Friday, December 3, 2004
Mary J Larkin
Consumer Dialogue & Services
RE: Flouride Safety and
Efficacy
Dear Mary,
Thanks again for your reply on
fluoride.
On your web site the following claims
are made:
1. "When formulated
correctly and used as directed, fluoride toothpaste will help to safely and
effectively prevent tooth decay."
2. "Numerous clinical
studies have demonstrated fluorideÕs effectiveness in reducing cavities."
3. "Fluoride helps diminish
demineralization of tooth enamel and even enhances the remineralization of
potential decay spots."
(http://www.tomsofmaine.com/toms/ifs/fluoride.asp)
I'm sorry to say that I don't for
a moment believe any of these claims.
These claims would be more
believable (though not necessarily true) if you cited relevant studies.
My question to you is:
Will you provide me with URLs
for:
1. the "numerous clinical studies" referred to
demonstrating fluoride's effectiveness
against cavities?
2. studies demonstrating fluoride's safety?
If you don't get back to me
with such studies--or if you do and the studies' methodology is flawed--then I
will conclude that Toms of Maine has not provided its customers with truly safe
and effective toothpastes.
The day that Tom agrees to have
his children eat a tube of his fluoride-containing toothpaste (and they
survive) is the day I'll start believing that the fluoride in toothpaste is
"safe" for human use.
Yours sincerely,
Jock Doubleday
Director
Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.
-----
[Previous correspondence]
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 13:15:04
-0500
From: Jockdoubleday@aol.com
To: maryl@tomsofmaine.com
Subject: Re: Tom's Of Maine
(Fluoride Question)
Dear Mary,
Thanks for getting back to me on
the fluoride question. I'll check out the site you mention.
Yours sincerely,
Jock Doubleday
---------
Subj: Tom's Of Maine (Fluoride Question)
Date: 11/18/2004 2:21:07 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: "Larkin, Mary"
<maryl@tomsofmaine.com>
To: <jockdoubleday@aol.com>
Dear Jock,
Thank you for taking the time to
write to us and let us know about the concerns you have with the use of
fluoride in our toothpaste.
We understand your concern with
the use of fluoride in our toothpaste and appreciate the opportunity to respond.
We are cognizant of the debate
about fluoride, and feel that we are doing our part as a responsible
manufacturer by offering our customers a choice of whether to use a
fluoride-fortified toothpaste or not.
I understand that based on the
information you've researched you've made the decision that you do not want to
use this ingredient. We definitely support your decision.
As you may already know the first
toothpastes that we ever offered were
fluoride-free and we have
strengthened our commitment to our fluoride free alternatives by offering many
different flavors and formulations.
As of today we offer 22 different non-fluoride toothpastes.
We also support all of our
consumers that have researched the benefits of this ingredient and make the choice
to continue to use it. The fluoride that we use in our fluoride toothpaste,
sodium monofluorophosphate, is naturally sourced.
You can view our ingredient fact
sheet by clicking one the following
link; http://www.tomsofmaine.com/toms/ifs/fluoride.asp.
We value your opinions and
appreciate your feedback. If there is anything else that I can do for you,
please let me know.
Thank You,
Mary J Larkin
Consumer Dialogue & Services
www.tomsofmaine.com
--
Jock Doubleday
Director
Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.
A California 501(c)3 Nonprofit
Corporation
www.GentleBirth.org/nwnm.org
www.SpontaneousCreation.org
jockdoubleday@aol.com
"Wonders 1-7 cannot even
match the wonder of flowers."
(Gianina Ferreya, 5th grade, San Francisco)