Stopping the rot SIR: May I reply to Mr Samson
(Letters, 10 Feb- ruary) who imputes to me a censure of dentists! Not so, sir. I well know that dentists labour to teach the young the rules for good teeth. But, Mr Samson cannot deny that such labours are largely dissipated by school regimes which not only dis- courage, but often actively prevent, children at school obeying these rules.
I censure the responsible authorities which not only permit this Gilbertian situation but at the same time spend a lot of public money promoting water- fluoridation as a magic 'cure-all' for dental caries. Had that money been channelled to a practical programme of tooth care in schools (controlled tuckshops, slice of apple to end school dinner, and simple mouth-rinsing after eating at school), dental health education would have been a reality: at pre- sent it is not. And, had a fluoride mouth-washing scheme (as used in Swedish and Danish schools) been started, our children could also have had the
transient protection fluoride may give teeth—with- out offending ethics.
Faced as we are with increasing disease—of which dental caries and pyorrhoea are part—due to eating too much refined carbohydres, the in- cessant talk by health authorities of water-fluorida- tion signifies an imbalance . . . even emotionalism. Meg Dougal Viewfield, Linlithgow
Previous page
