2/3 of Australia Fluoridated, but cavities rising!

[Guest guest]

Hi Carol,

Do you ever see 5 and six year old children drinking bottled water? This is

usually used by athletes and health conscious people trying to increase their

water intake as recommended in recent years.

arnold

Subj: 2/3 Fl Australian Cavities Increase 

Date: 4/16/2003 10:08:50 AM Eastern Standard Time

From: <A HREF= " mailto:NYSCOF " >NYSCOF</A>

<A HREF= " mailto:caru@... " >caru@...</A>

BCC: <A HREF= " mailto:Arnoldgore " >Arnoldgore</A>

2/3 of the Austrailian population is fluoridated and tooth decay rates have

increased. And, without science, as usual, instead of declaring fluoridation

a failure, bottled water consumption is blamed. Most articles titled their

blurb " Bottled water 'linked' to tooth decay " Here's one of the articles that

appears in many australian newspapers. This is the only one I've seen that

also blames junk food. But it implies cavities are linked to lower

consumption of fluoride, via bottled water, lower fl toothpaste and

discontinuation of fl tablets.  Of course, fluoride proponents don't need

evidence to base their conclusions on to get published.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/16/1050172650768.html

Tooth decay on rise as children shun tap water

By Ruth Pollard, Health Writer

April 17 2003

Increasing consumption of bottled water and junk food could be to blame for

the continuing decline in the dental health of Australia's children, experts

said yesterday.

Five-year-olds experienced a 22 per cent increase in decayed baby teeth over

the past four years, while six-year-olds had an 8 per cent increase in the

same period, a report found.

Produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, it also showed 10

per cent of those six-year-olds had more than five times the national average

the number of missing, decayed or filled teeth.The results of the Child

Dental Health Survey: Trends Across the 1990s, follow 20 years of improvement

in rates of tooth decay.

Despite decreasing standards in children's dental health, the report found

Australia had the second-lowest average number of decayed, missing or filled

permanent teeth in 12-year-olds when compared to 38 other countries.

   Rob , executive director of the Australian Dental Association, said

fluoride and effective health education had contributed to Australia's good

dental health. " But we can't ignore special needs for some groups in the

community, " Dr said. " Aborigines, recently arrived immigrants and

residents of the poorer areas of our capital cities ... [have a] standard of

oral health way below the national average. " And although 80 per cent of water

supplies of NSW contained fluoride, increasing use of bottled water was

having an impact.

" While people still get the benefits of fluoridation from toothpaste, those

who rely only on bottle water may be missing out, " Dr said.The 1995

National Nutrition Survey found more than 75 per cent of children ate

high-fat foods such as biscuits, more than half ate pies and hamburgers, and

more than a third ate snack foods such as chips.

" The high concentration of carbohydrates in some of these junk-food diets,

coupled with snacking ... and soft drinks means there is more exposure to

acid attack for teeth. " Dr said while all states had comprehensive

school dental programs, they did not cover pre-schoolers, who are at an age

where dental problems often begin

According to report author, Armfield, increases in tooth decay were

most evident for five-year-olds, with a 22 per cent rise between 1996 and

1999.The survey of 372,000 children also found a corresponding drop in the

percentage of children with no tooth decay.

Mr Armfield said the report had not examined why children's dental health was

in decline, but reduced fluoride intake and dietary changes may be

contributing. " There is some evidence to suggest younger children who drink

more bottled or tank water, which have no fluoride in them, have more tooth

decay, " he said.

A reduction in fluoride from other sources, because of the advent of low

fluoride toothpaste for children and the declining use of fluoride tablets,

could also be contributing. " Tooth decay has been steadily declining over the

last 20-30 years, so this is a fairly significant change ... and there are

some preliminary indications that the trend is continuing, " Mr Armfield said.

The NSW Chief Dental Officer, Alan , said discrepancies in data

collection had been corrected three years ago. The tabled NSW figure has been

adjusted accordingly.

----

<A

HREF= " http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6294287%255E421\

,00.html " >

http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6294287%255E421,00.h

tml</A>

Bottled water 'linked' to tooth decay

By Judy Skatssoon, National Medical Writer

16apr03

INCREASED consumption of bottled water may be contributing to a marked

decline in the dental health of young Australian children.

A national study has found an increase in decayed, missing or filled baby

teeth during the 1990s. The Child Dental Health Survey, Australia 1999:

Trends across the 1990s compared 372,000 children with previous studies.It

found an alarming decline in the condition of children's teeth, particularly

among the under-fives. " These data follow two decades of recorded declines in

decay experience in children, " the report said. " They show a trend of

increases in decay in younger children, and that some children have very high

levels of decay. "

Report co-author Armfield said the study did not look at the reasons

behind this.However, he speculated that reduced fluoride intake and dietary

changes - such as higher sugar consumption - may be contributing. " There's no

evidence for what's happening but there's probably a few things you could put

it down to, " he said. " One of them could be the increased popularity of

bottled and tank water. " We have evidence that children who consume higher

amounts of water from rainwater tanks and bottled water have higher caries

(caries) experience than children drinking water from fluoridated public

mains water. " There was a 22 per cent increase in decayed, missing or filled

teeth in children aged five and under between 1996 and 1999.Six year-olds in

the ACT had the lowest number of decayed, filled or missing teeth while those

in Queensland had the highest, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

(AIHW) report found.Twelve-year-olds in Queensland, Tasmania and had

the highest average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth.However, the

dental standards of Australian children remained high by world standards, Mr

Armfield said.

http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/sectionindex1/0,5934,koch^^TEXT^thecouri

ermail,00.html

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/16/1050172650768.html

CK

New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

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Fluoride Action Network

<A HREF= " http://www.fluoridealert.org/ " >http://www.fluoridealert.org</A>

New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation

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Fluoride Action Network

<A HREF= " http://www.fluoridealert.org/ " >http://www.fluoridealert.org</A>