Last time Measure A was on the ballot Dr. Tynes came out with his condescending tone acting like he knows so much more than anyone else on the subject of fluoridation. In his Coastal Voices article (2010), his claim that he has reviewed the scientific research on fluoridation and that it all points to being safe is a crock. All of it? Please, Dr. Tynes, show me which studies you’ve read that showed fluoridation to be safe. Because I haven’t found one single credible and quality study that shows anything of the sort.

In fact, Dr. Tynes, when the American Medical Association was asked this very question regarding studies that show the safety of fluoride, guess what they said?  “The American Medical Association is not prepared to state that no harm will be done to any person by water fluoridation. The American Medical Association has not carried out any research work, either long term or short term, regarding the possibility of any side effects.”

What about the EPA, Dr. Tynes? Did you consult with the EPA? Because surely they will vouch for your statements of safety.  Ooops. Guess not:

“To answer your first question on whether we have in our possession empirical scientific data on the effects of fluosilicic acid or sodium silicofluoride on health and behavior, our answer is no. Health effects research is conducted by our National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL). We have contacted our colleagues at NHEERL and they report that with an exception of some acute toxicity data, they were unable to find any information on the effects of silicofluorides on health and human behavior. “

So where is all this safety data Dr. Tynes? Please, just name the authors of the studies. I’m very well versed in the studies and the names of most of the authors and can tell you without even looking at them if they are credible or not. I may not be a doctor, but I do have many years of college education, most of it doing research, so yes, I do know how to look for information. And I have spent 8+ years on a single subject of study, which means I have been able to learn a whole lot about it.

So forget insulting me as a well-intentioned but misguided fear monger. I know more about fluoridation than you have time to learn. And there are medical facts surrounding fluoride/fluorine/hydrofluosilicic acid that you completely ignore, which makes me suspicious of your medical credentials. I know I would not go to a doctor who endorses fluoridation because if he/she doesn’t know what fluorine does to the human body, even in small amounts, then what else does he/she not know?

What self-respecting doctor would throw a bunch of toxic medication in the water and tell everyone to drink as much as they wanted with no health history, no follow up, no dose adjustments? Even Kathryn Murray, that paragon of intellect, admits that what we put in our water is a drug, and that all drugs have side effects. So which is it, Dr. Tynes? A drug with side effects as all drugs have or perfectly safe and even healthy? The FDA sides with Kathryn Murray on the fluoride is a drug issue. “….there are no studies to demonstrate either the safety or effectiveness of these drugs, which the FDA classifies as unapproved new drugs.”

Did you catch that part about “no studies to demonstrate either the safety or effectiveness” Dr. Tynes? Still trying to figure out which studies of the thousands fluoridation proponents claim exist that show HFSA to be safe and effective you have been reading that allows you such authority on the subject.

Speaking of authority, you’re a doctor, please tell us how fluorine can poison 62 enzymes in the human body yet have absolutely no effect on our health? And please explain to me why I, with a thyroid disease, cannot tolerate any fluoride at all? Something about fluorine being a very aggressive halogen that displaces iodine, a less aggressive halogen? Here’s what a doctor with some decent credentials has to say on the matter:

“It is now known that such vital organs as the kidneys, thyroid, aorta (main heart artery), liver, lungs and others can be the sites of an unusually high fluoride build-up. No matter how small the amount of fluoride in the diet, a part of it tends to accumulate in the body. When the water supply is fluoridated the intake of the individual is considerably increased and the accumulation in the body increases accordingly. There is no clear-cut pattern as to the degree of retention among individuals. Further, it accumulates in certain organs in an unpredictable way. Some individuals may store up to 100 times more fluoride in certain tissue than others. This has given rise to concern over fluoride’s possible role in chronic disease. Fluoride is an enzyme poison and medical authorities recognize that disturbances of the enzyme system are a cause of disease.” (Dr. Jonathan Forman, M.D., world-renowned specialist in allergy, Professor-Emeritus of Ohio State University, former editor of the Ohio State Medical Journal, editor of Clinical Physiology, in statement in behalf of Medical-Dental Committee on Evaluation of Fluoridation.)

My question to you, Dr. Tynes, is why don’t YOU know this? You’re out there in the public forum giving medical advice in the newspaper and you don’t have even a basic understanding of what this substance for which you advocate does to the human body.

In your ballot argument you make the plea to vote no on measure A, for the children. Let’s look a little deeper into what advice you are giving that is harming our children. Heard of the Masters/Coplan study? Surely you have, because you’ve seen ALL the studies.  Oh but this one doesn’t show safety at all. In fact, it shows that children who drink fluoridated water have double the amount of lead in their blood. How is that safe for our children? Were you even aware of this study?

What about the 1999 NTP animal study that showed fluoride to cause osteosarcoma in male rats? Human studies by Hoover 1991 and Cohn 1992 found increased risk of osteosarcoma from fluoride in young males, and Bassin 2006 which showed a 700% increase in osteosarcoma from fluoride. These are all out there in the literature, but you can’t find what you refuse to acknowledge even exists.

It’s time to do your homework Dr. Tynes. Either learn about what it is you’re endorsing or stay out of the debate. Let’s stick to the facts and not just throw out talking points. Most of what you say has been proven wrong long ago, yet you still use it as if it has validity. It does not. And those of us who know laugh and wonder, how do you stay in practice?