New York – February 14 — Fluoridated California communities have huge cavity rates and large dentist-neglected populations, according to a recent California study, reports the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation (NYSCOF).
Although dentistry promises steep cavity reductions with fluoride-laced water supplies, that’s not happening in California which is in the midst of a cavity epidemic. For example: fluoridated Long Beach children have more cavities (75%) than California state (71%) despite a state-wide fluoridation rate one-fourth that of Long Beach. California is 27% fluoridated.
Los Angeles County is 44% fluoridated, yet 75% have tooth decay. Santa Clara County, where several cities fluoridate, has a 72% cavity rate. Humboldt County is 35% fluoridated yet may have a higher cavity rate than California as a whole. Despite five fluoridated districts, Alameda County had double the statewide number of students needing urgent dental care.
In contrast, NON-fluoridated Nassau County, New York, has a 50% cavity rate.
Nationally 50% of six- to 8-year-olds have cavities Fluoride is delivered to 2/3 of Americans via public water supplies and virtually 100% via the food supply.
The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) predicted that California preschoolers’ poor nutrition, soda drinking and poor dental care would lead to more tooth decay.
“Cavity rates correlate with poor diet and lack of dental care – two symptoms of poverty – not fluoride intake,” says Paul Beeber, President NYSCOF. “Fluoridation proponents are unjustifiably using the California study to promote fluoridation, when, in fact, it proves fluoridation’s ineffectiveness,” says Beeber.
Calcium, magnesium, vitamins A, C, D and other nutrients, not fluoride, are required to build and maintain healthy teeth. Many California preschoolers lack these nutrients because they do not consume recommended amounts of fruit, vegetables and milk while drinking too much soda.
With free and accessible dental care, military personnel’s dental health exceeds their civilian counterparts, reports the U.S. Surgeon General.
Forty-percent of California’s uninsured schoolchildren have untreated decay. Few California dentists accept Medicaid patients. Yet, dental groups oppose allowing trained dental therapists to mitigate the oral health epidemic.
Many fluoridated communities experience cavity crises in the U.S. Children need dental care, not fluoridation.
“With soda such an obvious and preventable cause of tooth decay, we question why the American Association of Pediatric Dentists accepted a $1 million grant from Coca-Cola,”19 says Beeber.
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