New York - July 16, 2007  -- Fluoride supplements put children six and
under at significant risk of permanently discolored teeth, according
to a review of studies recently posted on the American Dental
Association's (ADA) web site in their new section, "evidence-based
dentistry," for dentists and their patients. (1)

Fluoride supplements, in graduating amounts up to 1 mg daily, are
often prescribed to children who don't drink fluoridated water,
ostensibly to reduce tooth decay.

"This review confirmed that in non-fluoridated communities the use of
fluoride supplements during the first 6 years of life is associated
with a significant increase in the risk of developing dental
fluorosis, write researchers Ismail & Bandekar and first published in
Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, February 1999, (2) but
posted to the ADA's website July 2007.

Fluoride ingestion, once thought to reduce cavities, can lead to
dental fluorosis - white spotted, yellow, brown and/or pitted tooth
enamel. Modern science indicates fluoride absorbs into tooth enamel
topically, primarily.(3)

Studies link dental fluorosis to children's kidney damage (4) and bone
fractures (5).

The ADA and Centers for Disease Control recently advised that
fluoridated water should not be mixed into concentrated infant
formula, in order to decrease dental fluorosis risk - now a growing
U.S. problem. (6)

Never safety-tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) (7),
fluoride supplements do more harm than good.(8)

"While fluoride is proclaimed a significant cavity reducer, there is
little, if any, science to support that," says lawyer Paul Beeber,
President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.

A National Institutes of Health 2001 news release supports Beeber's
assertion: "... the (NIH) panel was disappointed in the overall
quality of the clinical data that it reviewed. According to the panel,
far too many studies were small, poorly described, or otherwise
methodologically flawed." (9) Over 560 studies evaluated fluoride
among those reviewed by the NIH Consensus Development Program panel
for the Diagnosis and Management of Dental Caries.

Recent research shows that fluoridation delivers risks with little, if
any, benefit.(10)

"Save money, save our health, save the planet. Stop fluoridation,"
says Beeber.

References:

1) http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/ebd/reviews/fluoride_supplements.asp

2) "Fluoride supplements and fluorosis: a meta-analysis," Community
Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology, 1999 Feb;27(1):48-56, by Ismail &
Bandekar .

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&li
st_uids=10086926

3)  http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5014a1.htm

4) "Dose-effect relationship between drinking water fluoride levels
and damage to liver and kidney functions in children," Environmental
Research,2007 Jan;103(1):112-6. Epub 2006 Jul 10, by Xiong, et. al

http://tinyurl.com/34lj92

5) "Dental and Early-State Skeletal Fluorosis in Children Induced by
Fluoride in Brick-Tea," Fluoride 2005;38(1):44-47 Cao, et. al

http://www.fluorideresearch.org/381/files/38144-47.pdf

6) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/s403a1t23.gif

7) http://fluoridedangers.blogspot.com/2005/12/fluoride-never-fda-approved-for.html

8) "The case for eliminating the use of dietary fluoride supplements
for young children," Journal of Public Health Dentistry, Fall 1999, by
Burt

http://tinyurl.com/2bnoff

9) http://consensus.nih.gov/2001/2001DentalCaries115html.htm

10) "Community Water Fluoridation and Caries Prevention: A
CriticalReview," Clinical Oral Investigations, by  Pizzo et.al,  2007
Feb 27;
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/Pizzo-2007.pdf