In Wichita, Kansas, the debate over water fluoridation continues. Fluoride Free Kansas, an opposition group, has made a variety of claims that are not backed by the scientific evidence. Consider this example. In a newspaper ad, the group declares: “Contrary to claims by fluoridation opponents, fluoride is not a nutrient …” This claim is false. Consider the following evidence:
1 micro motor. The Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board issued a 1997 report that included fluoride and provided a recommended daily intake for fluoride. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains, “These guidelines describe the dietary reference intakes for specific nutrients known to be beneficial to health including fluoride.”
2. Through the years, a number of highly respected health officials have identified fluoride as a nutrient. In the Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health (1988, pp. 368-369), former U mobile dental unit.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop wrote, “Although fluoride is present in foods, the most efficient source of this nutrient for the general public is community drinking water … to which fluoride is added to reach the optimal level.”
3. The National Institutes of Health classifies fluoride among the “minerals and essential trace elements.”
4. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Data Laboratory includes fluoride in its database of nutrients.
So which organization should Wichita residents trust? An anti-fluoride group whose leaders have no known credentials in science and nutrition? Or the Institute of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, a former Surgeon General, and the federal Nutrient Data Laboratory?
State Dental Budget Cuts Leave Low-Income Residents With Little To No Coverage
Dental coverage for Medicaid recipients is the first to go when budget cuts take place. Medicaid is required to retain dental coverage for children, however, coverage is “optional” for adults. One out of the five states has cut their dental care coverage by about 92%. Vincent Morales (Seattle Resident) states that his “rent is very high” and because of “budget cuts” his “oral needs are pushed aside”.
In addition, select states are only covering “emergency procedures” for adults. According to Shelly Gehshan from the Pew Children’s Dental Campaign, if parents don’t have access to dental care, they sometimes don’t ensure their kids go to the dentist regularly. portable dental unit