A second major US health watchdog, the Center for Disease Control (‘CDC’) last week repeated the November 9th warning(1) by the American Dental Association not to use fluoridated tap water to make up infant formula (2) due to its direct link to dental fluorosis (3).

“Irish parents are being kept in the dark about this new fluoride alert because Mary Harney perpetuates the cover-up to protect the holy cow of water fluoridation even if it means putting thousands of babies in Ireland at risk of dental fluorosis” said VOICE spokesman Robert Pocock, adding “ fluoridation has to be stopped immediately”.

Both warnings to use fluoride-free water for infant formula come after new research revealed that a baby’s first months are critical for the formation of both primary AND permanent teeth and a high risk time for dental fluorosis. Almost 40% of Irish fifteen-year olds now have dental fluorosis (4). The CDC has now confirmed that newborns should not receive more than 0.01 milligrams of fluoride per day; there is almost sixty times the fluoride in a pint of formula (the typical intake of a newborn) made up with fluoridated tap water.*

“The huge increase in dental fluorosis among teenagers requires immediate action,” added Pocock, and these US warnings about keeping fluoride out of baby formula must be passed on to Irish parents now”.

Minister Harney appears to be advised by the Expert Body on Fluorides and Health, but its members are hopelessly compromised by their unquestioning support for fluoridation. Many of the Expert Body members were also on the Fluoridation Forum whose report in 2002 has been described as flawed by a former chairman of the Western Health Board (5). One of the Forum’s most indefensible actions in 2001 involved the retraction of advice to parents not to use fluoridated tap water to make up formula, an episode which the Oireachtas Joint Health Committee has severly criticised on several occasions.

In another development, the taxpayer-funded Dental Health Foundation (‘DHF’) has issued new guidance on the risks of swallowing fluoride toothpaste(6). This in turn appears to be in reponse to EU scientific advice(7) warning young children not to swallow fluoride. However the EU advice also indicates that an infant receives more fluoride from drinking fluoridated water than from swallowing toothpaste, therefore this DHF advice is misleading since it says nothing about swallowing fluoridated tap water (8).

Commented Pocock, “Here is yet more evidence that, no matter how much children are over-exposed to fluoride as many Irish dentists have confirmed, the minister will not do anything about it since it involves the sacred cow of water fluoridation. But Mary Harney is fast running out of time and, instead of acting to protect the most vulnerable from this dysfunctional practice, it seems likely that the vested interests of the fluoridation devotees will outlast her tenure in Hawkins House”.

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(1) http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/safety/infant_formula.htm

(2) http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/positions/statements/fluoride_infants.asp?id=egram_061109

(3) http://www.fluoridealert.org/dental-fluorosis.htm

(4) www.idof.net

(5) http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=HEJ20040513.xml&Node=293#N293

Joint Committee on Health and Children Thursday, 13 May 2004 Sen Terry Leyden stated:

"...In the light of my experience since as chairman of the Western Health Board, I would not now put fluoride in water had that not happened in the 1950s... The fluoridation forum report of 2002 is defective and should be re-examined. The Government should seriously consider removing fluoride from water... The authorities in Sweden decided to remove fluoride from water schemes and I say quite openly that I will be campaigning for the same in Ireland. It is about time that we took action."

(6) http://www.dentalhealth.ie/dentalhealth/index.tmpl?secid=20020821120259&subid=20020822145733

(7) http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_sccp/docs/sccp_o_024.pdf

(8) Voiceireland.org Press Release of 11th January 2007

* Typical intake of newborn is one pint = 0.568 litre. 1 litre tap water contains 1mg fluoride, thus

0.568litre contains 0.568 mg fluoride or 57 times the 0.01mg F recommendd by CDC.