Multi-billion
dollar international conglomerates, which benefit from tooth decay and fluoride
sales, pour money into organized dentistry, which is behind virtually every
fluoridation initiative. Money makes dentistry politically powerful and enables them to get laws passed to benefit dentists' bottom line.
Dentists,
inside and outside of government and industry, seem to have vast amounts of
money and influence to promote fluoridation. Where does it come from?
The ADA and
the ADA Foundation received over $28 million from pharmaceutical companies,
dental equipment manufacturers and insurance companies, from 2006 – 2009,
according to a January 20, 2010, letter from the ADA’s Chief Financial Officer
to U.S. Senator Charles Grassley.
Grassley
wants more accountability and transparency between the ADA and industry. The ADA didn’t comply with Grassley’s
request to publish its corporate funders on its website. However, Grassley listed
them on his own website http://www.grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/files/about/upload/2011-05-04-CEG-Letter-to-American-Dental-Association.pdf
Fluoride-selling
pharmaceutical giants listed include: Colgate, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson &
Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Pfizer, and others.
ADA’s Seal of Acceptance
Several companies on Grassley’s list
paid a “Seal Program Maintenance Fee,” totaling $574,000 for four years
(2006-2009).
The ADA requires a one-time, non-refundable
submission fee before reviewing over-the-counter products ($14,500 per
product). If given the ADA’s Seal of Acceptance, companies are
required to pay an annual maintenance fee of $3,500 per product, according to
Jan Lord, Manager, Acceptance Program, ADA’s Council on Scientific Affairs.
Approximately, 260 items appear on the ADA’s current Accepted “Shopping List.” A large number are fluoride products.
More Legal Financial Exchanges
between the ADA and Industry
Sometimes
the ADA joins into
“Cause-Related-Marketing” with for-profit companies. For example: the William Wrigley Company agreed to donate a
percentage of its ADA Accepted chewing gum products to the ADA’s Give Kids A Smile program,
according to Guidelines Governing the
American Dental Association’s Corporate Relationships.
Wrigley
paid the ADA $36,000 to review some of Wrigley’s
sugar-free chewing gum studies to get the ADA’s Seal of Acceptance,
according to CNN’s
Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Gupta writes, “The
ADA stands by its seal and told us any company can apply for the seal, as long
as the company pays for it.
Johnson & Johnson gave $900,000
to fund the ADA’s annual session’s distinguished speaker series
(2006-2009).
Many prominent
journalists and politicians have been paid to speak at ADA conventions. In 2013
former President Bill Clinton was the main event. Some might say it’s a good
way to buy influence.
Colgate’s
Volpe and a Henry Schein, Inc. representative serve on the Board of Directors
of Forsyth Institute which bills itself
as “the only independent research institute in America specializing in oral health and its impact on
overall wellness.” Forsyth is where Dr. Phyllis Mullenix’s research found that
fluoride can cause brain deficits in rodents. Mullenix was fired for publishing
her results in a peer-reviewed, respected journal, against the orders her
Forsyth boss, explained
in the first chapter of “The
Fluoride Deception.”
Dental Schools are corporation-subsidized
The
NYU Donor Honor Roll reveals that Colgate-Palmolive Company and Nobel Biocare
USA, Inc gave
from $1 to 4$ million (2011-2012).
Centers for Disease Control
If a
community elects to stop fluoridation, invariably a dentist and his posse shows
up intimidating them into re-starting fluoridation. As ammunition, they state
that “CDC has recognized water fluoridation as one of the 10 great public
health achievements of the 20th century.”
That
statement may sound impressive. However it was made by dental professionals
within the CDC’s Oral Health Division, who are paid to promote
fluoridation. The CDC also says, “It is
not CDC's task to determine what levels of fluoride in water are safe.”
The CDC’s
Oral Health Division may be a stepping stone into a more lucrative career
promoting fluoridation for outside interests. When forced to defend
fluoridation with words and not hide behind catch-phrases and government
credentials, two former CDC Oral Health Division Directors fell short.
a) Dentist
William Kohn - Now with Delta Dental, a dental “insurance” company that
strongly supports fluoridation financially, Kohn does a poor job of convincing
anyone to endorse fluoridation in a series of Delta Dental YouTube videos. I’ll
bet he makes way more money in his new job.
b) Dentist
William Mass was equally impotent when asked to defend fluoridation before a
county legislature in his new job as Fluoridation Consultant to the billion-dollar
Pew Foundation’s Dental Policy group. Under his guidance, Pew fluoridation
initiatives in Portland, Oregon and Wichita, Kansas failed when voters rejected
fluoridation 60% to 40% despite the vast amount of money spent trying to
convince them to swallow the fluoride.
Dentists Doing Very Well, Thank You,
Despite Fluoridation
Fluoridation
hasn’t hurt dentistry’s bottom line at all. In fact, dentistry is big business
today despite 7 decades of water fluoridation and a glut of fluoridated dental products. Americans spent about $108
billion on dentists in 2011,
an inflation-adjusted increase from $64 billion in 1996, according to the General
Accounting Office. But a dental crisis still exists.
Since
fluoridation doesn’t reduce tooth decay, whose best interests are served by
protecting fluoride’s image?
And,
as you know, toothpaste isn’t the only fluoridated dental product on the
market.
Fluoridation
has created a lucrative new market for cosmetic dentistry. Fluoride-overdose
symptoms, dental fluorosis (discolored teeth) has increased in incidence and
severity over the years. WebMD writes,
“Although fluorosis is not a disease, its effects can by psychologically
distressing and difficult to treat. Parental vigilance can play an important
role in preventing fluorosis.”
Sales of
fluoride varnish are soaring as organized dentistry lobbied legislators to
increase, require or allow their use among more practitioners – even though the
varnish contains a hugely toxic 22,600 parts per million fluoride and has never
been FDA approved for cavity reduction or safety tested. http://www.cda.org/Portals/0/pdfs/ab667_topical_fluoride_faq.pdf
Money is Power
Why
does the ADA need so much money? Money is power in American politics. The ADA’s Political Action
Committee is considered a Heavy Hitter
by the Center
for Responsive Politics. It seems that organized dentistry lobbies mostly
for laws that benefit their member dentists. Some legislation masquerades as a
public benefit. Fluoridation wears such a mask.
The
New York State Dental Association brags about its legislative victories on its website
The
New York Times reported about the NY Dental Association’s political clout
and sleazy politicking, in 2008.
Healthy Diets Make
Healthy Teeth without Fluoride
Even
the ADA admits good dental health begins in the womb.
It’s important for pregnant women to receive sufficient amounts of
tooth-building nutrients, including
calcium, protein, phosphorous and vitamins A, C and D But dentists
are mostly focused on fluoride, a drug with adverse side effects, that is not
even essential for healthy teeth. American children are especially deficient in
Vitamin D and calcium, which is linked to
more tooth decay.
But
there’s no money in selling nutrients and healthy eating.
So
it’s not surprising that the U.S. is experiencing a tooth
decay epidemic along with a fluoride-overdose epidemic. Up to 60% of
adolescents have dental fluorosis. Yet 51% of them have tooth decay.
Nearly 9,500 new dental providers are
needed to meet the country’s current oral health
Who’s in Charge?
No
government agency has direct oversight of fluoridation. The CDC it’s not responsible for fluoridation
safety. The FDA regulates fluoride as a drug for topical application and
considers ingested fluoride such as fluoride supplements, an unapproved drug.
The EPA regulates fluoride in water supplies as a contaminant. Organized dentistry, fueled by corporate
cash, protects fluoride’s image and promotes fluoridation but not the American public.
So Why Fluoridation?
The
dental crisis America
faces today is because dentistry has become a luxury service that most
Americans can’t afford. 80% of dentists
refuse to accept Medicaid patients, 130 million lack dental insurance. Many with dental insurance can’t afford
dentistry’s high out of pocket fees. The
answer is simple - legalize Dental Therapists in the US as
they have been for decades in other first world countries. They just need 2 or 3 years training to do
simple dentistry. They will go into mouths and areas dentists refuse to go. Studies
show they are highly effective and more affordable.
However,
organization dentistry, with its pockets full of corporate cash, lobby long and
hard to keep affordable dentistry an oxymoron in the US. Dentists lobby against dental therapists because,
some say, they infringe upon dentists lucrative monopoly.
END