Kids Eat Too Much Fluoride From Foods, Studies Show

From New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 12:00:00 AM

Kids ingest excessive fluoride, studies show, not just from toothpaste, but from their foods, making water fluoridation unnecessary and unsafe.

University of Indiana researchers analyzed foods typical three- to five-year-olds eat and found diet significantly contributes to children's daily fluoride intake. This and many other studies show, children risk dental fluorosis from their food, alone(3a-L).

"...because the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis (white spotted, yellow or brown permanently stained teeth) appear to be increasing, there is a need to quantitate all potential sources of fluoride exposure," report Jackson, et al, in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (1).

Jackson found fluoride in McDonald's french fries, Aunt Millie's Homestyle Buttermilk White Bread, Iron Kids Bread, Lay's Baked and Ruffles potato chips, Heinz and Hunt's Ketchup, 12 different soda brands and fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds, fats, oils, sugars and sweets.

Excluding fluoridated water, toothpaste, treatments or other sources, three- to five-year-olds in fluoridated Richmond, Virginia, average over 1/2 milligram (.05 mg) fluoride daily. Some eat one milligram daily - higher than American Dental Association recommendations.

Between ages 15 and 36-months, children's front teeth are most fluorosis-prone. To avoid fluorosis in all teeth, the National Academy of Sciences(2a) advises the following daily-fluoride-intake from all sources (food, air, water, toothpaste, medicines, and supplements):

· infants up to 6 months old - less than 0.01 mg (one hundredth of a milligram)
· babies from 6 - 12 months - less than 0.5 mg (half a milligram)
· children from 1 to 3 years old - 0.7 mg (seven tenths of a milligram)
· children from 4 to 8 years old - less than 1 mg

Children's toothbrushing introduces 0.8 mg fluoride into their mouths, averaging 0.6 mg swallowed or absorbed from two brushings.(2b) One quart of fluoridated water contains approximately one milligram fluoride.

Despite the scientific evidence that America's children are fluoride over-dosed, dentists via well-organized political fluoridation action campaigns(8) convince trusting legislators to promote fluoridation and dose children with even more fluoride, wasting precious tax dollars and endangering children's health.

"The American Association of Pediatric Dentists' recent deal with Coca Cola(10) further illustrates dentistry's unfamiliarity with or disregard for the medical literature," says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.

U.S. children are over-fluoridated(4); while soda still erodes their teeth(5). Fluoride can't prevent soda-eroded teeth(6).

"In our opinion, Coke made a shrewd move by associating with pediatric dentists. Unfortunately, children who may see the Coke emblem in their dentists' offices will get the implied impression that dentists encourage soda drinking," says Beeber.

"Meanwhile, organized dentistry may use the Coke money to deliver more fluoride to soda-drinking, over-fluoridated children," says Beeber.

"We should improve child nutrition to prevent cavities, remove soda machines from schools and reduce fluoride exposure by stopping water fluoridation," says Beeber.

References:

(1) Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2002 Oct;30(5):382-91, "The fluoride content of foods and beverages from negligibly and optimally fluoridated communities,"
Jackson RD, Brizendine EJ, Kelly SA, Hinesley R, Stookey GK, Dunipace AJ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&lis...

(2) Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride (1999)
Institute of Medicine
a) page 302
b) page 296
(3) a) J Am Dent Assoc 1999 Nov;130(11):1593-9 Assessing fluoride levels of carbonated soft drinks, Heilman JR, Kiritsy MC, Levy SM, Wefel JS.

b) J Am Dent Assoc 1997 Jul;128(7):857-63
Fluoride concentrations of infant foods,Heilman JR, Kiritsy MC, Levy SM, Wefel JS

c) J Am Dent Assoc 1996 Jul;127(7):895-902
Assessing fluoride concentrations of juices and juice-flavored drinks,Kiritsy MC, Levy SM, Warren JJ, Guha-Chowdhury N, Heilman JR, Marshall T.

d) J Clin Pediatr Dent 1991 Fall;16(1):38-40
Fluoride levels and fluoride contamination of fruit juices,
Stannard JG, Shim YS, Kritsineli M, Labropoulou P, Tsamtsouris A.
e) J Public Health Dent 1995 Winter;55(1):39-52
Sources of fluoride intake in children,
Levy SM, Kiritsy MC, Warren JJ.
f) Behrendt A, Oberste V, Wetzel WE. (2002). Fluoride concentration and pH of iced tea products. Caries Research. 36(6): 405-410.

g) Fein NJ, Cerklewski FL. (2001). Fluoride content of foods made with mechanically separated chicken. J Agric Food Chem. 49(9):4284-6.

h) Turner SD, et al. (1998). Impact of imported beverages on fluoridated and nonfluoridated communities. Gen Dent 46(2):190-3

i)Stannard JG, et al. (1991). Fluoride Levels and Fluoride Contamination of Fruit Juices. Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry. 16(1):38-40

j)ASDC J Dent Child 2001 Jan-Feb;68(1):37-41,10
Fluoride content of infant formulas prepared with deionized, bottled mineral and fluoridated drinking water,Buzalaf MA, Granjeiro JM, Damante CA, de Ornelas F.

k) J Public Health Dent 1999 Fall;59(4):229-34
Fluoride intake by infants,Fomon SJ, Ekstrand J.

L) J Dent Res 1992 Jul;71(7):1382-8
Fluoride intake from beverage consumption in a sample of North Carolina children,
Pang DT, Phillips CL, Bawden JW.

(4) Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2002 Jun;30(3):199-209, "Error! Bookmark not defined.Error! Bookmark not defined.
Esthetically objectionable fluorosis attributable to water fluoridation,"
Griffin SO, Beltran ED, Lockwood SA, Barker LK.

(5) a) Soda Pop, Powdered Beverages, and Increased Caries Risk in Young Children Error! Bookmark not defined., S.M. LEVY, J.J. WARREN, B.A. BROFFITT, J.M. EICHENBERGER-GILMORE, and P.J. STUMBO, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA abstract presented at 2003 International Association of Dental Research annual meeting
http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2003SanAnton/techprogram/abstract_25155.htm
b) Associations between sugared soda consumption and permanent tooth caries, Heller et al,
http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2001aadr/scheduler/schedulerpaper.cgi?abstra...

(6) Caries Res 2002 Jan-Feb;36(1):75-80, "Fluoride is unable to reduce dental erosion from soft drinks, Larsen MJ, Richards A.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&lis...

(7) http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?objid=D1D1364E000000F3B58D...

(8) http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/products/issue2oralhealth.shtml

(10) http://www.cspinet.org/new/200303041.html



For more information, contact:
Paul S. Beeber
President & General Counsel
New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation
nyscof@aol.com

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