Why spend so much to fluoridate Israel?
Dr. Hardy Limeback BSc PhD DDS Toronto Ontario Canada
hardy.limeback@utoronto.ca
Letters to the Editor,
Jerusalem Post.
May 9, 2002
Dear Editors,
Judy Siegel's article entitled "Country set for fluoridation" (May 1, 2002)
has mistakes of fact regarding water fluoridation. I wonder if the annual
cost of fluoridating Israel, which was quoted as $45,000,000 is a misprint.
The latest published data suggests that fluoridation may provide only up to
15% reduction in dental decay rates. With current low decay rates experienced
by civilized countries throughout the world today, this translates into only
a saving of one filling for every third or fourth person under 24 years of
age (over two decades). Israel is projected to have about 3,000,000 in this
age group by 2005 (data from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics).
Therefore, it will cost nearly a billion US$ ($45,000,000 per yr. X 22 yr. =
$990,000,000) to prevent approximately one million fillings over the next 22
years (about $1000 US per dental filling). If you factor in the cost of
treating the dental fluorosis (mottling of the teeth) that will inevitably
increase from introducing extra fluoride into the water, the cost of
equipment maintenance and replacement (the chemicals used are toxic waste
from the phosphate fertilizer industry), the cost of health care for
fluoridation workers who are exposed to the chemicals, and the cost of clean
up of accidental spills or fluoridation accidents (or, heaven forbid,
terrorist activity that could lead to injection of too much of the toxic
fluorides into the drinking water), Israel will be spending even hundreds
more US$ for every filling that is supposedly saved. It would seem that
Israel could spend the one billion US$ on other more important things, such
as security to protect the nation against future terrorist attacks, including
attacks on precious drinking and irrigation water supplies. Besides, why
would a country so desperate for clean drinking water want to contaminate it
with toxic waste from the US fertilizer industry?
Dr. Hardy Limeback BSc PhD DDS
Head, Preventive Dentistry
University of Toronto
Toronto Canada
01 416 979-4929-1-4461
|