New York – Fluoride supplements put children six and under at significant risk of permanently discolored teeth, according to a review of studies recently posted on the American Dental Association's (ADA) web site in their new section, "evidence-based dentistry," for dentists and their patients. (1)
Fluoride supplements, in graduating amounts up to 1 mg daily, are often prescribed to children who don't drink fluoridated water, ostensibly to reduce tooth decay.
"This review confirmed that in non-fluoridated communities the use of fluoride supplements during the first 6 years of life is associated with a significant increase in the risk of developing dental fluorosis, write researchers Ismail & Bandekar and first published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, February 1999, (2) but posted to the ADA's website July 2007.
Fluoride ingestion, once thought to reduce cavities, can lead to dental fluorosis – white spotted, yellow, brown and/or pitted tooth enamel. Modern science indicates fluoride absorbs into tooth enamel topically, primarily.(3)
Studies link dental fluorosis to children's kidney damage (4) and bone fractures (5).
The ADA and Centers for Disease Control recently advised that fluoridated water should not be mixed into concentrated infant formula, in order to decrease dental fluorosis risk – now a growing U.S. problem. (6)
Never safety-tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) (7), fluoride supplements do more harm than good.(8)
"While fluoride is proclaimed a significant cavity reducer, there is little, if any, science to support that," says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.
A National Institutes of Health 2001 news release supports Beeber's assertion: "... the (NIH) panel was disappointed in the overall quality of the clinical data that it reviewed. According to the panel, far too many studies were small, poorly described, or otherwise methodologically flawed." (9) Over 560 studies evaluated fluoride among those reviewed by the NIH Consensus Development Program panel for the Diagnosis and Management of Dental Caries.
Recent research shows that fluoridation delivers risks with little, if any, benefit.(10)
"Save money, save our health, save the planet. Stop fluoridation," says Beeber.
References:
1) http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/ebd/reviews/fluoride_supplements.asp
2) "Fluoride supplements and fluorosis: a meta-analysis," Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology, 1999 Feb;27(1):48-56, by Ismail & Bandekar .
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=10086926
3) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5014a1.htm
4) "Dose-effect relationship between drinking water fluoride levels and damage to liver and kidney functions in children," Environmental Research,2007 Jan;103(1):112-6. Epub 2006 Jul 10, by Xiong, et. al
5) "Dental and Early-State Skeletal Fluorosis in Children Induced by Fluoride in Brick-Tea," Fluoride 2005;38(1):44–47 Cao, et. al
http://www.fluorideresearch.org/381/files/38144-47.pdf
6) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/s403a1t23.gif
7) http://fluoridedangers.blogspot.com/2005/12/fluoride-never-fda-approved-for.html
8) "The case for eliminating the use of dietary fluoride supplements for young children," Journal of Public Health Dentistry, Fall 1999, by Burt
9) http://consensus.nih.gov/2001/2001DentalCaries115html.htm
10) "Community Water Fluoridation and Caries Prevention: A CriticalReview," Clinical Oral Investigations, by Pizzo et.al, 2007 Feb 27; http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/Pizzo-2007.pdf
