Could fluoride cure England's bad dental rep?
Categories: Health & safety, In the news
The British have long had a reputation for bad teeth, but now the government has a plan that may address that in future generations -- they want to add fluoride to nearly half the nation's water supply. (There's no word on how they'll keep it separate, however.) Currently, only the West Midlands and the North East have fluoridated tap water.Opponents, however, are calling the scheme "mass medication" and claim that fluoride causes cancer, lower intelligence, and a whole host of other ailments. Is there any validity to these claims, however, and if there is, do the risks outweigh the benefits of fluoridation? Chief dental officer Barry Cockcroft dismissed the concerns as "scaremongering" and noted that "A total of 170 million people in America drink fluoridated water and it is the most litigious country in the world."
Personally, I am in favor of adding fluoride to drinking water, and I'm glad our tap water has fluoride in it. We also have a water cooler for which we get fluoridated spring water. Some may think me insane, but I want my kids to have healthy teeth.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Wolfster 8-06-2008 @ 5:05PM
Wow, right when the rest of the world is starting to catch on to the dangers of fluoridating water - including irreparabable DAMAGE to not only teeth of growing children, but bones as well - Britain wants to take a step backward and poison its citizens. They will probably use those same tired, outmoded studies that were flawed and slanted back in the 1950s when they were conducted. Every study since then has been inconclusive or shown outright that fluoride poisons people.
Better to examine those sticky sweets Brits are so fond of instead, that coat the teeth with sugars friendly to enamel-eating bacteria, and poor brushing habits that let those bacteria hang on for hours and days. But no, it's easier to take the magic-pill approach. Sad thing is, we've learned here in the States - THERE IS NO MAGIC PILL!!!
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