As If We Needed Another Reason to Oppose Fluoridation…

Perhaps Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine Arvid Carlsson put it best: “Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It’s really obsolete.” It’s also risky, with health effects ranging from fluorosis to any number of physical illnesses and problems. The Fluoride Action Network lists 50 reasons to oppose fluoridation, but now there might be another …

Teaching Kids Good Dental Hygiene Habits

As we’ve noted previously, children’s tooth decay continues to rise, often left untreated. We can imagine a few reasons parents might ignore the issue – from financial hardship to the belief that decay in primary teeth doesn’t really pose a problem since the teeth will just fall out anyway. The latter, of course, isn’t a …

“If a Guardian Refuses Amalgam…We Will Not See the Patient”

Via Charlie Brown of Consumers for Dental Choice     Pennsylvania Dental Association: Deny All Dental Treatment to Children with Disabilities Unless Parents Consent to Mercury Exposure   In an act of moral depravity, the Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) and the Philadelphia County Dental Society (PCDS) have endorsed strong-arming parents of children with disabilities to …

Adults’ Smoking Rots Kids’ Gums, Too

Last month, we told you about a study linking childhood caries (cavities) to exposure to secondhand smoke. Now a new study to be published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology shows that it may not be just the health of kids’ teeth that’s at risk but that of their gums, as well. Similar to the …

Your Smoking Rots Your Kids’ Teeth

We all know smoking is bad for us, upping our risk of so many diseases, from periodontitis (gum disease) to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and emphysema. It also increases the disease risk of those around us, courtesy of the effects of secondhand smoke. And recent research indicates one rather surprising disease in children that …

Green Tea May Prevent Oral Cancer & Other News of Note

Green Tea May Help Prevent Oral Cancer (US News & World Report) A new study appears to add to growing evidence that green tea might help protect against cancer. U.S. researchers gave 41 volunteers with pre-malignant mouth lesions green tea extract for three months at doses of 500 milligrams per meter squared (mg/m2), 750 mg/m2 …

Stat!: Parents & the H1N1 Vaccine

Percent of American parents concerned about side effects of the H1N1 vaccine: 72   izahorsky/Flickr   Percent who say they would let their kids get H1N1 vaccinations at school: 59 Percent who wouldn’t allow it: 38   Source: SF Chronicle/AP

H1N1 Vaccine Risks and Tamiflu Risks for Kids

As the new school year gets underway, we’re hearing a lot more about H1N1 “prevention,” including, of course, the “importance” of vaccinations. We’ve already written quite a bit about problems with vaccinations and the need for people to be completely informed before opting for or against jabs for themselves or their children. Now, reports the …

Stopping Gum Disease and Other News of Note

Study: Malnutrition Can Prompt Gum Disease (DrBicuspid.com) Haitian children who were exposed to protein-energy malnutrition during the first five years of their lives had a higher occurrence of periodontal disease by adolescence than children who had sufficient nutrition during those years, according to a study presented at the recent International Association for Dental Research (IADR) …

First Year CA Schoolkids Need to Get Their Teeth Checked

A reminder to our California readers: All California public school students must get “an oral health assessment performed by a licensed dentist or other licensed or registered dental health professional” before the end of their first school year (kindergarten or first grade). The deadline for submitting proof of exam is fast approaching: May 31. These …