Oregon Department of Human Services FLUORIDE POISON WARNING for its "King Fluoride School-Based Tablet Program" August 2011: www.public.health.oregon.gov/preventionwellness/oralhealth/pages/kftaba.aspx Oregon Department of Human Services Oral (Dental) Health Program King Fluoride School-Based Tablet Program Administrative Guidelines II. Implementing the Fluoride Tablet Program A. Fluoride Dose Fluoride tablets are available in two different strengths and are dispensed according to a child's age. Please be sure to choose the appropriate strength for the ages of your students. When fluoride in water supply is less than 0.3 ppm Ages 5 and under – 0.5 mg fluoride (= 1.1 mg sodium fluoride) Ages 6 and up – 1.0 mg fluoride (= 2.2 mg sodium fluoride) All children in primary blended classes that include 5 year olds should receive 0.5 mg fluoride (= 1.1 mg sodium fluoride). DO NOT USE BOTH STRENGTHS OF FLUORIDE IN ONE CLASS ROOM and NEVER double up on fluoride tablets if you miss one day.... D. Suspected Overdose All those who will be responsible for the distribution of the fluoride should be familiar with the procedure for overdose of fluoride tablets. A copy of the Treatment for Overdose of Fluoride Tablets should be available in each room where the tablets are distributed or stored. In the event that a child takes more than the recommended dose of fluoride, call the Poison Control Center.... QUESTION: If it's poisonous for a child to swallow 1 mg of fluoride in tablets, then WHY IS IT NOT POISONOUS for that child to swallow 1 mg of fluoride in tap water? Worse, the FDA warning on toothpaste says to call a Poison Control Center if a five-year-old child swallows more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste that contains 0.25 mg of fluoride: the same dose in one half a fluoride tablet or in one cup of fluoridated water. DHS also pushes water fluoridation. QUESTION: If it's poisonous for a child to swallow 0.25 mg of fluoride in toothpaste, then why isn't it poisonous for that child to swallow 0.25 mg of fluoride in tap water? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, "All fluoride supplements must be prescribed by a dentist or physician. The prescription should be consistent with the 1994 dosage schedule developed by ADA, AAPD, and AAP." (Table 2, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 50/No. RR-14, Aug. 17, 2001) This Dietary Fluoride Supplement Schedule includes the following instructions before anyone is prescribed the drug sodium fluoride: "A complete fluoride history should include all the your child's sources of fluoride. Don't forget all water sources, or the amount and frequency of fluoridated toothpaste used when tooth brushing." The DHS King Fluoride School-Based Tablet Program fails to follow this precaution and thus puts children at risk. DHS Outcome of its King Fluoride School-Based Tablet Program (As of Aug. 9, 2011 at: www.astdd.org/bestpractices/pdf/DES40001ORkingfluoride.pdf): "Impact/Effectiveness: Does the practice demonstrate impact, applicability, and benefits to the oral health care and well-being of certain populations or communities (i.e., reference scientific evidence and outcomes of the practice)? "A definitive impact statement cannot be made about this population because baseline data was not collected. No correlation can be made between this population and the data from the 1993 Oral Health Needs Assessment." QUESTION for DHS: With this failure to produce measurable results, combined with the false rationale for the King Fluoride program, how can Oregon DHS continue to feed children a poisonous substance whose toxic range has such a narrow margin of error (one tablet) – especially when it is known to increase dental fluorosis, the visible sign of systemic fluorine poisoning that the National Research Council says is associated with other adverse health problems? It's time for DHS to end its failed and dangerous King Fluoride School-Based Tablet Program. Don't Be Takin' Fluoride Prepared by John D. MacArthur, November 2011