1. Does it work?
CLAIM: "Fluoridation does not improve dental health - that is
the finding of all large-scale studies." - Fluoride Action
Network NZ (FANNZ)
COUNTERCLAIM: "Community water supplies with optimum fluoride
levels between 0.7 and 1ppm have consistently been shown to
achieve about a 15% reduction in dental decay . . ." - Dr
Marion Poore, Medical Officer of Health (Otago-Southland),
Public Health South
CLAIM: "Dental decay rates were declining long before
fluoridation was introduced, and continued to decline at the
same rate regardless of whether fluoridation was started or
not." - FANNZ
COUNTERCLAIM: "This can largely be explained by the use of
fluoride toothpaste and the crossover effects of food and
water containing products from fluoridated areas. Most recent
studies continue to show that the difference between
fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas continues to be
significant throughout life." - Ministry of Health
2. Is it safe?
CLAIM: "Fluoride is a corrosive poison that will produce
serious effects on a long-range basis." - Dr Charles Gordon
Heyd, past president American Medical Association, quoted on
FANNZ website
COUNTERCLAIM: "It is impossible to experience fluoride
toxicity from drinking water optimally fluoridated at levels
between 0.7ppm to 1ppm. It would require drinking more than
5000 glasses of fluoridated water at one time." - Ministry of
Health
CLAIM: "I would advise against fluoridation . . .
Side-effects cannot be excluded." - Dr Arvid Carlsson, Nobel
Prize for Medicine co-winner (2000), FANNZ website
COUNTERCLAIM: "The weight of scientific evidence supporting
the safety and effectiveness of fluoridation is overwhelming
. . . Many parts of the world have received naturally
fluoridated water for thousands of years. Large human
populations have now been exposed to community water
fluoridation for many decades and no persuasive evidence
links optimal fluoridation with any adverse health effects."
- Ministry of Health
CLAIM: "Boys exposed to fluoridated water between the ages of
6 and 10 years are 500% to 700% more likely to get bone
cancer before age 20 than boys drinking non-fluoridated
water." - FANNZ website
COUNTERCLAIM: "The US Environmental Protection Agency stated
in December 1997 that the weight of evidence from more than
50 epidemiological studies does not support the hypothesis of
an association between fluoride exposure and increased cancer
risk in humans.
"These claims are based on a study in the US and were found
to be completely invalid by the mainstream scientific
communities.
"In 1990, the US National Cancer Institute studied cancer in
fluoridated areas.
The researchers looked at over two million cancer deaths and
found no indication of a cancer risk associated with
fluoridated drinking-water.
"The American Cancer Society has stated: Scientific studies
show no connection between cancer rates in humans and adding
fluoride to drinking water.
"The New Zealand Cancer Society stated in June 1999 that: The
Cancer Society of New Zealand supports the Ministry of
Health's recommendation for continuation of water
fluoridation and extension where technically feasible." -
Ministry of Health
CLAIM: "Recent studies have shown up to 60% fluorosis in
fluoridated communities with significant numbers of
individuals rated as 'severe' . . ." - FANNZ website
COUNTERCLAIM: "New Zealand information does not indicate that
children are developing inappropriate levels of enamel
fluorosis . . . The most recent New Zealand information from
9-year-old children in Southland indicates that about 5% of
children had similar [severe] defects.
"These defects were just as common in children who had
received fluoridated water as non-fluoridated water and the
level of these defects had decreased about threefold from
about 15% of children in the mid-1980s." - Ministry of Health
3. Is it banned in Europe?
CLAIM: "Almost all of Western Europe has rejected water
fluoridation." - FANNZ website
COUNTERCLAIM: "No country has discontinued or refused to
adopt fluoridation because it was proven harmful in any way .
. . The American Dental Association stated in 1999 that no
European country has specifically imposed a ban on
fluoridation. It has simply not been implemented for a
variety of technical or political reasons." - Ministry of
Health
4. Is it right?
CLAIM: "We feel strongly about the issues of fluoridation as
we believe it is harmful to health and that every citizen
should have the right to a public water supply free from
medication." - FANNZ Dunedin representative Olive McRae
COUNTERCLAIM: "Tooth decay will result in the lifelong repair
of teeth or tooth loss. Decay causes pain and loss of
self-esteem and it also costs individuals and the community
to treat it.
Approximately $500 million is spent in New Zealand on dental
treatment. The largest proportion of this is treating dental
decay. Decayed teeth can affect people's self-esteem and
confidence about the way their teeth look or their bad
breath.
"Although tooth decay remains a common disease, it is largely
preventable. Dental decay does not have to be a fact of life
- prevention is possible and fluoridation, along with a
healthy diet, is the most cost-effective way to achieve
this." - Ministry of Health
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