[LINK] The true cost of bottled water

[Kim Holburn]

On 2007/Feb/08, at 2:05 AM, Stewart Fist wrote:
> Alan wrote
>>
>> And bottled water is having a deleterious effect on dental health.  
>> Too
>> many kids not getting their dose of flourides.
>
> That's another of my pet peeves.  I have no objection to flouridised
> toothpaste, salt, milk or whatever -- or to dentists painting teeth  
> with
> fluoride.
>
> But why does the government presume it can medicate me via the  
> water supply
> - when consumption of the stuff is so incredibly variable.
>
> I'm old enough that the potential for fluoride attack on the  
> stability and
> strength of my bones is a serious concern.  (it replaces calcium in  
> the bone
> structure).  And as people get older, and live longer the extra  
> fluoride
> will have longer to do its damage.

Can you quote actual studies or are you just worrying?  Surely there  
must be enough evidence now to prove this one way or another.

> I suspect the kids not getting fluoride via bottled water is  
> another urban
> myth.

I have only anecdotal evidence but dentists I have talked to say  
there was a generation (let's call them generation x say) when  
everyone drank tap water with flouride that hardly have any fillings  
at all.  They say that since the introduction of bottled water the  
situation has gone downhill.  I also know some generation x'ers that  
have no or virtually no fillings at all.  I would be interested in  
seeing stats on this because up til now I have taken this on faith.

> How would anyone know what the causal chain is for teeth decay.
> Don't they go to the dentist?  Don't they eat vegies grown in  
> fluoridated
> water?

I'm not sure plants pick up flouride and I'm not sure that vegies are  
grown with water from a reticulated, chlorinated, fluoridated, town  
water supply.

> Do their parents specifically choose non-fluoride toothpaste?
>
> It could well be just a dentists toothless excuse for why dental  
> decay bugs
> are now becoming resistant to fluoride.
>
> In the true spirit of Link this is offered as a theory, which, in  
> keeping
> with current trends, is not supported by any evidence whatsoever.

And of course it's nothing to do with the fact that dentists were  
left out of medicare entirely and that is causing a severe problems,  
even having people hospitalised for bad teeth.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/parenting/dental-as-anything-the-black- 
hole-of-tooth-decay/2007/02/05/1170524080102.html
> Dental as anything: the black hole of tooth decay
>
> Jill Stark
> February 6, 2007
> AdvertisementAdvertisement
>
> The shocking state of children's dental health is revealed in new  
> figures showing a 42 per cent rise in under-12s being treated in  
> private hospitals for tooth decay.
>
> The Australian Dental Association has called for a government  
> health campaign after a major private health insurance company  
> found the number of children being admitted to hospital for rotting  
> teeth had increased from 436 in 2000 to 619 in 2005.
>
> Claims for hospital treatment for children's fillings rose 66 per  
> cent and preventive dental care claims are up 72 per cent.
>
> Six-year-olds emerged as most at risk of rotting teeth, with a 95  
> per cent increase in hospital admissions, prompting calls for  
> children to have dental check-ups from their first birthday.
>
> The figures, compiled from insurance claims made by MBF members,  
> mirror a recent study by the Australian Research Centre for  
> Population Oral Health that revealed the rate of children under  
> nine having general anaesthetics for dental work has tripled.
>
> Soft drinks and sugar-laden juices are blamed for the rise in tooth  
> decay and experts have urged parents to encourage children to drink  
> fluoridated tap water.
>
> Prime Minister John Howard recently described the tooth-decay  
> crisis as a national tragedy and called for children to drink a  
> glass of tap water a day.
>
> But Australian Dental Association president John Matthews said the  
> figures showed public awareness of oral health had to be a priority.
>
> "It sheets home a certain level of complacency about a very common  
> disease, dental decay," he said. "One of the things we've asked the  
> Government to do in this election year is to look at how you can  
> translate some of the successes they've had with health promotion  
> with Quit and Slip Slop Slap and get-fit messages, and whether it's  
> time to start looking back at dentistry for similar campaigns."
>
> Dental cavities rank fourth in the top 10 reasons for admission to  
> private hospitals.
>
> The president of the Australian and New Zealand Society of  
> Pediatric Dentistry, Dr John Winters, said the rise in child tooth  
> decay in the past 15 years was almost certainly due to the amount  
> of fruit juice and soft drinks being consumed.
>
> But he said hospital treatment was often the most effective method  
> of treatment for dental cavities.
>
> "Under general anaesthetic we have the optimal work environment —  
> the kids are still, they keep their mouth open, they don't get  
> frightened, they don't start to get upset when you're halfway  
> through."
>
> A spokeswoman for State Health Minister Bronwyn Pike said more than  
> $130 million for dental services was allocated in the last budget.  
> Waiting lists for general dental care fell about 60 per cent in the  
> past 18 months.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/something-is-rotten-with-our-state- 
of-inequality/2005/02/14/1108229934431.html

--
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
Ph: +39 06 855 4294  M: +39 3342707610
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request

Democracy imposed from without is the severest form of tyranny.
                           -- Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Analog, Apr 1961