State Mandate

Letters from dentists who oppose forced statewide fluoridation

The following letter was written in 2005 by a New Jersey dentist to express his opposition to forced statewide fluoridation in his state. It is presented here with his permission.

To members of the Public Health Council, NJ Department of Health Dear Alice, I am a lifetime member of the American Dental Association and the New Jersey Dental Association, who vehemently opposes the fluoridation of our drinking water. The members of the Public Health Council may not be aware that buried in the text of the July, 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association, in a cover article written by  Dr. Featherstone, called "The Science and Practice of Caries Prevention", is a sentence that reads: "Fluoride incorporated during development is insufficient to play a significant role in caries protection". "Caries" is the technical word for the process that results that everyone calls cavities.  This sentence above says that fluoride in the drinking water does not work at all, as originally intended - that is, systemically, from drinking fluoridated water getting it into developing teeth of infants and presumably making the teeth resistant to cavities after the teeth erupt into the mouth  (of course, the water also does get into the bones and brains of every infant and child exposed to it!). The A.D.A. now says that fluoridated water only has a topical effect... There isn't even any clinical evidence to support the alleged effectiveness of fluoridated water.  Poor children in this country are experiencing an epidemic of cavities, regardless of where they live, be it a fluoridated area, or non-fluoridated one.  When have you ever heard that kids in fluoridated cities have fewer cavities than children in non-fluoridated cities?  It's never happened. Nonetheless, The New Jersey Dental Association says we should still expose our babies and children and people without teeth to fluoride - a chemical contaminated with industrial pollutants. That is what will happen if New Jersey's water is fluoridated. The Public Health Council agreed to review scientific literature pertaining  to fluoridation of drinking water before voting on any petition by the N.J. Dental  Association.  I was at hearing last year when they said this.  It's public record.  The article I have cited above should be seen by the council members, and made part of their decision  process.  So should a lot of other important scientific information opposing fluoride  that the New Jersey Dental Association prefers the council not see.  There should be an open forum discussion by experts from both sides, as was announced at the hearing last year. A lot of voters, including me, are not happy with the way it appears that  the New Jersey's fluoride petition is being handled.  This is a matter of great health concern to a lot of people who don't want a medication literally shoved down their throats. Please ask the Council to reconsider the timing of their vote on this important issue. Dr. Paul Gilbert

The following letter was written by an Arkansas dentist and mayor to express his opposition to forced statewide fluoridation in his state. It is presented here with his permission.

March 18, 2005 Dear Editor: I grew up in NW Arkansas, went to college in Texas and Nebraska, and in 1976 completed degrees in Dentistry and Public Health in California.  I have been practicing Dentistry for the wonderful people in and around Amity, AR since 1977.  I served on the Amity City Council for 16 years and have served as Mayor of Amity for 6 years. I studied extensively the published research regarding the use and benefits of fluoride from the 1950s and thereafter.  I have told many, many people that it is the most researched and safest public health measure available to Americans.  I have prescribed fluoride tablets and drops and dispensed the same when patients could not afford them. In the past few months I have been studying the other side of the issue and have been forced to conclude that I, the Dental Profession and the American public have been outrageously duped by 1) major industries which required fluoride compounds in their manufacturing processes, and, 2) our federal government which initially needed fluorine in the process of concentrating uranium for the A-bomb and then was pressured by those same industries to protect their continuing needs for fluoride, and, later, promoted its use in water as evidence of its safety in industrial processes. Thankfully, our former president, Bill Clinton, declassified sufficient documents from the 1940s and 1950s that we now can see the historical and industrial relationships that dramatically changed both the scientific community’s and the federal government’s stance on fluoride use.  I believe that as more people become informed of the history and toxicity of fluoride we will see a paradigm shift away from its use in water and in dentistry.  I just recently heard of a Fluoride-Free Dental Office in Massachusetts, and a dental supply company just offered to send me a list of Fluoride-Free products. I am learning about research that is duplicating the studies of the ‘50s and ‘60s and presenting just the opposite results of those first reported.  For example, one study from 1991 revealed there were twice as many hip fractures in fluoridated cities than non-fluoridated cities--just the opposite results as those published 30 years prior. So, I urge you to urge your senator to vote “no” on HB2627 if for no other reason than to postpone the decision for two more years to give time for further study of this urgent health issue.  I would hate to see Arkansas take a foolish action such as this at a time when the rest of the country seems ready to reconsider both the effectiveness of water fluoridation and the alarming toxicity of all fluoride compounds, i.e. PFCs & PFOAs. From my recent studies, I am adamantly opposed to fluoridating the water of the City of Amity.  There is very credible science proving fluoridation a health hazard, especially to our children.  Let’s urge our elected leaders to oppose HB2627 and take this onerous toxic supplementation away instead of making it universal Sincerely, Chester V. Clark, Jr., DDS, MPH Mayor of Amity

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