Blue Sky
Blue Sky
“Blue sky” brainstorming refers to wide-open thinking – no restrictions – let all the ideas flow freely. And while blue sky has its place, when this type of speculation is applied to a health issue by network television reporters on a popular morning show, millions of viewers might end up with “advice” that does more harm than good.
The good and the not so good
The other day I tuned in to Good Morning America (GMA) for a few minutes and caught a report about a National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) study on dental health in the U.S.
I’ll start with the good news: It appears that the number of gum disease cases is dropping. The NCHS study compared data collected from a 1988-1994 survey to the results of a 1999-2004 survey and found that gum disease in seniors dropped from 27 percent to 17 percent, and gum disease in people between the ages of 20 and 64 dropped from 10 percent to five percent. This is excellent news, given that gum disease has been linked to increased risk of heart disease and pancreatic cancer.
Now for the bad news: Decay of baby teeth in young children is on the rise. The GMA report cited several reasons why this may be happening:
- A higher intake of sugary processed foods
- Inadequate dental care (many parents don’t begin dental visits around a child’s first birthday, as recommended)
- Poor brushing habits
- Increased use of bottled water
Of course, bottled water doesn’t cause cavities, but it also doesn’t contain the chemical we allow our municipal authorities to put into our water supply in any amount they see fit: fluoride.
Your “problem” may be your solution
In a media outlet like GMA, certain mainstream ideas are treated as gospel – no questions asked. So in GMA world, fluoridation of water is good for your teeth. Period. But as long-time e-Alert readers are aware, fluoridation is not all it’s cracked up to be. And that may be especially true in your first year of life.
In a 2004 study that appeared in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry followed nutrient intake of more than 675 subjects from birth to 16 months. Each subject was examined again about five years later.
The Iowa team reported this conclusion: “Infant beverages, particularly infant formulas prepared with fluoridated water, can increase the risk of fluorosis in primary teeth.” Dental fluorosis (caused by an overdose of fluoride) is a discoloration of teeth that can also cause pitting in enamel, which promotes cavities. In the worst cases, dental fluorosis can cause teeth to become so brittle they actually crumble.
The Iowa research backs up results of earlier studies. And you’ll never guess where you’ll find confirmation of that fact: Right smack in the middle of the mainstream, on the web site for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s a quote from the CDC site: “Recent studies have raised the possibility that mixing infant formula with fluoridated water, particularly for infants exclusively on a formula diet during the first year of life, may play a more important role in enamel fluorosis development than was previously understood. Learn more about infant formula and fluoridation.”
But don’t turn to GMA to learn more. They’ll tell you bottled water is part of the problem. In fact, it’s just the opposite: It’s part of the solution.
You can get more information about the drawbacks of water fluoridation in the e-Alert “Urban Legend” (4/5/06), which you can find at this link:
http://www.hsionline.com/ealerts/ea200604/ea20060405.html
Sources:
“Tooth Decay is on the Rise for Kids” Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press, 4/30/07, abcnews.go.com
“Associations between Intakes of Fluoride from Beverages during Infancy and Dental Fluorosis of Primary Teeth” Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23, No. 2, April 2004, jacn.org
“Water Fluoridation” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3/8/07, cdc.gov/fluoridation/safety
