USA Using fluoride in water comes under scrutiny
Using fluoride in water comes under scrutiny
A taste-free, invisible substance flows through every tap in Iowa City. Coursing up and down pipelines, the city's fluoridated water has served essentially as free dental care for 61 years, officials say. But many researchers nationwide now argue that the substance could have some harmful side effects. One UI researcher is set on validating his theory that fluoride is still effective in preventing tooth decay.
UI dentistry Professor Steven Levy is in the process of gathering data from the women and children he studied between 1992 to 1995 about effects of fluoride use. The head researcher of the Iowa Fluoride Study will go to Ireland next week to discuss his findings, which concentrate on fluoride's effects from infancy to teenage years.
"Everyone benefits from fluoride in the water," said Levy, who is in the preventive and community dentistry department at the UI College of Dentistry.
But other experts believe harmful effects of fluoride outweigh its benefits. Officials from the Environmental Working Group - a group of scientists, engineers, policy experts, and lawyers who head environmental investigations - said fluoride in drinking water is not good and boosts the risk of cancer in young boys. Jovana Ruzicic, the organization's press secretary, said a Harvard University study revealed that boys ages 5 to 8 in communities with fluoridated water were five times more likely to develop bone cancer.
"There is no benefit, only damage," Ruzicic said. Though Ruzicic added that bone cancer may be relatively rare, a more common side effect found in such communities is dental fluorosis: brown staining and pitting of the teeth. Studies have shown that high concentrations of fluoride can damage tooth enamel, said John Doull, the chairman for a National Research Council study on fluoride in drinking water. Levy, the UI researcher, recognizes that such cosmetic and dental nuisances do occur among Iowa City residents because of the fluoridation.
A taste-free, invisible substance flows through every tap in Iowa City. Coursing up and down pipelines, the city's fluoridated water has served essentially as free dental care for 61 years, officials say. But many researchers nationwide now argue that the substance could have some harmful side effects. One UI researcher is set on validating his theory that fluoride is still effective in preventing tooth decay.
UI dentistry Professor Steven Levy is in the process of gathering data from the women and children he studied between 1992 to 1995 about effects of fluoride use. The head researcher of the Iowa Fluoride Study will go to Ireland next week to discuss his findings, which concentrate on fluoride's effects from infancy to teenage years.
"Everyone benefits from fluoride in the water," said Levy, who is in the preventive and community dentistry department at the UI College of Dentistry.
But other experts believe harmful effects of fluoride outweigh its benefits. Officials from the Environmental Working Group - a group of scientists, engineers, policy experts, and lawyers who head environmental investigations - said fluoride in drinking water is not good and boosts the risk of cancer in young boys. Jovana Ruzicic, the organization's press secretary, said a Harvard University study revealed that boys ages 5 to 8 in communities with fluoridated water were five times more likely to develop bone cancer.
"There is no benefit, only damage," Ruzicic said. Though Ruzicic added that bone cancer may be relatively rare, a more common side effect found in such communities is dental fluorosis: brown staining and pitting of the teeth. Studies have shown that high concentrations of fluoride can damage tooth enamel, said John Doull, the chairman for a National Research Council study on fluoride in drinking water. Levy, the UI researcher, recognizes that such cosmetic and dental nuisances do occur among Iowa City residents because of the fluoridation.
posted by Bill at
9:50 AM
1 Comments:
Any of Dr. Levy's students will clearly see that the Grand Rapids fluoridation experiment is invalid because the control city, Muskegon, was fluoridated five years into an experiment that was planned to last from ten to 15 years. (See: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/84/9/761.pdf )
Tooth decay rates went down in both cities.
It's interesting that Dr. Levy still defends fluoridation. His own research found almost double the dental fluorosis in early erupting permanent teeth of 9 year-olds drinking optimally fluoridated water compared to children drinking sub-optimally
fluoridated water (41% vs 21%); but no less tooth decay.
(http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/htsearch.cgi?words=Dental+caries+and+fluorosis+in+relation+to+water+fluoride+levels&action=search&formaction=http%3A%2F%2Fiadr.confex.com%2Fiadr%2Fhtsearch.cgi&meetingid=36&dir=techprogram&override=&exclude=%7C%2Fprogram%7C%2Fmeeting%7C%2Fsearch.html%7C%2Fsession&config=iadr&method=and&format=builtin-long&sort=score&restrict=http%3A%2F%2Fiadr.confex.com%2Fiadr%2F2006Orld%2Ftechprogram%2F)
He reported that most sodas have a fluoride content; but the soda drinkers and those drinking powdered drinks (presumably re-constituted with fluoridated tap water) still have more cavities regardless of fluoride intake.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16903438&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum
In our opinion, Levy's research shows that diet not fluoride is most responsible for less tooth decay.
http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/full/135/1/55
We're not so sure Dr. Levy's grants would continue to roll in if he said such a thing.
New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
Fluoridation News Releases
http://tinyurl.com/6kqtu
Tooth Decay Crises in Fluoridated Areas
http://www.fluoridenews.blogspot.com/
Fluoride Action Network
http://www.FluorideAction.Net
By
FluorideNews, at 07 September, 2006
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