "I Am an Anti-Imperialist"
by Norman Solomon

My New Phase
by Howard Pellett

War, Inc.
The profits of mass destruction
by John Glansbeek & Andrea Bauer

Peace is Not Relative
quotes from Albert Einstein compiled by Imaginal Diffusion

Myths We Have Been Taught
list of falsehoods by Styx Mundstock

Recycling the Phantasmagoria
by Joe Follansbee

SARS Scam?
Suspicions surface over the origin of the virus and the manipulation of its media image
by Rodger Herbst

Seattle P-I Skips the Facts on Flouride
by Emily Kalweit

Bayer Moves to Block Families' Legal Action
from the Coalition Against Bayer Dangers

Toward a Toxic-Free Future
by Washington Toxics Coalition staff

The Un-Ad
by Kristianna Baird

California: 'Not Simply Real Estate'
book review by Robert Pavlik

Your Vote Belongs to a Private Corporation
by Thom Hartmann

Seattle P-I Skips the Facts on Flouride

by Emily Kalweit

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial board should get a "D minus" grade for their May 27 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. (www.oralhealthamerica.org/MissingtheMark.pdf) 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 (www.keepers-of-the-well.org/WA_stats.pdf).
  • 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." (www.fluoridealert.org/topical-systemic.htm). 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. (www.keepers-of-the-well.org/Dept_of_Health_survey.pdf). These environmental concerns have motivated Environment Canada (an agency similar to our EPA) to recommend strict guidelines for inorganic fluoride within fresh water. (www.ec.gc.ca/ceqg-rcqe/English/Html/GAAG_Fluoride.cfm)

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.



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