The Case against Fluoride

Wise Traditions- "The insanity of intentional water fluoridation is examined from every angle in this book. International law forbids dumping fluoride waste into the sea but it is accepted in American drinking water. As stated in the toothpaste disclaimer above, the FDA officially considers fluoride to be a drug. This drug has never been approved by the FDA. Contaminating drinking water with fluoride can be most charitably characterized as an experiment which violates the Nuremburg Code prohibiting experimental human treatment without informed consent. China, India, Japan and most of Europe do not fluoridate their water. Toward the end of the book the authors pull out one of my all-time favorite quotes from the late Michael Crichton. 'Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled ... The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus . . . There is no such thing as consensus science. If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus. Period.' THUMBS UP." Choice Magazine- Water fluoridation is a major controversy pitting prevention (dental caries) against ethics (involuntary drug exposure). Connett (emer., St. Lawrence Univ.), Beck (emer., Univ. of Calgary), and Micklem (emer., Univ. of Edinburgh) present compelling but not always convincing arguments for discontinuing fluoridation. They emphasize systemic treatment's low efficacy, alternative preventive approaches, the public's involuntary exposure, and potential toxicity. Although not uniquely American, water fluoridation is more popular in the US than in most countries. If ingestion of fluoride were very effective in preventing caries, the authors would still argue against the practice on ethical grounds. Six parts cover ethical arguments, lack of evidence of efficacy, the policy gamble, toxicity, the precautionary principle, and vested interests. Some inconsistencies are evident. The book emphasizes uncertainties in epidemiologic studies of efficacy, but deemphasizes uncertainties in toxicity reports, creating an imbalance appropriate for a polemic but not for a scientific treatise. Fluoridation advocates will interpret this as evidence that the antifluoridation point of view is exaggerated, whereas sympathetic readers will find their resolve strengthened. Alternatives such as fluoride supplements exist, but would not reach the poor populations that need them. This is a thought-provoking work for students of environmental policy and public health. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through graduate students; general readers. Booklist, Starred Review- "On the eve of the new millennium, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), listed water fluoridation as one of the twentieth-century's 10 greatest public-health achievements. Yet according to the authors of this painstakingly researched expose of fluoridation's overall ineffectiveness and toxicity, endorsements such as these from the CDC and other health organizations are motivated more by face-saving politics than credible research. Fluoridation advocates who have previously branded detractors as conspiracy theorists and shills for "junk science" will be hard pressed to debunk the hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and sound scientific reasoning presented here. In demonstrating fluoridation's ineffectiveness, the authors cite exhaustive evidence proving fluoride's only benefits are topical, as in toothbrushing, as opposed to swallowing. But the case against fluoride's alleged safety, even in small doses, is more alarming, with multiple studies showing fluoride's probable complicity in lowered intelligence scores, thyroid dysfunction, hip fractures, and the ominously rising incidence of osteosarcoma in boys. The authors' academic, hyperbole-free writing style serves them well in marshaling a series of facts tha

Dr. Paul Connett, a retired professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology at St. Lawrence University, has given more than 2,000 presentations in forty-nine states and fifty-two countries on the issue of waste management. He holds a bachelors degree from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Dartmouth College. He lives in Canton, New York. Dr. James S. Beck is a Professor Emeritus of Medical Biophysics at the University of Calgary and holds doctorates in medicine from Washington University School of Medicine and biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. H. Spedding Micklem is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. He holds a D.Phil from the University of Oxford. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Part 1. Ethical and general arguments against fluoridation : Poor medical practice ; An inappropriate and inefficient practice ; The chemicals used ; Who is in charge? ; An experimental program Part 2. The evidence that fluoridation is ineffective : Fluoridation and tooth decay ; The early evidence reexamined ; Key modern studies Part 3. The great fluoridation gamble : The great fluoridation gamble, 1930-1950 ; The great fluoridation gamble, 1950- Part 4. The evidence of harm : Dental fluorosis ; Fluoride's chemistry, biochemistry, and physiology ; Fluoride poisoning of humans: early reversible effects ; The 2006 National Research Council Report ; Fluoride and the brain ; Fluoride and the endocrine system ; Fluoride and bone ; Fluoride and osteosarcoma ; Fluoride and the kidneys, and other health issues Part 5. Margin of safety and the precautionary principle : Margin of safety ; The precautionary principle Part 6. The promoters and the techniques of promotion : Weak and inadequate science ; Promoters' strategies and tactics ; Self-serving governmental reviews ; A response to pro-fluoridation claims ; The promoters' motivations -- Review and conclusion Appendix 1: Fluoride and the brain Appendix 2: Fluoride and bone