Times Free Press (Chattanooga, TN)
November 29, 2008

By Pam Sohn

(See original article)

DALTON, Ga. — A national debate about fluoride in water spilled into North Georgia last week when Dalton Utilities fired an employee over his concerns about the fluoridation of water here.

Water plant worker Wally Babb, 45, was a purchaser for the utility when he first became uneasy several years ago about fluoride — a chemical recommended by the American Dental Association to help prevent tooth decay. (more…)

The New Zealand Herald
February 12, 2009
By Martin Johnston
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A leading dentist recommends that many preschoolers in fluoridated areas should use low-fluoride toothpaste to avoid the risk of unsightly, mottled teeth.

But Dr Callum Durward, formerly of Auckland University of Technology and the Auckland District Health Board, said this only applied to young children at low risk of dental decay because of factors like good diet and regular brushing. (more…)

by Dr. Hardy Limeback PhD, DDS
Associate Professor and Head, Preventive Dentistry
University of Toronto

I am the Head of Preventive Dentistry at the University of Toronto in Toronto Canada , a professor with a PhD in Biochemistry and a practicing dentist who has done years of funded research in tooth formation, bone and fluoride. I was one of the 12 scientists who served on the National Academy of Sciences panel that issued the 2006 report, “Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of the EPA’s Standards.

I would like to outline my arguments that fluoridation is an ineffective and harmful public health policy.

1. Fluoridation is no longer effective .

Fluoride in water has the effect of delaying tooth eruption and, therefore, simply delays dental decay (Komarek et al, 2005, Biostatistics 6:145-55). The studies that water fluoridation work are over 25 years old and were carried out before the widespread use of fluoridated toothpaste . There are numerous modern studies to show that there no longer is a difference in dental decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas, the most recent one in Australia (Armfield & Spencer, 2004 Community Dental Oral Epidemiology. 32:283-96). Recent water fluoridation cessation studies show that dental fluorosis (a mottling of the enamel caused by fluoride) declines but there is no corresponding increase in dental decay (e.g. Maupome et al 2001, Community Dental Oral Epidemiology 29: 37-47).
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By Jeff Mellott

Fluoride Debate

Also, in the House of Delegates, a proposed advisory referendum on fluoridation in Timberville made it through a subcommittee on a 3-2 vote. The bill, introduced by Lohr, would allow residents to weigh in on whether the town should continue to have fluoride in the water.

The referendum, if approved, is to take place on Election Day, Nov. 3.

The question on the ballot would be: “Shall the Town of Timberville use fluoride in the Town’s water supply?”

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(more…)

By Joe Lamb
Staff Writer

Fluoride made its return to Conway’s drinking water Friday afternoon.

A water line failure at a Conway Corp. treatment plant in October 2007 put the fluoride injection port out of service. Restoring fluoridation has involved putting the fluoride injection port and its associated equipment in a new location and constructing a building around it.

The water line failed because the fluoride injection port was placed too close to a chlorine injection port, resulting in an acidic condition in the area near the ports that corroded the pipe.

The project was delayed several times while Conway Corp. waited for parts, but by Friday morning workers had the equipment installed and were fine-tuning it to provide the American Dental Association-recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2 parts per million.

(See original article)

(more…)