Oral Health Inequalities

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) likes to think that "Water fluoridation reduces oral health inequalities across social groups". This is a claim with no foundation. Or rather, research which purports to uphold the DHSC's wish is inadequate and of low quality.

Unlike the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) which tries to uphold inadequate research, those of us who object to WF can read two strong systematic reviews dating from 2000 and 2015 which agree with each other that the proof to shore up the DHSC's belief is vapid. Below we have compiled the letters sent by the York Review principals to the DHSC together with the conclusion of the Cochrane Collaboration in 2015. 

We conclude that Government pays lip service to the ideal of reducing oral health inequalities whilst turning a blind eye to the greater incidence of dental fluorosis amongst disadvantaged fluoridated children.  A very recent piece of research in the link below concludes that Dental Fluorosis is not simply a matter of aesthetic concern: it is a symptom of toxicity.

Struzycka, I. et al. (2022). "Assessing fluorosis incidence in areas with low fluoride content in the drinking water, fluorotic enamel architecture, and composition alterations."  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, June 10, 2022.

"in the broad sense of the term, dental fluorosis is no longer seen merely as an aesthetic defect. It is increasingly being emphasized that fluorosis is not an isolated symptom but instead accompanied by systemic disorders. While the effect of a fluoride supply above the norm is visible on the teeth and may appear to be a cosmetic problem only, it can lead to long latent but ultimately severe health conditions. Children with clinically diagnosed dental fluorosis also suffer from such conditions as delayed somatic development, decreased metabolic activity in bone tissue, and magnesium deficiency [14,15]. Adults with dental fluorosis are more frequently diagnosed with osteoporosis of the long bones, degenerative changes in the spine, kidney stones, thyroid disorders, and hematological changes [16,17,18]."