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2007-9-3 17:27:38 |
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New York January 30, 2007 -- One day a year, dentists country-wide celebrate Give-Kids-A-Smile day, (GKAS), with much self-promotion and merchandising. This year its February 2. But for the rest of the year, most dentists refuse children on Medicaid or other government-sponsored insurance (1). Instead, dentistry promotes water fluoridation to remedy tooth decay disparities between haves and have-nots. Unfortunately, thats failing: New York State Department of Health statistics (2) illustrate fluoridations inability to equalize cavity rates between low and high socio-economic-status (SES) groups, and that fluoridation and tooth decay rates are not inversely related (3) See chart: http://www.freewebs.com/fluoridation/chart.htm For example, non-fluoridated Nassau, Suffolk and Rockland Counties third-graders decay rates: 50%, 54% and 46%, respectively. In slightly fluoridated Albany County 38% have cavities. Highly fluoridated NYS Counties include Monroe, Erie, Chemung, Broome, Wayne and Jefferson. Third-graders decay rates: 56%, 59%, 55%, 63%,66%,66% and 69%, respectively.. Despite fluoridated water reaching about ¾ of New Yorkers, 54% of third-graders have cavities and more untreated decay than third-graders nationally (33% vs 26%). Only one-fourth of NYS dentists submitted Medicaid claims (4). Third-graders in 100% fluoridated New York City had more untreated cavities (38%) than their state and national counterparts (4). Before organized dentistry became fluoride fixated, a 1950 Connecticut study, before fluoridation, clearly linked more fruit, vegetable and milk consumption to less cavities (5) Dentist Weston Price reported a similar correlation world-wide in his 1938 book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Today Connecticut mandates fluoridation. Yet 48% of 4-year-olds suffer untreated cavities (6) partially because 85% of dentists wont or cant treat patients with low-paying government-sponsored insurance (7). After 60 years of water fluoridation reaching 2/3 of Americans via public water supplies, virtually 100% via the food supply and fluoridated dental products a multi-billion dollar international business, up to ½ of U.S. schoolchildren sport fluoride overdose symptoms as dental fluorosis white spotted, yellow or brown, sometimes pitted teeth (8) But tooth decay is still a national epidemic, especially among low-income Americans who can't find dentists willing or able to fix their rotting teeth. Regardless of fluoride intake, modern science continues to show that young children with fewer cavities eat more produce (9). Only 12% of US kids eat enough fruits and vegetables.(10) And, the poor are priced out of healthful eating. (10a) Will dentists hand out food vouchers and dietary advice on GKAS Day or just more fluoride? asks Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation. Its not all about avoiding sugar as most dentists preach, says Beeber. With fluorosis rampant, dentists could make more kids smile by stopping fluoridation, says Beeber Dental Health Aide Therapists (DHATs) could be the solution to the oral health crisis. DHATs are to dentists what Physicians Assistants and Nurse Practitioners are to Physicians. DHATs work successfully throughout the world and can drill, fill and pull teeth in the mouths and geographic areas where dentists cant or wont go, more cheaply and as effectively. (11) Unfortunately, organized dentistry is suing to stop the first New Zealand trained U.S. DHAT from supplying much-needed dental care in Alaska where officials are unable to entice dentists to live or work. (12a) Defying organized dentistry, the first U.S. school just opened in Alaska to train more DHATs (12) Children need dental care not more fluoride. In fluoridated Arlington, Texas, 61 percent of children examined had active decay After dentists donated their services, tooth decay was cut to less than half of what it was when the program started.(13) Nationally, up to 48% of poor children, 8-yearolds and under, have unfilled cavities, whether their water is fluoridated or not. (13a). Fluoride varnish is now used on children as soon as teeth emerge. Fluoride varnish contains a highly toxic 22,600 parts per million (ppm) fluoride (14) compared to one ppm in fluoridated drinking water thats not advised for under one-year-old babies (15) and 1,000 ppm in toothpaste thats not to be used by children less than two years old. (16) Fluoride. It just doesnt make sense anymore, says Beeber.. Contact: Paul Beeber, Esq. 516-433-8882, nyscof@aol.com New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc PO Box 263 Old Bethpage, NY 11804 http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof http://www.FluorideAction.Net http://www.FluorideResearch.Org References: More evidence that fluoridation fails New York State: http://fluoridedangers.blogspot.com/2005/12/fluoridation-fails-new-york-state.html (1) U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Dental Care Improving Access and Quality http://www.ahrq.gov/research/dentalcare/dentria.htm#poor And U.S. General Accounting Organization, Oral Health Factors Contributing to Low Use of Dental Services by Low-Income Populations, September 2000 http://www.gao.gov/archive/2000/he00149.pdf (2) New York State Department of Health, Community Health Assessment Indicators (Oral Health) http://www.health.state.ny.us/statistics/chac/chai/index.htm (3) Fluoridation rate of NYS Counties provided by Tim Cook, DDS, former NYS Dept of Health employee (4) The Impact of Oral Disease in New York State, New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Dental Health, December 2006, Green et al (page 8) http://www.nyhealth.gov/prevention/dental/docs/impact_of_oral_disease.pdf ) (5) Potgieter, M., Morse, E.H., Erlenbach, F. M., and Dall, R.: The food habits and dental status of some Connecticut children. J. Dent. Res., 35:638. 1956 http://tinyurl.com/2lagfg (6) Connecticut State Department of Public Health, Open Wide Curriculum Lesson 1: Dental Decay, http://www.dph.state.ct.us/bch/oralhealth/ publications_reports/openwide_curriculum/OW_Lesson_1.pdf (7) Elements of effective action to improve oral health & access to dental care for Connecticuts children & families, Commissioned by Connecticut Health Foundation and Childrens Fund of Connecticut, Prepared by James J. Crall, DDS, ScD and Burton L. Edelstein DDS, MPH (page 4) http://www.cthealth.org/matriarch/documents/oralhealthsum.pdf (8) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/s403a1t23.gif (9) The relationship between healthful eating practices and dental caries in children aged 2-5 years in the United States, 1988-94, J. Am Dent Assoc, January 2004, by Dye et al. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd= Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=14959875&query_hl= 1&itool=pubmed_docsum |
