For long there have been many rumours about the effects of fluoride on the human body. Individuals in the community have speculated on these effects, and many extremists have even suggested that it is part of some government conspiracy. Yet the clear facts still remain, and clearly indicate that the only way of achieving community-wide and nation-wide exposure to the most affective way of treating teeth, is to install mandatory fluoridation of water in all parts of Australia.
In the first six years, of a person's life, while teeth are still forming, it is essential to ensure they are strong, healthy and free of decay, to ensure that they last a lifetime. The era of dental care of our grandparents, and even parents time is long over. The era, where going to the dentist meant you'd come home with one or more missing teeth, a shiny new gold cap, or a set of new teeth at a less than mature age. But in this time, and in this age, eating of sugary foods was rare, and yet these dental problems still occured rather frequently. Nowadays, living in the 21st century, where toothpaste is available abundantly, our diets are a lot more severe, and sugar is eaten a lot more than it should be. Toothpaste alone, does not hold off the sting of tooth decay, and many young people do not even keep to regular brushings. Fluoridating the water is the only answer for defeating the presence of tooth decay. Don't believe me? Take a look at these studies, and if you're still not convinced take a look at these case studies HERE
Approximately 77% of all Victorians have access to fluoridated water, with the majority of these people residing in Melbourne. Studies of six-year-old children living in Victoria revealed that children living in areas where fluoridated water is accessible have a 40% less chance of developing tooth decay, then children living in areas without access to fluoridated water. And what exactly is this doing to the economy? In the past twenty five years, six hundred million dollars has been spent on dental treatment. Money that could be spent on more important things, like our roads, education, and other important areas. In a recent article it was estimated that for every dollar spent on fluoride, thirty dollars could be saved on dental costs. Money, our taxpayers money is unneccesarily being spent on something that shouldn't be as big a problem as it is.
There
has been a great push by the Victorian government, to gain public
support on this matter, but with little success, as there has been much
community opposition. Barwon Water, currently one of the largest water
suppliers in Victoria, is heavily active in their anti-fluoride
campaign. Areas still without fluoridated water include, in Victoria,
include, Wodonga, Ballarat, Geelong, and surrounding areas.
So why exactly is there so much community opposition, and apparent extreme theories on the effects of fluoride? Well, Dental fluorosis is the main concern, a condition that results in the staining or mottling of teeth enamel, that usually affects young children. There are nearly ninety different types of this enamel defect, and although some scientific research has found fluoride can be the cause of some of these defects, it does not entirely contribute to every one. Fluoride is also said to contribute to the lowering of a person's IQ, impair the immune system, and even cause cancer. Yet none of these theories, have solid evidence to back them up. Top dental assosciations, including the Australian Dental Association, the Australian Medical Assosciation, the National Health and Medical Research Council,and the World Health Organization, have found that there is no scientific reason, why fluoride can do more good, than bad at a controlled level.
So when exactly does dental fluorosis become a problem? In most cases,when people don't use their common sense, and supervise their children responsibly. Due to many toothpastes these days being flavoured to encourage younger children to brush their teeth, it can only be assumed that excessive consumption of these toothpastes is taking place. Read the labels people! Toothpaste labels, show the correct dosage for an adult and a child, and have a warning that children be supervised whilst brushing their teeth. It's just common sense. Like you'd supervise your child while they were taking liquid panadol, so they didn't consume the whole bottle. Seriously, it takes two sessions of two minutes a day to supervise your child while they are brushing their teeth. If you can't afford to spent four minutes a day preventing dental fluorosis, yet at the same time making sure they do brush their teeth adquetly, then what sort of a parent are you?
So what exactly would it mean, if fluoridation of water was made mandatory? Better teeth for ALL australians. Those people below, and above the poverty line. Prevention is better than curing, for sure. Its time to face up to the facts, and think about our children's lives in twenty years, when they're still going to the dentist for fillings, and false teeth. This is the future, and its time we all started living like we're in it. As professor John Harris, at the Centre for Social Ehtnics, and Policy, at the Manchester University put it perfectly in 1998,'In considering the ethnics of fluoride... we should not ask, not are we entitled to impose fluoridation on unwilling people, but are those unwilling people entitled to impose the risks, damages, and costs of failure to fluoride on the community at large.'
More information:
- Look for information on the web
- some sites include
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au
http://www.goodmedicine.ninemsn.com.au
- Read your local newspaper
- Ask your dentist
- Contact your local PM
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