While not their intention, studies by dentist/researchers indicate fluoridation fails to reduce tooth decay, especially in the poor. And that, fluoride, above that found in toothpaste, confers no alleged benefit to the majority(14).

Organized dentistry keeps this information from open public debate by adopting the "no comment" approach as outlined in the Spring 2002 Journal of Public Health Dentistry. (18). "One of the possible modes of action against the increasing antifluoridation wave is restraint and avoidance of any confrontation. This 'no comment' approach, (is) often mentioned in the American literature...," report dentists Vered & Sgan-Cohen. So here is information dentists hope you'll never see or question:

· In CONNECTICUT, 88.8% fluoridated for decades, cavity rates increased -
average number of decayed, missing, or filled tooth surfaces (dmfs) increased
from 2.8 to 3.0 and average dmfs in cavity-positive children increased substantially
from 5.7 to 7.9, recently reported (1) by Connecticut Dentists.

· In fluoridated NEWBURGH, NEW YORK, despite 50 years of fluoridation, many children have more cavities than never-fluoridated Kingston, New York, according to a New York State Department of Health study (2).

· National cavity rates average 1.4 DMFT (decayed, missing, filled teeth)(3) in over 62% fluoridated U.S.A.

· UTAH is the least fluoridated state in the nation. In 1982, the average 8
year old child surveyed had 1.02 dental caries in permanent teeth that decreased to
0.64 in 1996.(16)

· A FLORIDA fluoridated county - Three- to five-year olds studied averaged 3.05 to 4.05 dmfs(4). (Children have 128 tooth surfaces, in 28 teeth. So, dmfs is a more sensitive cavity counter than dmft. Some teeth have five surfaces.)

· American-Indian children living in one of the least fluoridated states, California, (15.7% fluoridated) have the most decay-free teeth that average 6.6 dmfs for children ages 2-5 . While American Indian children living in fluoridated Tucson, Arizona, have the least decay-free teeth averaging 9.8 dmfs for children aged 2-5.(15)

· American Indian children, ages 5-14 average 5.4 DMFS in fluoridated areas and 5.5 DMFS in non-fluoridated areas. (17)

· Non-fluoridated LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, second-graders are more cavity-free than nationally (5) ranging from no cavities to 0.6 dmfs in 1987-88.

· NEW YORK CITY, fluoridated for decades, 7-8 year-olds averaged 2.43 to 3.14 dft (decayed, filled primary teeth) 1993, according to "Dispelling the Myth that 50 Percent of US Schoolchildren Have Never Had a Cavity," by dentists Edelstein and Douglass(6).

· Edelstein and Douglass cite studies that show:
1. CALIFORNIA, the fluoridated parts - 4.80 dfs in a group of 3- to 5-year olds - 1990.
2. Fluoridated NORTH CAROLINA - peak rates of 5.3 for 9-year-old males and 4.7 for 8-year-old females - 1990
3. Fluoridated TENNESSEE - Peak rates of 7.26 dfs and 2.61 dft at age 7

· Fluoridated TENNESSEE - five- to eleven-year-olds averaged 6.94 dfs (7)

· Fluoridated IOWA - low socioeconomic 8-year-olds 4.0 dfs(8)

· Nonfluoridated FINLAND decay rates lower than U.S. - 1.1 dmft for 5-year-olds and 0.2 DMFT for 6-year-olds.(10)

· UGANDAN (Africa) 10- to 14-year-old children, with water their only fluoride source, have less cavities than U.S children(9) that increase along with greater water fluoride levels.

· IRELAND, 73% fluoridated - 12-year-olds are more cavity-prone than 12-year-olds in four non-fluoridated European countries and 10% fluoridated U.K.(11).

· Cavities declined WORLD-WIDE, even in non-fluoridated countries (See: www.fluoridealert.org/abstracts.htm).

· U.S. children are over-fluoridated(12). Yet, "(t)he nation's dentists are beginning to notice an alarming rise in cavities among children and teens," reports the Wall Street Journal(13).

Tooth decay is associated with poverty and poor diet; not lack of fluoride. Money spent on fluoridation is literally money gone down the drain at a time when government agencies are cutting back on health and dental treatment for the poor.

"It's pointless to fluoridate water when the documented health risks of fluoride far overshadow any possible benefit, if any," says lawyer Paul S. Beeber, President, NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation. "Lack of fluoride is not associated with tooth decay, and fluoride won't help a poor diet as these studies and reports show," says Beeber

References on our website: www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp

Contacts: Paul Beeber, NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, nyscof-AT-aol.com, www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof & www.fluoridealert.org

David Kennedy, DDS, davidkennedy-dds-AT-cox.net, Preventive Dental Health Association emporium.turnpike.net/P/PDHA/health.htm