Is fluoridation a fraud?

Abstract

During the past 15 years tooth decay rates have declined markedly amongst children in many parts of the industrialised world. Over the same period, however, decay rates have increased dramatically in children in developing countries. For many years it has been claimed that water fluoridation is the most important and cost-effective method for controlling dental caries. A series of recent papers in the scientific literature have challenged the 'fluoridation hypothesis', since the decline in decay reported in the developed countries has occurred in both fluoridated and unfluoridated areas. In some countries of the developing world, tooth decay is now reaching crisis proportions, hence it is important to know whether fluoridation really can "reduce tooth decay by about 60 per cent", or if the dental profession has been promoting a 'flawed' hypothesis for more than 40 years.