Tagged: fluoride

Fluoride, pregnancy and the IQ of offspring - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Sep 22, 2017 •

• causation,
• fluoride,
• Health and Medicine,
• IQ,
• pregnancy,
• Science and Society

What’s the story about this new IQ-fluoride study? The one that claims fluoride intake by pregnant women could endanger their children’s IQ? Whatever the truth, it has certainly got the anti-fluoride activists going. Mary O’Brien Byrne, leader of the local anti-fluoride group is even suggesting people check if their mothers lived in fluoridated areas. And they are busy promoting the newspaper articles … Read More

What’s with the anti-fluoridationist promotion of dental health programmes? - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Sep 11, 2017 •

• community water fluoridation,
• dental health,
• dental health initiatives,
• dental programmes,
• fluoridation,
• fluoride

Anti-fluoride campaigners often promote dental health programmes which they argue are alternatives to community water fluoridation. But seem not to understand that these programmes usually include fluoride dental treatments. It’s probably a result of some tactical thinking – “let’s promote a positive message to overcome the publicly perceived negativity associated with our opposition to a social health policy like fluoridation.” In fact, some New Zealand … Read More

Are fluoride researchers sacked for their findings? - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Aug 11, 2017 •

• fluoridation,
• fluoride,
• Health and Medicine,
• Mullenix,
• Science,
• Science and Society

Heard the one about the scientist who was doing excellent research but was sacked by her Institute because her discoveries shattered the prevailing “scientific orthodoxies?” Yes, it is a common claim. Often made by activists promoting conspiracy theories.  But it is an easy one to make and it is always worth checking the facts in such cases. Of course, the … Read More

Local anti-fluoride activists tell porkies yet again - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Aug 03, 2017 •

• fluoride,
• Intelligence,
• IQ,
• Science,
• toxicology

Well, I suppose that’s not news. A bit surprising, though, because they are claiming the absence of research on fluoridation and IQ – which sort of conflicts with the previous attempts to actually condemn and misrepresent the actual research on fluoridation and IQ. Fluoride Free NZ’s (FFNZ) face book page is claiming: Would you be interested to know that no studies … Read More

ChildSmile – a complement, not an alternative, to fluoridation - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • May 18, 2017 •

• children,
• ChildSmile,
• dental health,
• fluoridation,
• fluoride,
• Health and Medicine,
• Science,
• Science and Society,
• Scotland

Local antifluoride activists are busy presenting ChildSmile and similar programmes as alternatives to fluoridation. They aren’t – and New Zealand District health Boards already operate elements of these programmes where they consider them effective. I am currently dealing with family issues so am reposting this article, “ChildSmile dental health – its pros and cons” from September 2015.   There is … Read More

Fluoridation helps protect adult teeth as well as children’s - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • May 16, 2017 •

• Brazil,
• dental health,
• fluoridation,
• fluoride,
• Health and Medicine,
• Science,
• Science and Society,
• teeth,
• water

Recent research reveals that community water fluoridation benefits adults as well as children. While research into the effects of fluoridation in adults started earlier than for children, early studies suffered from a lack of information on effects of socioeconomic status and other confounding factors.  Recent studies with adults have been more robust but there is still some confusion – especially since … Read More

Fluoridation: the truth about heavy metal contamination - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • May 12, 2017 •

• fluoridation,
• fluoride,
• Health and Medicine,
• heavy metals,
• Science,
• Science and Society

Anti-fluoride activists going on about contaminants in drinking water due to fluoridation have it all wrong. If they avoided their knee-jerk, chemophobic reactions to certificates of analysis and did some calculations they would realise they are making a fuss about absolutely nothing. I am currently absorbed in dealing with family issues at the moment so am reposting this article, “Chemophobic … Read More

Bottle fed infants: fluoridated water not a problem - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • May 04, 2017 •

• babies,
• bottle fed,
• development,
• fluoridation,
• fluoride,
• formula,
• Health and Medicine,
• infants,
• Science,
• Science and Society

New recommended fluoride dietary intakes by infants and young children in Australia and New Zealand were recently published. The updated values are available online at Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand. This is a regular update – the Australian National Health and Medical research council advises these recommendations be reviewed every 5 years. But the new recommendations are interesting because … Read More

Citing scientific studies and the arrogance of ignorance - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Apr 27, 2017 •

• academic research,
• Cherry Picking,
• citations,
• citing,
• correlations,
• debate,
• fluoride,
• gish gallop,
• Health and Medicine,
• Science,
• Science and Society

One thing that gets me going (as readers here probably know) is the way scientific citations are cherry-picked and dragged in to support biased positions. It’s a common form of confirmation bias in the fluoridation debate. And I get even angrier when the perpetrators cherry-picking citations will then claim they “have science on their side.” Parroting citations and (often unconnected) claims … Read More

Debating science - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Apr 25, 2017 •

• Environment and Ecology,
• FFNZ,
• fluoridation debate,
• fluoride,
• Health and Medicine,
• march for science,
• Paul Connett,
• Science,
• Science and Society

This last week has certainly raised the profile of the “science debate” in New Zealand. Most importantly we saw big turnouts for the Science March in several major cities – a demonstration that lots of scientists and supporters of science feel that science could be threatened – or at least that it is unappreciated by the politicians and other decision-makers. Maybe … Read More