| Seattle P-I Skips the Facts on Flourideby Emily KalweitThe 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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