Letter to the Editor titled: Read the facts

Pine Island Eagle

November 14, 2012

Water fluoridation is an issue that is gaining increased attention in numerous communities around the world. You are encouraged to take advantage of the unlimited resources that are now available with the simple click of a button. The American Dental Association's Fluoridation Facts is widely referenced by fluoridation promoters. Google <ada fluoridation facts> and carefully read Question 22 on page 26 and Question 24 on page 28. Pay particular attention to where approximately 50% of the fluoride ingested each day goes--if one's kidneys are functioning normally, that is. Notice that the ADA's Fluoridation Facts, published in 2005, uses a reference from 1986 to state that ingested fluoride benefits a developing tooth, while the July, 2000 Cover Story in their Journal of the American Dental Association states that fluoride works topically, at the tooth's surface! This is of interest in that in Question 13 it is stated that: "The ADA continually reviews available scientific evidence, and revises its statements based on the most current scientific information." Question 24 deals with the consequences of ingesting fluorides when teeth are developing. The fact that moderate and severe fluorosis occurs in only a small portion (6%) of fluorosis victims does not seem to bother the ADA or the GPIWA. Do you find it acceptable that 2% of US school children can be expected to experience perceived esthetic problems that can be attributed to fluoride in drinking water? Remember, fluoride is so toxic, that when 1.0 mg/L (a concentration of only one penny in $10,000) is ingested, fluorosis is expected to occur in some individuals. It is important to note that while promoters of fluoridation tell you that fluorosis is only a cosmetic effect, the medical definition of fluorosis says it as a sign of fluoride toxicity or fluoride poisoning effecting tooth enamel in children and bones and joints in adults. (Note severe fluorosis in Augusta, GA children on page 37 and skeletal problems on page 59.) On November 2, 2012, Dr. Ward and the rest of the GPIWA Board received an email from this writer titled, Fluoride Review. You are strongly urged to read it and look at the links therein. Of special importance is the National Research Council's work titled Health Effects of Ingested Fluoride, a resource one would think would be required reading for anyone proposing swallowing fluoride. (Major fluoridated cities face dental crisis.) The biography link at the end of the GPIWA email tells how this writer's oral cancer lead to my questioning fluoridation and why I opposed Lee County Health Director, Dr. Judith Hartner when she brought fluoridation to Lee County in 1997. Please read it. (Tennessee Representative Joey Hensley, MD advises water districts to stop fluoridating.) Also be sure and read the "Request for Truthfulness and Full Disclosure in Annual Water Quality Reports." In my opinion, anyone fluoridating public water should be required to disclose the facts presented in this "Request." Pine Island's own site is: <CitizensforSafeWater.org>. To utilize links, read this letter at < www.scribd.com/doc/112327362> Kenneth Case Staunton, Virginia North Fort Myers resident 1975-2005. Taught at Suncoast Middle, Cape Coral High, Cypress Lake Center for the Arts and North High. Retired in 2001 to spend full time at Gulf Coast University as the volunteer who put together the Black Box Theatre there.