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Foreword: Dr Vyvyan Howard on 'Fluoride: Drinking Ourselves to Death'
Barry Groves has performed a considerable service to society by producing a
clearly written book, which summarises much of the scientific evidence
available on the vexed question the fluoridation of public drinking water
supplies. The format of the book is based on a circular notice sent to UK
dentists by the British Fluoridation Society (BFS), which detailed a series of
questions that might be posed by patients and provides suggested answers to
those questions. Barry Groves takes each question and the BFS answer in turn
as the basis of a series of short chapters which then present what is known and
published about each topic. This juxtaposition serves to put in stark relief
the apparent evasive nature or clear biasedness of many of the BFS's suggested
responses.
What are the most important questions? Readers of this book will find that the
science underpinning the widespread introduction of drinking water
fluoridation, with the claim that it reduces dental decay, appears decidedly
thin and shaky. For instance, data are presented to show that there are many
examples of dental decay rates being higher in fluoridated areas than in
non-fluoridated ones.
There are relatively few countries in the world that use fluoridation, the USA
(where it all started) and some mainly English speaking countries across the
globe. In many other countries it is simply against the law to contemplate the
mass medication of a whole population with a substance that everyone, even the
protagonists, will admit has the potential to be toxic at certain doses. A
major consideration about fluoride is that the margin of safety for fluoride is
about 100 times less than that tolerated for drinking water pollutants. The
industrial source of the actual fluorosilicates used to fluoridate and their
potential contamination with toxic metals is thoroughly covered in the book.
What other therapeutic prophylactic substance has ever been allowed to be
administered to patients, unsupervised, with no control over consumption and no
recommendation for dose? Fluoride is recognised as a cumulative toxic
substance and there is considerable scientific evidence showing that a
proportion of the population is liable to consume more fluoride than is
advisable. This can lead, amongst other conditions, to osteoporosis. Since the
concept of fluoridating public water supplies was introduced we have become
exposed to many other sources, through fluoridated dentifrices, tablets, and
dental treatments, which has exacerbated the problem. In addition, for any drug
that has ever been produced, there will be a minority of the population who
will, because of their genetic make up, be peculiarly susceptible to its toxic
properties. Furthermore there are periods, such as fetal life, infancy and
extreme old age, when the body's ability to detoxify substances and excrete
them are less than optimal. It appears that few considerations for such
vulnerabilities in water fluoridation have been made.
Whatever the merits of the case, and you can judge those for yourselves, I am
personally opposed in principle to the mass medication of whole populations.
There is no shortage of fluoride containing products for people to be able to
make an informed choice on their own behalf and those of their families. In
addition there are no arguments for the overwhelming necessity of such
treatment. This combined with the genetic susceptibility of some, as outlined
above, makes the whole proposition subject to questioning on an ethical basis,
as discussed in this book.
The book contains a number of accounts of actions that have been taken against
dentists and academics who have had the temerity to question the wisdom of mass
fluoridation. Clear violations of academic freedom appear to have been
committed. As academic freedom continues to come under increasing pressure,
with a majority young academics being appointed to short term contracts, this
is something that should exercise the minds of all in society that value the
importance of freedom and independence of thought amongst scientists. If
academic freedom is ever allowed to be strangled then the type of data that has
made the writing of this book possible will become very scarce.
I hope that you will enjoy this book, which must be regarded as essential
reading for those who wish to enter an informed debate on this topic. As a
microscopist who has had a research interest in the formation and build up of
dental plaque and a toxico-pathologist with an interest in the effect of toxic
substances on development, I have found this volume to be in turn informative,
readable and thought provoking. When you have finished reading, if you come to
the same conclusion, recommend it to others!
Dr C Vyvyan Howard MB. ChB. PhD. FRCPath.
Toxico-Pathologist
Last updated 2 February 2002
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