A crack appears in the fluoride front

Two years ago, parents in the United States began noticing the word ``poison'' on their toothpaste tubes.

The reason: U.S. drug regulators were beginning to doubt the safety of fluoride, particularly to children, and demanded warnings on the labels.

Health Canada has not followed the U.S. lead, although fluoride toothpaste here does carry a mild warning to avoid swallowing it. But attitudes toward fluoride in this country are also beginning to change.

Dr. Hardy Limeback is a leading Canadian fluoride authority who is often cited by health officials in their defense of fluoridated water. He is also a long-standing consultant to the Canadian Dental Association and a professor of dentistry at the University of Toronto.

But in an interview last week, he conceded that fluoride may be destroying our bones, our teeth and our overall health. Although he still believes fluoride in toothpaste is effective against tooth decay, he says it doesn't need to be added to our water and we may be taking unnecessary risks by doing so.

``There is no point swallowing fluoridated water. The only benefit comes with direct contact with the teeth.''

Limeback is currently studying fluoride buildup in the body, and his results, like those of other studies, are worrisome.

``What we're finding indicates a trend: Torontonians have double the fluoride levels in their hip bones compared to Montreal, where water is not fluoridated.''

What effect these high fluoride deposits in our bones will have is unclear, he says, ``but we know that in areas of the world where water is naturally high in fluoride, skeletal fluorosis is a widespread problem.''

Skeletal fluorosis is a debilitating condition that occurs when fluoride accumulates in bones, making them extremely weak and brittle. In parts of China, India and Turkey where water is naturally high in fluoride, residents tend to age early and die before the age of 50, weak, arthritic and hunched over. ``Old'' men of 30 drag themselves around, leaning on sticks; their bones shatter like glass when they fall. Women give birth to dead babies after pregnancies of only four months.

If this description sounds familiar, there's a good reason. Limeback says ``most'' of the children he treats in his Mississauga practice suffer dental fluorosis, and by some estimates, 60 per cent of all children living in fluoridated areas have it.

What causes it in these children is not just the water. Young children do not have the reflexes to avoid swallowing toothpaste when brushing their teeth. Some even enjoy the taste of it. And because they're developing rapidly, children are more susceptible to the negative effects of fluoride buildup.

``Children under three should never use fluoridated toothpaste. Or drink fluoridated water. And baby formula must never be made up using Toronto tap water. Never. In fluoridated areas, people should never use fluoride supplements. We tried to get them banned for children but (the dentists) wouldn't even look at the evidence we presented,'' says Limeback, emphasizing that we are now spending more treating dental fluorosis than we would spend treating cavities if water were not fluoridated.

For decades, anti-fluoride activists have blamed fluoride (which is only slightly less poisonous than arsenic) for a variety of problems, including osteoporosis, bone cancer, kidney problems, arthritis, genetic damage and birth defects, premature aging, lowered intelligence, and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.

Although there are numerous studies suggesting links between fluoride and various illnesses, pro-fluoridationists have always contended - correctly - that the exact effects of long-term fluoridation on our bodies have not been established beyond a shadow of a doubt.

As Chris Clark, a high-profile fluoride booster and professor of dentistry at the University of British Columbia, says, ``There is no proof that fluoride causes brittle bones or cancer'' at current concentrations.

(Toronto's water supply is 1 part per million (ppm) fluoride. Toothpaste, typically, contains 1,500 ppm.)

Limeback, who until very recently would have been considered an ally of Clark's, vehemently disagrees.

``We absolutely know about the tragic consequences of higher levels of fluoride, and we know it builds up over time.

``These people haven't done any studies to find out what effect fluoride accumulation will have at current levels. How can they say it's safe when the studies haven't been done? Right now, we have people who have been ingesting fluoride for 35 years. What happens in another 50 years, when these people have been adding this poison to their bones for 85 years?''

Limeback points out that almost all the beverages we drink (beer, pop, juice) are made with fluoridated water. Fish and other foods also contain fluoride. Many of the vegetables we eat are fertilized with compounds containing fluoride; they are irrigated with, and washed and cooked in, fluoridated water. So we are getting far more fluoride than it appears.

And, considering safe fluoride levels in terms of concentrations (parts per million) is a dubious practice, since at least half the fluoride we ingest fuses with bones and teeth and never leaves the body.

So although a big one-time dose of fluoride can kill - as happened to a New York boy during a fluoride treatment and to people in Alaska when too much fluoride was accidentally added to the water - Limeback says it's the cumulative effect we should be most worried about.

http://www.actionpa.org/fluoride/torontostar.html