Here is a link to a web site by Dr. Mercola about the dangers of fluoride.
http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?q=fluoride
The frightening part about this whole thing is that a great deal of trust is placed by most people in scientists, doctors and officials, yet there are numerous times when drugs that were approved had to be recalled such as vioxx, thalidomide and recently Children's Cough Medicine.
The Fluoride Controversy
By Dr. Ted Spence
Fluoride is a very controversial topic, but how controversial I did not realize. The data reveals that fluoride is a chemical toxin. As you can see by my studies and degrees, I place a large amount of confidence in nutritional methods for over coming disease and place little in toxic drugs, synthetic chemicals and especially toxins, like fluoride.
A few years ago, I was asked by the head of our local health department to conduct a review of existing journal research on the toxicity of fluoride with emphasis on its cancer causing potential. I went to the National Medical Library and produced for him some 40 articles on the toxicity of fluoride. When we reviewed them, there was some discrepancy in whether or not fluoride was mutagenic.
Well, half of the articles said that it was and half said that it was not. But it can not be both ways ... We wondered what was wrong.
Then the element of bias entered the picture, since Proctor and Gamble has paid for some of the "negative-concluding" research. We were still puzzled.
My only goal is to tell this information to the patients and let them decide. Isn’t that fair ... after all it is their decision? It is the patient’s choice ... isn’t it? The toxicity of fluoride has caused many countries to rethink the fluoride issue and many have rescinded fluoride in favor of the health of their people.
Those banning fluoride are Sweden, Norway, Denmark, West Germany (now unified), Italy, Belgium, Austria, France, and The Netherlands. Despite these retractions of fluoride, the US still presses on with the goal to fluoridate (poison) every community water supply in the United States.
All allopathically-trained dentists are very familiar with the ADA and other "authoritative" positions on fluoride. They rarely mention its toxic potential or the few studies revealing increased tooth decay after fluoride use. The research of Burk and Yiamouyiannis revealed that
every major city with fluoride had increased rates of cancer. Not a fair trade for "good looking teeth".
If you don’t want to look at this data, that is your decision. As health professionals, we don’t want to harm patients in any way and fluoride produces great harm. I am referring to taking fluoride internally, where it has been found to cause unscheduled DNA synthesis, sister chromatid exchanges and yes, mutagenic effects on the cells.
These terms may not bother some people at all, but they mean that there will be an increase in cancer after the ingestion of fluoride. Tsutsui, et al found that the addition of fluoride to healthy liver cell, in vitro, could establish changes that can only be described as cancerous.
The ADA’s official position is that this stuff is safe, yet there have been deaths of children in the dentists office due to fluoride, albeit very few. The point I am trying to make is that this is not to be taken lightly. In a letter [to me] from the ADA apologizing for fluoride, that stated, "There are three basic compounds commonly used for fluoridating drinking water supplies in the United States: sodium fluoride, sodium silicofluoride, and hydrofluorosilicic acid."
Now any chemist can tell you that these are not the sodium fluoride we are all told about. Sodium hydrofluorosilicic acid is one of the most reactive chemical species know to man. Its toxicity is known in many chemical circles. It will eat through metal/ plastic pipes and corrode many materials including stainless steel and other metals. It will dissolve rubber tires and melt concrete. This is added to our water to produce "healthy teeth".
Fluoride Does the Following:
inactivates 62 enzymes (Judd)
increases the aging process (Yiamouyiannis)
increases the incidence of cancer and tumor growth (Waldbott/Yiamouyiannis)
disrupts the immune system (Waldbott)
causes genetic damage (Tsutsui, et al)
interrupts DNA repair-enzyme activity (Waldbott)
increased arthritis and
is a systemic poison.
"Fluoride is a highly toxic substance.... "
L P Anthony, DDS editor of the Journal of the American Dental Association - 1944
Funny how times change, but truth does not change.
"....we have very strong circumstantial evidence of systemic toxicity of the so-called absolutely safe concentrate of fluoridated water"
Roy E Hanford, MD, "Where is Science Taking US? reprint from Saturday Review
"Don't drink fluoridated water .... Fluoride is a corrosive poison which will produce harm on a long term basis." Dr Charles Heyd, Past AMA president
Some 61,000 cancer deaths in the US result from fluoridation each year. I repeat 61,000. (Burk and Yiamouyiannis) One study found that fluoride elevates cancer mortality 17% in 16 years in large cities. (from Gerald Judd, PhD) "You have been led to believe the fluorine makes teeth harder. The fact is, it actually makes teeth softer." (George Meinig, a founder of the American Academy of Endodontics)
The US sees a 22% increase in decay every 16 years from fluoride use and a 50% decline in decay every 20 years compared with Finland's 98%, Sweden's 80% and Holland's 72%. And they are non-fluoridated. (Gerald Judd)
My only goal is to tell the truth about the ill-effects of a known toxin. I mentioned the paper being published by the Health Freedom News on the neurotoxicity of fluoride. Fluoride is a potent neurotoxin and this has been known for some time; at least since the early 1940s, well before the fluoridation experiment with Grand Rapids.
Dr Gerard Judd, PhD (chemistry), [ emeritus Manhatten project] found that fluoride can inactivate 62 enzyme systems. As a naturopath, nutritionist and master herbalist, I cannot endorse a substance that has known detrimental effects.
Geoffrey Smith stated, "Recent studies suggest that fluoride may be genotoxic." (p 79, Smith) And added, "There is now a substantial body of evidence suggesting that fluoride is mutagenic." (p 93, Smith) Gibson also noted, "Fluoride is one of the most toxic inorganic chemicals in the Earth's crust, ... However, with increasing experience, doubts about both safety and efficacy have arisen." (p 111, Gibson)
And he added, "A possible link between fluoridation of public water supplies and an increase in the cancer death rate has been debated for over 20 years and there is now no doubt that fluoride can cause genetic damage." (p 111, Gibson)
Gibson noted, "Inhibitory effects of fluoride on different enzyme systems have been demonstrated." (p 111, Gibson) And, "A section of the population may therefore be at risk of compromised immune system function from water fluoridation schemes." (p 112, Gibson)
Get the drift; fluoride is not everything it is cracked up to be. Mutagenic, enzyme inhibition, genetic damage, increased cancer rates, genotoxic and controversial, all describe fluoride.
Tsutsui et al noted, a significant increase in chromosome aberrations at the chromatid level, sister chromatid exchanges, and unscheduled DNA synthesis was induced by NaF in a dose- and timedependent manner.
These results indicate that NaF is genotoxic and capable of inducing neoplastic transformation of Syrian hamster embryo cells in culture." (p 938, Tsutsui et al) There, you can see the controversy for yourself. Fluoride is toxic, fluoride is non-toxic; fluoride causes cancer, fluoride doesn't cause cancer. Who do we believe?
The fluoride controversy comes down to
... Who Do We Really Believe?
Here's two articles on mutations caused by fluoride:
Sodium Fluoride-induced Morphological and Neoplastic Transformation Chromosome Aberrations, Sister Chromatid Exchanges, and Unscheduled DNA Synthesis in Cultured Syrian Hamster Embryo Cells, Takeki Tsutsui, Nobuko Suzuki and Manabu Ohmori, Can Res, 44:938-941, 1984 (March)
Sodium Fluoride-induced Chromosome Aberrations in Different Stages of the Cell Cycle: A Proposed Mechanism, Marilyn J Aardema, et al, Mutation Research, 223:191-203, 1989
The titles say it all.
Therefore, because of this controversy my feelings on this matter is that is should be up to the patient. They need both sides of the story to make an "intelligent" decision. I only mean to give them the other side. References are cited for your use and reading enjoyment.
The EPA found that at 2 ppm salmon were sterile, yet at 1 ppm it is placed in our water supply. [Dr Richard Foulkes] Fluoride only helps [if it helps] children up to age 12. Yet, everybody is "forced" to drink it. Oscar Ewing, who pushed fluoride in the legislature, told the senators not to drink it.
The last thing I would say it that by endorsing fluoride you totally eliminate the real prevention of tooth decay ... good sound nutrition. Tooth-brushing [important as it is] does not stop tooth decay.
Fluoride [a toxic] does not stop rampant tooth decay. [Fluoride only hardens to outer surface of the enamel and may prevent calcium from being deposited when a tooth is re-mineralized.] Nutrition stops tooth decay. I have developed a nutritional supportive program which will totally stop tooth decay in less than two weeks.
I have watched many children go from all 20 carious deciduous teeth, to 20 ebernated [hardened] teeth, which are non-painful and hard as rock. I have never seen fluoride do this [after 21 years of dentistry] and fluoride is not even a part of my caries prevention program.
Ted H Spence, DDS, ND, PhD/DSc,MH"