We often talk about the pros and cons of water fluoridation through the lens of benefits versus the risk of harm. But it's also important to understand the broader public health ethical considerations
Good Discussion Matt. one of your colleagues Jean Paul Langbroek MP Qld in his maiden speech points out that ALL ground water contains Fluoride at some concentration.
The issue is not " water fluoridation " it is about " fluoride optimisation ".
And unfortunately, there are those that live in places w naturally optimal trace elements in the water, who don't even realise the benefit they are receiving.
eg. a patient came to me in Brunswick Heads who was a 30 + y old mother with staunch views about " public health measures " placed on citizens by the government.
She was " anti fluoride " but her child had really beautiful enamel but fissure decay. I asked her about her water supply for her family. " Rocky Creek Dam " being volcanic soil with naturally occurring fluoride at an optimal level. I asked her about sucrose. She had no problem with providing " a non nutrient food stuff " to her " naturally healthy family "
because she only used " raw sugar ".
I like to point out to patients that " Caries aka Tooth Disease " is not a deficiency of Fluoride. It is a bacterial infection that is maintained as a Disease process but feeding the germs
SUCROSE, in any of its forms.
I was born in Brisbane in the 1960s, and drank 0.07 ppm F- naturally present in the water.
My enamel is thin, not white, and has poor acid resistance.
My diet as a child was 3 meals a day plus morn and afternoon snack, all containing Sucrose.
I spent my childhood at the dentist. all Ds and Es filled, all 6s and 7s filled.
Once I went to Dental School and learned about Strep Mutans, I STOPPED eating Sucrose.
I haven't had a single cavity in 45 years.
Dental Caries is the number 1 infectious disease of Children World Wide.
Its so Pandemic, its Endemic. But that doesn't mean is normal.
Its not a Deficiency disease. Its a Dietary disease.
It is multifactorial , but only when you look at > Trying to STOP it <
It is not a "Multifactorial Disease ".
Its an infection by Strep mutans et al , probably from your mother.
You aren't born with this germ from the " Vaginal Biofilm ".
If your mother doesn't have the germ in her mouth at all,
( or due to her diet, and the diet she provides for her baby,
the germ is at less than contagion / disease amounts )
the baby won't get tooth decay.
Tens of thousands of years of people who didn't need a Dentist,
and then suddenly from late 1600s in Europe, a pandemic of tooth decay.
Because of Cane SUGAR.
I think its pretty simple. Any city / state / shire that wants to stop
" fluoride optimisation " must be required to impose a " Sugar Tax ".
( fructose being exempt , along with Dextrose, Maltose, etc )
and an incentive to replace the " sucrose " with " xylitol " )
and a public health warning NOT to FEED your DOG, a Xylitol sweetened donut
There is no doubt that sugar is the key driver of tooth decay, and I spend of lot of time on sugar advocacy (from a tax on sugary drinks to improved food labelling). But we also have to accept that sugar is inherent in our diets, and so we still need other preventive tools at a population level like water fluoridation.
Good Discussion Matt. one of your colleagues Jean Paul Langbroek MP Qld in his maiden speech points out that ALL ground water contains Fluoride at some concentration.
The issue is not " water fluoridation " it is about " fluoride optimisation ".
And unfortunately, there are those that live in places w naturally optimal trace elements in the water, who don't even realise the benefit they are receiving.
eg. a patient came to me in Brunswick Heads who was a 30 + y old mother with staunch views about " public health measures " placed on citizens by the government.
She was " anti fluoride " but her child had really beautiful enamel but fissure decay. I asked her about her water supply for her family. " Rocky Creek Dam " being volcanic soil with naturally occurring fluoride at an optimal level. I asked her about sucrose. She had no problem with providing " a non nutrient food stuff " to her " naturally healthy family "
because she only used " raw sugar ".
I like to point out to patients that " Caries aka Tooth Disease " is not a deficiency of Fluoride. It is a bacterial infection that is maintained as a Disease process but feeding the germs
SUCROSE, in any of its forms.
I was born in Brisbane in the 1960s, and drank 0.07 ppm F- naturally present in the water.
My enamel is thin, not white, and has poor acid resistance.
My diet as a child was 3 meals a day plus morn and afternoon snack, all containing Sucrose.
I spent my childhood at the dentist. all Ds and Es filled, all 6s and 7s filled.
Once I went to Dental School and learned about Strep Mutans, I STOPPED eating Sucrose.
I haven't had a single cavity in 45 years.
Dental Caries is the number 1 infectious disease of Children World Wide.
Its so Pandemic, its Endemic. But that doesn't mean is normal.
Its not a Deficiency disease. Its a Dietary disease.
It is multifactorial , but only when you look at > Trying to STOP it <
It is not a "Multifactorial Disease ".
Its an infection by Strep mutans et al , probably from your mother.
You aren't born with this germ from the " Vaginal Biofilm ".
If your mother doesn't have the germ in her mouth at all,
( or due to her diet, and the diet she provides for her baby,
the germ is at less than contagion / disease amounts )
the baby won't get tooth decay.
Tens of thousands of years of people who didn't need a Dentist,
and then suddenly from late 1600s in Europe, a pandemic of tooth decay.
Because of Cane SUGAR.
I think its pretty simple. Any city / state / shire that wants to stop
" fluoride optimisation " must be required to impose a " Sugar Tax ".
( fructose being exempt , along with Dextrose, Maltose, etc )
and an incentive to replace the " sucrose " with " xylitol " )
and a public health warning NOT to FEED your DOG, a Xylitol sweetened donut
lol
David
There is no doubt that sugar is the key driver of tooth decay, and I spend of lot of time on sugar advocacy (from a tax on sugary drinks to improved food labelling). But we also have to accept that sugar is inherent in our diets, and so we still need other preventive tools at a population level like water fluoridation.