> From: Kathryn Rosenthal <[log in to unmask]> > Thnaks. Well....what can I say? The article was written by a man who > grew > up in the S. U.S. w/out fluoride in the drinking water. He apparently > blames his bad (really, really bad) teeth on the lack of fluoride. > > Sort of makes me wonder how the rest of his family fared in their > teeth: > patents, grandparents.... Could it be that his family just had > crummy > teeth? Then contrast that with the second story I tried to link to (sorry--the cached article at the link changed for some reason) of a guy who grew up in an area of AZ that had high levels of fluoride--about five times what fluoride levels in water supplies are generally supplemented up to. Coincidence? I'll post an excerpt instead (it gives me a chance to take out the harsher language anyway): Debate about fluoride in water goes on December 17, 2006 By Geoff Oldfather, News Columnist tcpalm.com ... Now, before you [fluoride opponents] start gnashing your ... teeth and foaming at the mouth about how I know nothing about the effects of fluoridated water, rest assured I do. I was involved in a study and survey in the early 1980s of people who grew up in the San Pedro River valley in southeastern Arizona where naturally occurring fluoride levels approached 5 parts per million. We are only talking about bringing it up to between .7 and 1.2 parts per million here. The study established a baseline for people who grew up drinking the water there as I did. Some of the questions were about 1) trips to the dentist, 2) cavities and 3) broken bones. My answers were 1) never went, 2) never had any and 3) even though my finger got crushed in the barn gate one day the bone didn't even crack. My mom joked about fluoridated toothpaste when it became popular. She stuck to the regular kind. It was cheaper and besides, we didn't need the fancy squiggly green stuff even if I did throw a fit in the grocery aisle. And that's the point. Study after study after study shows fluoridated water is probably the Number One All Time Best and Super Cool preventive measure we can practice to prevent something bad from happening, period. I'm sure the American Dental Association wouldn't say Number One All Time Best and Super Cool, but I have to say this so even high school term paper writers and whining teens and their whinier parents can understand, but I digress. Bottom line is adding fluoride to the water prevents tooth decay and strengthens bones, and studies showing otherwise have been debunked. ... Add the fluoride. After all, I'm living, walking proof that adding fluoride isn't harmful. ... > The article didn't have anything in it relating to science, not one > study, > no information re. the history of fluoride & why it was first put into > drinking water, etc. > > All in all, it seemed like a sad story written by someone w/ rotten > teeth > who chose to blame his situation on the lack of fluoride. > > Kath Wow, that seems pretty harsh. This debate really is an emotional one. There are studies thrown around by both sides. Most of the posts on this subject so far don't seem to be regarding double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, though my memory could be wrong on that. I thought these stories were more viscerally powerful than the studies anyway and I don't want to get bogged down again in intensive research and debate on this, since my own personal experience and past research confirmed the effectiveness of fluoride for me. Besides, in the local debate in my city, the slew of research that was provided to support bringing fluoride up to levels considered optimal had no noticeable impact on the anti-fluoride camp. They considered it all to be from untrustworthy and even sinister sources, so the letters from local ordinary people (including dentists and health care providers as well as those journalists) they know seemed to have more impact. I just thought I'd let people know there's another viewpoint out there that they can investigate if they are interested, since it wasn't getting much mention up to this point. I know the consensus here seems to be against fluoride supplementation of water, so take it or leave it as you will, though it's generally a good idea to investigate all sides of an issue. I had come across passionate anti-fluoride arguments myself before online, in alternative health periodicals and from people I know, but I never had seen equally passionate arguments from the other point of view until I came across those stories and they caused me to look into it further. There's plenty more information from both sides in the debate that occurred at that newspaper that can be found with free registration at the tcpalm.com site. I had saved a couple I thought included powerful stories from a different perspective than I was used to seeing. Thanks, Phil