No Fluoride for Babies Campaign

Are Kids being Overdosed on Fluoride?     Should Infants Drink Fluoridated Water?

Inspired by Professor Paul Connett's visit to Port Macquarie last week, we are starting a local campaign to warn all people not to give fluoridated water to children under 12 months of age.  Although the American Dental Association (see below) has been advising that children less than 1 year old should not be given fluoridated water since 2006, the Australian Dental Association has failed to notify parents about the risks of dental fluorosis and the fact that they’ve been unable to demonstrate any benefit in feeding fluoride to children before their teeth have erupted.

We believe that if our council is going to add fluoride to our drinking water, it is their responsibility to disclose it to residents so as to protect the most vulnerable members of our community, the children.

We will demand that Council includes the following statement on the water bills:

Your drinking water supply is fluoridated. Fluoridated water should not be used or added to infant formula, foods, or drinks intended for babies 12 months of age or younger in order to avoid dental fluorosis.

Surely it is in the council’s best interest to include this warning to minimise potential litigation.

We also believe that overseas visitors, including Europeans, who are not accustomed to receiving their medications via the tap, may appreciate similar warnings, which should be evident in hotel accommodation, restaurants and public amenities.

STATEMENTS ON INFANT EXPOSURE TO FLUORIDE

“... Infants less than one year old may be getting more than the optimal amount of fluoride (which may increase their risk of enamel fluorosis) if their primary source of nutrition is powdered or liquid concentrate infant formula mixed with water containing fluoride... If using a product that needs to be reconstituted, parents and caregivers should consider using water that has no or low levels of fluoride.”

American Dental Association. ADA.eGram, Interim Guidance on Reconstituted Infant Formula, November 9, 2006.

“…Recent evidence suggests that mixing powdered or liquid infant formula concentrate with fluoridated water on a regular basis may increase the chance of a child developing the faint white markings of very mild or mild dental fluorosis. This occurs on baby and permanent teeth while they are forming under the gums… It now appears that the amount of the fluoride contained in the water used for mixing infant formula may influence a child’s risk for developing dental fluorosis, particularly if the child’s sole source of nutrition is from reconstituted infant formula…”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Background: Infant Formula and the Risk for dental fluorosis. Date last modified: Nov. 17, 2010.

AND THIS, from the Nutrient Reference Values website (a joint initiative of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council - NHMRC, and the New Zealand Ministry of Health - MoH)

"Australian data have shown that prolonged consumption of infant formulas reconstituted with optimally-fluoridated water beyond 12 months of age could result in excessive amounts of fluoride being ingested during development of the enamel of the anterior permanent teeth and therefore may be a risk factor for fluorosis of these teeth (Silva & Reynolds 1996).

The majority of Australian/New Zealand infant formula manufacturers now control the concentration of fluoride. It is also possible to reduce concentrations by preparing formula using non-fluoridated water such as rain, filtered or spring water from non-volcanic areas in its preparation."

http://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/fluoride.htm