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References

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Griffin SO, Regnier E. Effectiveness of fluoride in preventing caries in adults. J Dent Res. 2007; 86:410-415
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Fluoride in the media: a review of newspaper articles from 1999 to 2009

From Volume 38, Issue 2, March 2011 | Pages 86-92

Authors

Alan Howard

BDS, MSc

General Dental Practitioner, Leicester, UK

Articles by Alan Howard

Abstract

The effects of fluoride are regularly discussed in newspapers. This paper reviews this coverage over a ten-year period and compares the content with contemporary scientific evidence. The reporting used in a sample of daily newspapers when the subject of fluoride and its effects were mentioned was analysed and factual statements within the articles were compared with contemporary scientific studies, to assess the accuracy of reporting.

Clinical Relevance: Practitioners may face questions from patients regarding the evidence base for the safety and efficacy of the use of fluoride in dentistry.

Article

There is extensive evidence that indicates that fluoride reduces caries in children and adolescents.1 A relatively recent study has also shown that caries rates can be reduced by as much as 25% in adults over the age of 40.2

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that fluoridation was:

One of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.3

One of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.3

National newspapers have a typical daily circulation of over nine and half a million copies,4 and provide news and information to large numbers of the general public. The views of those for and against fluoridation are widely contrasting, and are regularly expressed in newspapers.

Using the Nexis™ news database provided by the University of Birmingham Library, 13 daily newspapers were searched for any mention of the word fluoride. The search was done retrospectively from 1st January 1999 to March 2009. The search revealed 1483 articles that had the word fluoride in the text.

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