Letter: Fluoride

OPINION: I read with interest the report by Hannah McLeod on the front page of Tuesday's newspaper and I think Dr Tim Mackay's assertion that fluoride in the Gore water supply could have stopped the serious decay he witnessed in a 2-year-old child is a gross assumption.

There could be many factors that caused this condition. The mother's diet while she carried this child will have had an influence. What has the child been fed?

How much sugar (in whatever form) has been in the diet?

It sounds as if there could have been sweet drinks - maybe fruit juice - given in a bottle, by the reported fact that the front teeth were the worst decayed. Would this child have been given water to drink even if fluoridated water was available?

There is much reputable science on the effects of fluoride in water supplies and for Dr Mackay to suggest that those expressing concern are basing their ideas on pseudo science, is somewhat insulting to those with a genuine interest in having the best for the health of everyone. Who is really basing their ideas on pseudo science?

JUDITH HARVEY
Invercargill

- © Fairfax NZ News

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