Tue, 19 Aug 2008
Fluoridation Risks
Fluoridation has a long history of being a contentious issue. In an ideal world. people would weigh the benefits and risks of fluoridation and and draw the approriate conclusion. In the real world, partisanship makes each side pick the evidence that supports their position and ignore the rest, Everyone is aware of the pro-fluoridation position, but few know the arguments against it. In fact, the opponents of fluoridation are usually summarized as crazies. So it's worth citing this anti-fluoridation article by the union representing EPA workers, as it's the best summary of the anti-fluoridation position I'm aware of. The article says evidence suporting fluoridation is lacking:
Regarding the effectiveness of fluoride in reducing dental cavities, there has not been any double-blind study of fluoride's effectiveness as a caries preventative. There have been many, many small scale, selective publications on this issue that proponents cite to justify fluoridation, but the largest and most comprehensive study, one done by dentists trained by the National Institute of Dental Research, on over 39,000 school children aged 5-17 years, shows no significant differences (in terms of decayed, missing and filled teeth) among caries incidences in fluoridated, non-fluoridated and partially fluoridated communities.
There is also a discussion of the health risks of fluoride, but I can't give a brief summary, you should read the article.
