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Health officials delayed report linking fluoride to brain harm

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Re: Health officials delayed report linking fluoride to brain harm

#431

Post by epgui »

wrp wrote: post #285
epgui wrote: post #24

As a biochemist, this seems to be a very complex issue that has been unnecessarily politicized. What happened with this report is interesting in and of itself, but I would not draw any conclusions (or make any inferences) from this, frankly.

Besides being politicized, views on this issue will also be affected by personal experience. I've lived much of my life in Oregon, where there is no fluoridation. It seems to be widely believed by dentists here that people growing up in Oregon have poorer teeth and that it's largely because of the lack of fluoridation. I'm not arguing the merits, just pointing out the cultural belief.

What you’re pointing at is a scientific question of fact though, not a cultural belief. It’s the (or a) conclusion you’d likely reach after completing dental school.

There is a cultural/political side of the question, however: given that we know water fluoridation is safe and relatively efficacious at preventing caries, are we willing to pay for it and actually do it, and how much do we want to listen to people’s arbitrary feelings on the matter? That is a valid political question.

Re: Health officials delayed report linking fluoride to brain harm

#433

Post by blurbleblurble »

Fluoride increases precipitation of calcium onto tissues. It's very straightforward. Some parts of the brain are directly exposed to the blood and get easily calcified. In particular, parts of the brain associated with regulation of circadian rhythm are known to get calcified in the presence of higher fluoride. This has been known and understood for a long time.

I'd like to take this as an opportunity to voice frustration with "rationalist skeptics", who for the longest time have ridiculed critics of mass water fluoridation. Maybe it's because they're really into the comforts of orthodoxy moreso than skepticism?

Using bullying and ridicule to reinforce unfounded scientific/medical orthodoxy in the name of "skepticism", or even in the name of "evidence" that you don't have... It isn't scientific no matter how much you'd like to believe it is.

Re: Health officials delayed report linking fluoride to brain harm

#434

Post by mandelbrotwurst »

UncleMeat wrote: post #384
spacephysics wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hot take: why don’t we stop the root cause of the problem, instead of the insestuous habit of layering on symptom management on top of symptom management. Stop giving kids these insanely high levels of sugar. No soda is a great start. Same thorn in my side is this completely crazy trend that this new life-long injection Ozempic/Wegovy is being suggested for kids 12 and up. Like what? It also atrophies muscle, tendons…

Liquid sugar is bad for teeth, but nowhere near as bad as something like potato chips. Food remnants that are high in carbs that get stuck in your teeth and then break down into simple sugars cause way more problems.

Nobody is getting so much food stuck on their teeth that it's having a significant impact on their overall diet and metabolism.

Re: Health officials delayed report linking fluoride to brain harm

#435

Post by bandyaboot »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #427
bandyaboot wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is evidence both ways, the original reports were that children's dental health improved after they stopped fluoridation in the 70s. Has that effect been persistent? I would think the news of flouride being removed from the water would cause an increase in dental health diligence, but I would also be surprised if that effect didn’t wane over time.

I don't know what they do in the Netherlands, but in rural parts of the United States where people are on well water, fluoride treatments are common. Florida is directly applied to the teeth during a dental visit, then washed out. Anecdotally, this is what I had and I have great Dental Health despite for brushing hygiene. I often skip brushing my teeth and almost never floss and haven't had a cavity in 40 years

Fwiw, I’ve pretty much always lived with access to municipal water with added flouride and have also always been given flouride treatment at the dentist. I think the latter is pretty universal in the US.

Re: Health officials delayed report linking fluoride to brain harm

#436

Post by rgbgraph »

hkt wrote: post #273
tnel77 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>You can't just do it by strong assertion. Sir, this is the internet. Sources are for the weak. Just type your response so it’s passionate and angry and people will believe you!

My father was a fluoride ion and was added to a city water supply! Are you telling me his sacrifice was in vain?! >:(

[flagged]

Re: Health officials delayed report linking fluoride to brain harm

#437

Post by rgbgraph »

hgsgm wrote: post #425
adrian_b wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not something sensitive, but I dislike the fact that the camp who has introduced water fluoridation does not have any rational or experimental argument in its favor, yet there are many who believe that water fluoridation is supported by "health scientists", so I believe that it is necessary to speak against such disinformation. Hardening the tooth enamel by fluoride is exactly like an anti-corrosive treatment o…

Putting water in your mouth is external application.

[flagged]

Re: Health officials delayed report linking fluoride to brain harm

#438

Post by rgbgraph »

Obscurity4340 wrote: post #140
CodexArcana wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Can you imagine? Definitely abbreviates the "sweet tea" making process

Would increase water consumption in the general populace — diverting some usage of sugary drinks.

Health officials get to say they lead an initiative that drastically improved water drinking and drastically reduced soda drinking. Who wouldn’t that on their CV?

Long-term side-effects require longitudinal studies that can be done post facto. Give it 50 years, maybe. By then everyone who dreamt up the scheme will be already retired or dead — and no careers will ever be in jeopardy.

Sounds familiar, but it has a certain special twist to it. If anyone here decides to implement this idea, please invite me to your Nobel prize reception.

Re: Health officials delayed report linking fluoride to brain harm

#439

Post by jeezfrk »

TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #119

Adding fluoride to water has always seemed weird to me, since you can't control for how much water someone is drinking or account for different bodily factors like age and weight. I wonder why the European solution of adding it to salt isn't the default, especially given that iodized salt is already so popular and commonplace. As a general rule of thumb, I think it's interesting to scrutinize dosage recommendations a…

change our kids over to frack fluid! better still ... give em dioxin the way capitalist Jesus intended!
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