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Where are those fluoride shills, proclaiming the great benefits of involuntrary medicating everyone to improve teeth by osmosis(fluoride is applied topically)?
by FrozenVoid 8y ago
Where are those fluoride shills, proclaiming the great benefits of involuntrary medicating everyone to improve teeth by osmosis(fluoride is applied topically)?
Sooner or later, this will be on the same page of history as asbestos and leaded fuel.
- matthewmacleod 8y agoI mean there is pretty compelling evidence that water fluoridation reduces tooth decay in children. I’m not clear what your objection is - are you suggesting this is not the case?
- FrozenVoid 8y agohttp://fluoridealert.org/new-visitors/teeth/ http://fluoridealert.org/new-visitors/teeth/
- matthewmacleod 8y agoYeah, I think the chances of "fluoridealert.com" being a legitimate source of scientific information to be pretty slim.
- sjg007 8y agoDo kids really need fluoride before their adult teeth start to grow in?
- matthewmacleod 8y agoThey don't "need" it, but my understanding is that water fluoridation reduces rates of tooth decay in both deciduous and permanent teeth.
- philliphaydon 8y agoNot really. Tooth paste for kids generally doesn’t contain fluoride to begin with. But it’s still important to get kids into the habit of brushing and prevent gum disease.
- jtc331 8y agoMy understanding was that there is compelling evidence for topical application (e.g. how the dentist applies it as well as toothpaste) but not much evidence for water supply. Do you have a link to the research you mention?
- DrScump 8y agoThat's exactly the point: topical application vs. systemic ingestion. I've yet to see a credible model for ingestion having any uniformly beneficial effect. Toothpastes, rinses, and topical application by professionals are fine. Otherwise, I'll pass.
- mchannon 8y agoLet's put it this way: There is pretty compelling evidence that leaded gasoline reduces knocking in car engines, and that asbestos reduces fire deaths in buildings. No one's debating the direct goal of fluoride- it's the externalities that make the matter controversial.
- perculation 8y agoAlso the fact that there's already fluoride in food, perhaps more than we get from swallowing toothpaste (and which is after all topically available to the teeth!) Also that food could be fortified with Vitamin D3 which might also reduce tooth decay, perhaps more effectively. On the societal scale, a slight decrease in the average IQ due to fluoridation might correspond to a larger deficit at the genius end of the spectrum. Society disproportionately benefits from the work of geniuses & it should protect them more.