Focus on Flouride On Nov. 9, 2006, American Dental Association alerted their members that to prevent dental fluorosis powdered infant formula should not be reconstituted in fluoridated water. The Feb. 12 issue of The Reminder mentions this alert in a statement issued by the Longmeadow Board of Health (LBOH). However, the alert was obscured in a rather long statement that focused more on the reinforcement of the unconditional endorsement of fluoridation than on the harm that fluoridated water can do to the infants. The two objectives of the statement are contradictory and the statement would serve the community better if it was shorter and more focused on the safety issue. According to the LBOH statement, several organizations endorse fluoridation of water despite of the fact that the dental effect of fluoride is topical rather than systemic and that prolonged systemic ingestion of fluoridated water is not safe for children and adults as well as infants. Since organizational endorsements are issued by administrators who may have economic and political conflicts of interest, these endorsements are not always supported by sound scientific and medical evidence and it sometimes takes many years for the organization to issue the necessary safety warning (for example; toxicity of asbestos, cigarettes, lead and mercury). There is already sufficient evidence that the biochemical and pharmacological properties of fluoride can enhance the incidence of diseases such as arthritis, bone brittleness and bone cancer, cardiovascular complications, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorders, pineal gland dysfunction, hypothyroidism and kidney malfunction. This evidence is listed at www.fluoridealert.org address. Unfortunately, organizations that spend significant funds to promote fluoridation of water are not very interested in epidemiological studies of the above diseases. One of very few studies that was supported by proponents of fluoridation was initiated in 1945 and involved residents of Kingston, N.Y. and Newburgh, N.Y. Although only partial results of this study were released in 1956, fluoridated Newburgh had no significant decrease of cavities and had a significant increase in dental fluorosis and cardiovascular disease. Consequently, the water in Kingston is still not fluoridated. The above information was included in The Fluoride Deception book authored by Christopher Bryson. This book was published in 2004. George J.Krol, Ph.D. Longmeadow