Letter to the Editor: Fluoridation facts
BY John Mueller, Tulsa
Friday, December 07, 2012
12/07/12 at 2:10 AM
The Tulsa World Scene section editors have done readers a great disservice in the Nov. 28 headline for Dr. Anthony Komoroff's Q&A, "Myths concerning fluoride in water, products have no basis in fact." The headline could lead readers to a misleading conclusion.
To those who seriously want to better understand whether fluoride is harmful, I suggest the Fluoride Action Network's website. Myths concerning fluoride in water? The American Dental Association's 2005 publication "Fluoridation Facts" is revealing in its own right.
The ADA is one of fluoridation's most powerfully influential supporters, yet its unscientific bias emerges when one digs into that publication's cited references. For example, red flags go up when researching the figures often quoted by fluoridation proponents, "every $1 spent on fluoridation saves $38 in dental costs," its references revealing that cost was determined from surveying 44 fluoridating communities in Florida.
Florida is a major phosphate fertilizer producer, with fluorosilicic acid being an otherwise troublesome hazardous waste byproduct. But from big corporate influence in Washington's U.S. Public Health Service on ADA's 180-degree turnaround from previous opposition as early as 65 years ago, fluoridating communities have for years purchased this acid from fertilizer producers to add to their drinking water on the premise of preventing tooth decay.
The real dollars being saved are from avoiding costly hazardous waste disposal fees, and the ADA rides a tiger, along with the other powerfully influential fluoridation proponents.
Editor's note: Mueller is a professional engineer who's spent more than 20 years in water resources.
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