"We often hear about fluoride benefits from dentists, but let's face it, the training of these people doesn't go far beyond the mouth. How well informed are they about the effects of ingestion?"

Dentistry training is a five-year course which goes well beyond 'the mouth'. Coupled with this is the fact that any dentist who has practiced in both fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas has direct and immediate personal experience of the benefits of fluoridation. These are well documented in the literature of the discipline.

To claim that dentists are not qualified to attest to the benefits of fluoridation is to expose the magnitude of your own ignorance.

I support the freedom to choose. Thanks for your article

Wow. Your standards are slipping, OLO. Fluffy, unreferenced, lightweight codswallop.
It is a demonstrably effective publich health measure. Comparing it to nicotine patches (only smokers benefit) is an obviously ludicrous analogy. Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. And leave dentists alone, they actually HAVE qualifications in this area.

"Do we have sufficient information to develop an informed opinion? If we don't, should we really guzzle down a chemical most of us don't understand?"

Doesn't seem like we have sufficient information to write an article... isn't it a molecule, not a chemical?

"... a freelance writer in Brisbane who is completing a Master of Public Health"

I hope that is a typo and should have read 'commencing a Master of Public Health'.

Obviously not. I am with Emily on this one.
Check out http://fluoride.mercola.com
One of the doctors/scientists that he features is Paul Connett the author of The Case Against Fluoride.

NO SAFETY DATA EXISTS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

http://dianabuckland.webs.com/nosafetydatafl.htm
How could it? we were not meant to consume in everything we eat, drink and bathe in S6,S7 Corrosive 8 hazardous waste pollutants fluorosilicic acid/silicofluorides and co-contaminants of lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium etc. (sourced from phosphate mining & aluminium smelting) & added also is aluminium sulphate. The dental crisis in USA & Australia after up to 67 and up to 59 years respectively of water fluoridation/pollution prove it's an absolute shocking fraud and failure.

This is absolutely obscene that The Fluoridation Fraud has been allowed to continue by successive State and Federal Governments. End the Fluoridation Fraud/Fluoridation Dictatorship now and ban water fluoridation urgently and  irrevocably for all time.

The only answer EVER was to provide access to affordable dental health care services for all the population, not the disposal of hazardous waste pollutants and co-contaminants into our drinking water supplies and hence also the contamination of our food chain and using the populations' kidneys as hazardous waste disposal/filtration units. Stop this chronic poisoning of the population, pets and environment immediately.

I have compiled some information here> Download Full Report >
http://fluorideinformationaustralia.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/report-water-fluoridation-pollution-must-end-diane-drayton-buckland-independent-researcher-14th-january-2013.pdf