David, I stand corrected. You have managed to sway my belief that Fluoridation is in the best interest of all. Thanks for putting this debate forward and please continue your fight to get the truth known about this.

Fluoridation fraud, it has been perpetrated on humanity far too long with outdated flawed arguments. It’s time the lies dammed lies stopped and real class one peer review studies were undertaken in Australia,
The National Health and Medical Research Council recommended this in 1991 and in 1999 but still no research.
The NHMRC p 6 ch 8 state “that in view of the classification of fluoride as an equivocal carcinogen in high dose in rats they felt it was IMPERATIVE that public health recommendations in the future be based on accurate knowledge of the TOTAL fluoride intake of Australians”.
Has this been done? NO . recently a CEO of the Mid North Coast Area Health Service was asked "How much fluoride are we ingesting each day and could they provide a recent study, they gave a web site address to “Community Dent Oral Epidemiol.2003 Jun;31(3):221-31” have a look & read the bottom paragraph which states “ When all sources of ingested fluoride were added the total fluoride intake was calculated, the children, both in Mexico City and Veracruz, were ingesting amounts of fluoride well above the upper limits of the proposed safe threshold for fluoride intake.
So No studies have been carried out in this country and it is obvious we are being over fluoridated, The NHMRC1999 p 4 ch 8 states 29-33%of children in Non fluoridated areas have dental fluorosis and it is 56.8% in fluoridated SA. And is increasing ,
This is a disgrace, wake up Australia and let the government know they have got it wrong and have done for years. Sydney has been fluoridated for 37 years & has a dental decay crisis, reported in the Herald on the 15th February, evidence that Fluoridation doesn’t work
To answer Bosshog there are 128 surfaces in a child’s mouth 0.3 equates to less than 1/3 of a surface of a tooth,
Also the NSW Child Dental Health Survey 2000 Mid North Coast has less decay 1.01 DMFT 1/3 fluoridated compared to SE, SW North and Central Sydney 100% fluoridated
Fluoridation is a failure.

Lyn James Yarravel

Thanks Lyn. A worthwhile post.

For those who regard it as a 'poison' - fluoride is a trace element -it is something human beings need. The reason it helps prevent tooth decay is that it is needed for calcium formation. And when children don't get enough of it, they grow up with tooth decay, which may not be something that worries most people these days. But, in the early days of the Australian colony, it was a major cause of death - 'blood poisoning' caused by dental abcesses.

HOWEVER, the dose rate matters - as with all trace elements. So as I said - thanks Lyn - that was worth pointing out.

As for the argument about 'ethics' - forget about it! It's not ethical to allow ignorance and scare-mongering to ruin public health.

O - I should add, though Lyn - you are wrong about fluoride not working. It does - seen enough evidence to know that is beyond doubt. But still agree that the dosage should be monitored.

Dizzy said, "For those who regard it as a 'poison' - fluoride is a trace element -it is something human beings need."

However, dizzy is, well, dizzy.

Fluoride is neither a nutrient nor required for healthy teeth. There is no such thing as a fluoride deficiency.

Children in Uganda, Africa, with no fluoride, no toothbrushes and no dentists have much better dental health than American children. Weston Price wrote about this decades ago. Tooth decay has all to do with diet. Fluoride is never a factor.

Tooth decay is on the rise in the U.S. despite a glut of fluoride in the food chain, water and dental products which have created a dental fluorosis epidemic. From 1/2 to 1/3 of U.S. schoolchildren display fluoride damages teeth - white spotted, yellow or brown and/or pitted teeth, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

More info about fluoride's adverse health effects
www.FluorideAction.Net/health

New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

Fluoridation News Releases
http://tinyurl.com/6kqtu

Tooth Decay Crises in Fluoridated Areas
http://www.fluoridenews.blogspot.com/

No – I didn’t say it was a nutrient. I said it was a trace element – one that is needed for the uptake of calcium. Even those who oppose the addition of fluoride to water are generally aware of that – it is the reason they claim that excess doses lead to fluorosis and people needing hip replacements.

And it is completely inappropriate to attempt to compare populations living in different parts of the world when examining the effects of fluoride. As you say yourself, most dental problems are caused by diet – and it’s obvious that the diet in Uganda would be somewhat different from the US. (As would the amount of fluoride occurring naturally in the soil.) Fluoride makes a big difference, but it can’t overcome all of the problems caused by a diet loaded up with refined sugar.

When considering the effects of fluoride on teeth, you need to look at the same community’s dental health before and after its introduction. I have personal experience of that, which is why I am totally convinced that it works. I’ve seen the patients and the ‘before and after’ dental records in a community in which fluoride was introduced about 30 years ago and the differences are dramatic.

As I said, there is a question about dose rates which is worth considering, because like all trace elements, we only need a very small amount – but to reject the bleeding obvious – that, added to water at the right levels, fluoride works - is not something I can do, regardless of how many links you can find to the websites of people who make the same misguided assumptions as you