Dentists Award the Toothless & Cavity Prone
	Food, Not Fluoride, Reduces Cavities
	Cavities Double After Fluoridation
	More Fluoride = Less Teeth
	Kids Need Dentists, Not Fluoridation
	Fluoridation Extinguishes Smiles
	Osteoarthritis Linked to Fluoridation
	Fluoride Linked to Lowered IQ
	Kids Eat Too Much Fluoride From Foods
	Fluoridation Won't Stop Toddler Cavities

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Dentists Are Not Fluoride Experts, Scientists Report
New York -- January 2003 -- Dentists unfamiliarity with current fluoride science is reported by several university researchers at major dental research meetings. While dentists and fluoride manufacturers flourish, tooth decay rates creep upward.(1-8)

Parents are directed towards dentists for fluoride advice, but over 26% of dentists responding to a University of Texas (UT) survey feel unqualified to assess a patient_s fluoride needs.(a) Only 2% of Houston public dental clinics used American Dental Association approved fluoride products and techniques(b) according to another UT survey.

"California Public Health Professionals display positive attitudes toward use of fluorides, but demonstrate a lack of knowledge," according to a University of California study (c).

More evidence that dentists don_t keep up with current fluoride research will be presented at the annual American Association of Dental Research meeting, March 12-15 2003, in San Antonio, Texas (d) Over, 55.% of dentists surveyed _perceived a greater role for systemic fluorides than topical fluorides in caries prevention,_ according to a UT study funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).(e) Actually, CDC fluoride recommendations say, _Fluoride works primarily after teeth have erupted._ (f) and ingested fluoride leads to disfiguring dental fluorosis, white spotted, yellow or brown permanently stained teeth.

_...it often take two decades before new knowledge is integrated into (dental) clinical practice.., according to the Forsyth Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry. (g)

"Most of what dentistry does is not supported by valid science we are told by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference on Tooth Decay(h),_ says lawyer Paul S. Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation (NYSCOF).

Even pro-fluoride dental researchers worry that the lack of evidence-based-dentistry practiced in the US will hurt their reputations. For example, Dentist Amid Ismail, Professor, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, in a report to the NIH panel wrote, "If the current weak trend of caries research in the United States continues, history will be harsh on all of us for our failure to use our knowledge and resources to reduce, if not eliminate, the burden of one of the world's most prevalent diseases." (i)

A chasm is growing between the practice of dentistry in the US and the oral health needs of the nation. According to Mertz and O_Neil in Health Affairs, _By many measures, the practice of dentistry has improved for the dentist over the past decade. Hours of work are down, and compensation is increasing. However, there is a growing disconnect between the dominant pattern of practice of the profession and the oral health needs of the nation._ (j )

_Scientists tell us that American children are over-fluoridated and should cut back on fluoride use; yet tooth decay rates in the US continue to climb and dentists continue to instigate fluoridation schemes in our cities and towns,_ says Beeber. _Fluoridating water supplies is a waste of money, endangers children_s health and is ineffective,_ he says. _And there is no evidence that switching to bottled water has increased cavities (k),_ says Beeber.

_Dentists lack of fluoride knowledge may actually cause rather than prevent cavities,(l)_ says Beeber.

_Cavities increase in people with severe fluoride overdose according to the dental textbook, _Dentistry, Dental Practice and the Community,_ by Burt and Eklund. But few practicing dentists seem to know this. Burt and Eklund explain that fluoride concentrations in drinking water, form a J-shaped curve. With increasing fluoride levels, cavity experience diminishes to a certain point and then starts to rise again. The true relationship between water fluoride levels and dental decay is the J-shaped curve, with the turning point in the J being something between 3 and 4 times the optimal level, they write. Studies show this level is already exceeded by many American children,_ according to Sally Stride, Suite 101 Fluoridation Editor.(m)

(1) _Are Cavity Rates Rising,_ Delta Dental http://www.deltanj.com/kids_club/news_wisdom_1002.shtml#6

(2) NBC Arkansas News Report http://www.arkansasnbc.com/weeklys/parenting/apr02/index.shtml _Are the amount of cavities rising in children?_

(3) University of Rochester News Release _Dental cavities on the rise again; back to 'drill and fill' http://fluoride.oralhealth.org/papers/2000/eurekaalert040800.htm

(4) _Rise in tooth decay may be tied to sugary pop, sports drinks and even bottled water,_ Seattle Times http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/healthscience/134458074_cavity21.html

(5) _Early Childhood Tooth Decay,_ by Stephen R. Branam, D.D.S http://www.drbranam.com/pgeArticle_Early.htm

(6) _Special Report: Cincinnati's dental crisis,_ http://enquirer.com/editions/2002/10/06/loc_special_report.html

(7) The Wall Street Journal, _Health Journal: As kids' cavities rise, some dentists advocate using tooth sealants,_ Tara Parker-Pope, March 8, 2002

(8) _Dentists Show Fluoridation a Failure,_ http://www.healthsentinel.com/News/Flouride.htm

(a) Knowledge and Attitudes of Fluoride Prescribing Among Dentists in Houston, S.D. Turner, S. Narendran, H. Keene, J.T. Chan, University of Texas Dental Branch, Houston, Texas http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2001aadr/abstractimages/03H-270A.gif

(b) Fluoride Use by Public Dental Clinics in the Houston Area, D.P. Warren and J.T. Chan (UT-Houston Dental Branch, Houston, Texas (presented t the 30th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the AADR (March 200l) http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2001aadr/abstractimages/03G-115A.gif

(c) Fluoride Use Guidelines: Dissemination to California Public Health Professionals S.J. SILVERSTEIN, UCSF School of Dentistry, USA, and J. KERNER, University of California Berkeley, USA http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2002SanDiego/techprogram/abstract_9374.htm

(d) http://iadr.org/Meetings/2003/SanAntonio/main.htm http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2003SanAnton/ techprogram/2003SanAnton_Thursday.html

(e) Dentists' Opinions about Fluoride Supplements and Prescription Practices S.NARENDRAN, J.T. CHAN1, S.D. TURNER1, and H.J. KEENE2, 1 Dental Branch, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA, 2 University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2003SanAnton/techprogram/abstract_25857.htm

(f) Recommendations for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control Dental Caries in the United States August 17, 2001 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5014a1.htm

(g) The Forsyth Institute Evidence-Based Dentistry _FORSYTH TO HOLD FIRST COMPREHENSIVE U.S. EVIDENCE-BASED DENTISTRY CONFERENCE JAN 10-18, 2003._ http://www.massdental.org/prof/event.cfm?evnt_id=446

(h) http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof/_pgg9.php3

(I) http://www.lib.umich.edu/dentlib/nihcdc/abstracts/ismail.html

(j) http://www.healthaffairs.org/1130_abstract_c.php?ID=http://www.healthaffairs.org/Library/v21n5/s11.pdf

(k) http://www.nofluoride.com/UPI_bottled_water.htm

(l) http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/11749/80008

(m) http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/fluoridation

For more information, contact:

Paul S. Beeber President & General Counsel New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation PO Box 263 Old Bethpage, NY 11804 nyscof@aol.com

Web site:

http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

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