Dental fluorosis (also termed mottled teeth) is a disease of tooth enamel caused by over-consumption of fluoride. Mild levels produce white streaks or mottling on teeth. Moderate and severe levels cause yellow and brown discoloration and damage to tooth structure. Dental fluorosis has increased dramatically in the United States since water fluoridation began.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has measured dental fluorosis in adolescent children in the U.S. periodically for decades. In 1960, dental fluorosis was 10 percent; in 1987, it was 23 percent; in 1999, it was 41 percent; and in 2012, it was an astonishing 61 percent (https://bit.ly/2p6Oo1i).

What has caused this huge increase in dental fluorosis? It is caused by an increase in fluoride consumption from water, toothpaste, mouth rinses, beverages (juice, etc), foodstuffs, fluoride tablets, pesticides, some medications and tea during the development of a child’s teeth. Fluoride is the most consumed drug in the U.S.

To partially remedy the fluorosis epidemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in 2011 a proposal to lower the fluoride level to 0.7 milligrams per liter of fluoridated water. But more action is needed, and we have new data that supports new action. As the four authors of the above-referenced 2018 scientific report state, “The continued increase in fluorosis rates in the U.S. indicates that additional measures need to be implemented to reduce its prevalence.”

Dental fluorosis is not merely “cosmetic” but a “canary in the mine” foretelling other adverse health and behavioral effects. These include neurotoxic effects, endocrine disruption, hypothyroidism, kidney disease and others as reported by the National Research Council in 2006. Additional scientific evidence from 2007 to 2016 has implicated fluoride in these & other diseases.

The health impacts of fluoride are not surprising since it is a poison, more poisonous than lead and a little less poisonous than arsenic. You can see dental fluorosis, but you can’t see other health impacts of fluoride poisoning.

In light of these recent disclosures, it is necessary to eliminate fluoridation from Lynchburg drinking water to prevent further damage to the health of children and adults. Join us to help make this happen on Facebook/LCFSDW or Lcfsdw@gmail.com.

DAN LYNCH

Lynchburg

Editor’s note: The writer is a member of Lynchburg Citizens for Safe Drinking Water.

*Original letter online at https://www.newsadvance.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letters-to-the-editor-for-friday-september/article_56b9ecb6-b796-11e8-a2a1-9b9dcfe5b614.html

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