Letters to the Editor 7-24-14

Healthy teeth
Editor: I can only concur with the ADA, AMA and CDC that optimally fluoridated  water in the range of .7-1.2 ppm has been beneficial to me and my family since I’ve been living mostly in Healdsburg from 1965 until the present.
I was born at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and grew up going to Fitch  Mountain Elementary School, Healdsburg Junior High School and then Cardinal Newman. I attended the SRJC and graduated from the University of the Pacific and live here today. So, I don’t think fluoride caused me substantial brain impairment. I also can say that I have very few cavities and that, had dental sealants been available back in the early 60s, I may not have needed the small amalgam filling that I still have today. My children have been raised drinking fluoridated Healdsburg water and they have also done well with no visible signs of decay or mental impairment (teenage years don’t count!). We are not targets of industrial poisoning by fluoride “wastes.” Let’s move this debate on to how we can benefit the community with what we now know to be safe and effective in reducing tooth decay. Be careful when you read and hear about anecdotal or misquoted journal articles.
William Conklin, DDS
Healdsburg
More on fluoride
Editor: For those looking for an expert opinion about water fluoridation, I suggest you read “Why I Changed My Mind about Water Fluoridation,” by John Colquhoun, Ph.D., D.D.S. Dr. Colquhoun was the Chief Dental Officer of Auckland NZ, and a vigorous fluoridation promoter—until he studied the statistics. After spending several years looking at the decay rates of children from fluoridated and unfluoridated areas, he found that fluoride did not prevent tooth decay, and it was harmful to health. He began speaking out, and, unsurprisingly, he lost his job. His article can be found here: http://www.slweb.org/ colquhoun.html.
Hardy Limeback, D.D.S., Ph.D, Head of Preventive Dentistry, University of Toronto, also was a fluoridation promoter who changed his mind when he studied the data. His article “Why I Am Now Officially Opposed to Adding Fluoride to Drinking Water,” can be found here: http://www.slweb.org/limeback.html.
And Bill Osmunson, MPH, D.D.S., a dentist from Washington State, also a former fluoride advocate, tells his story here: http://www.fluoride-class-action.com/how-dr-osmunson-changed-his-mind-about-fluoridation
Dr. Osmunson will be in Healdsburg for a forum on fluoridation on Sept. 22, where you can question him in person.
Marlene Lily
Santa Rosa
Mass medication
Editor: In response to Dr. Rapp’s letter to the Editor on July 10, 2014: It’s sad to me that any doctor in the United States is for involuntary mass-medication of the public, and against our freedom of choice. I find it equally sad that so many have such a strong belief in dogma from the 1940s taught by supposed experts and refuse to consider recent scientific findings. Instead of considering all of the facts, critics pick out extreme numbers and twist the results of studies produced by Harvard (ranked number 1 as the best medical school for research) in an effort to discredit the findings and sway readers to their belief. They also fail to provide any scientific data and try to scare the public by linking whooping cough and small pox epidemics to fluoride removal. All while real science shows that ingesting fluoride increases hip fractures, skeletal fluorosis and osteosarcomas. (www.scribd.com/doc/234028679/New-Evidence-Fluoridation)
These are some of the reasons why The EPA Headquarters Union Of Scientists took a stand against fluoridation. The union, comprised of and representing approximately 1500 scientists, lawyers, engineers and other professionals at the EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., published their stance “based on scientific literature documenting the increasingly out-of-control exposures to fluoride, the lack of benefit to dental health from ingestion of fluoride and the hazards to human health from such ingestion. These hazards include acute toxic hazard, such as to people with impaired kidney function, as well as chronic toxic hazards of gene mutations, cancer, reproductive effects, neurotoxicity, bone pathology and dental fluorosis.” (www.nteu280.org/Issues/Fluoride/NTEU280-Fluoride.htm)
“Fluoridation isn’t worth the risks” says Dr. Carlsson, Nobel Prize Winner for neurological discoveries. Dr. Carlsson joined a dozen other Nobel-winning scientists and advised the world not to fluoridate, he states “Fluoridation of water supplies would also treat people who may not benefit from the treatment. Side-effects cannot be excluded and, thus, some people might only have negative effects without any benefit.” (http://www.slweb.org/carlsson.html)
Dr. Rapp writes, “Ms. Allen is free to buy all the drinking water she wants. I hope she will be considerate enough not to poison my environment with toxic and unsightly plastic bottles.”
I say Dr. Rapp is free to buy all the fluoridated dental products he wants. I hope he will be considerate enough to help stop the poisoning of OUR environment with toxic sodium-fluoride and VOTE NO in November.
Brian Pardini
Healdsburg
New partners in Animal  Control and Care
Editor: As a member of the Healdsburg Animal Shelter board, I was privileged to work with the Sonoma Humane Society and Petaluma Animal Services in accomplishing the transfer of animal care and control functions to them at their new Healdsburg Center. I hope that all residents of Healdsburg and the surrounding area will welcome them as neighbors and partners in serving our community, our animals and animal-loving traditions.
We owe the Sonoma Humane Board of Directors a vote of gratitude for taking on this challenge. They will receive the Animal Shelter’s gift of land and building, but along with it they will assume the daunting task of completing and repairing the facility. A sizable cash contribution from the Animal Shelter will help to initiate this process. However, additional funds and many hours of hard work will be needed to finish the job. Encouragement and support from our community will be essential.
The City of Healdsburg acknowledged the worthiness and capability of Sonoma Humane and their partners, Petaluma Animal Services, by awarding them the contract for animal control services formerly provided by the Animal Shelter. This partnership began last spring to operate out of temporary quarters at the new building site, and thus far reports of their service are excellent. Now we need to help keep the momentum going.
As the Healdsburg Animal Shelter recedes into history, the legacy of its 50-plus years of humane animal care, control and adoption continues in the capable hands of Sonoma Humane and Petaluma Animal Services. Once affiliates and nearby friends, they are now an integral part of this community. Let’s make them feel at home.
Bob Wilkie
Healdsburg