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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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Korea does not add flouride to the water. THAT is in large part why you see more tooth decay here compared to many other western countries, and why many expats come here and find their teeth begin to rot and require work 7 months later.
The Korean Dental Association fought tooth-and-nail with former Prez Noh to keep it out of the water, citing health concerns. Interestingly, they also were quoted as saying that it would cause them to lose as much as 40% of their business. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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Swampfox10mm wrote: |
Korea does not add flouride to the water. THAT is in large part why you see more tooth decay here compared to many other western countries, and why many expats come here and find their teeth begin to rot and require work 7 months later.
The Korean Dental Association fought tooth-and-nail with former Prez Noh to keep it out of the water, citing health concerns. Interestingly, they also were quoted as saying that it would cause them to lose as much as 40% of their business. |
Actually some Korean municipalities DO.
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Water fluoridation is not new. It has been implemented in public health projects since 1981 but is not compulsory.
The government has encouraged local administrations to put fluoride in tap water, citing dental experts who say it is a cost-effective public health measure that helps prevent tooth decay in children.
The project, however, failed to win the public�s approval because of the claim by some medical experts that fluoride is detrimental to the human body.
Accordingly, only 29 out of around 250 municipal governments have introduced the water fluoridation project. |
And it was civic groups (NGO's) who opposed this according to the article.
http://www.fluoridealert.org/Alert/South-Korea/NGOs-Oppose-Water-Fluoridation.aspx
From 2005...
And apparently even the U.S got into the act
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He cited research conducted by Elise Bassin, a Harvard University doctoral student.
According to her seven-year study on fluoride exposure, boys who drink fluoridated water appear to have an increased risk of developing bone cancer.
In the wake of the report, unions representing employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other public health professionals in the United States asked Congress in August to impose a nationwide moratorium on water fluoridation programs.
And the EPA has decided to review its ruling on fluoride and asked the National Research Council to conduct a review on the safety of the EPA standard. The EPA expects a report in 2006. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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If you read the article, they are reducing the levels in drinking water because people are getting more from other sources, like mouthwash, etc.
The article does not say that they are reducing Flouride because it's been determined to be bad. Merely that they want to be safer and make sure that, with all of the different products now containing Flouride, people don't go over the amount deemed safe. This makes sense. |
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
From 2005...
And apparently even the U.S got into the act
Quote: |
He cited research conducted by Elise Bassin, a Harvard University doctoral student.
According to her seven-year study on fluoride exposure, boys who drink fluoridated water appear to have an increased risk of developing bone cancer. |
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Well, that was from 2005. Then we have a study from 2011 which shows no correlation:
http://worldental.org/dental-news/bone-fluoride-levels-osteosarcoma-risk-interrelated-study-shows/4993/
TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
In the wake of the report, unions representing employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other public health professionals in the United States asked Congress in August to impose a nationwide moratorium on water fluoridation programs.
And the EPA has decided to review its ruling on fluoride and asked the National Research Council to conduct a review on the safety of the EPA standard. The EPA expects a report in 2006. |
[/quote]
Again, "to review the safety of the standard." And this was 6 years ago. When you dig deeper, you see that they are not calling Flouride unsafe, they are merely seeking to compensate for all of the other ways people receive Flouride by reducing the amount some in water. Of course, there are fringe elements who believe Flouridation is some kind of government conspiracy (and they believe in stuff like contrails, too). |
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Dazed and Confused
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
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Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 5:11 am Post subject: |
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[quote="jvalmer"][quote="alongway"][quote="jvalmer"][quote="alongway"]I've never heard of a Korean toothpaste that has fluoride in it. [/quote]
A lot of them have it, you have to look for the word 불화물[/quote]
That's the first I've ever heard of that. I've seen this discussion come up several times across several sites and every time every one says they've never seen a Korean tooth paste with flouride so I've just skipped it all together.
That notion was used as the basis for explaining why kindergarten kid's mouths look like 3rd world countries despite brushing 3 times a day.[/quote]
I guess some people just don't know the word for fluoride, because there is fluoride in a lot of Korean toothpaste. Although I'm not sure in what quantity it is in. Perhaps there is less fluoride due to potential health concerns of fluoride.
I think parents just don't pay attention to their kids brushing habits. And that schools have yet to promote healthy brushing habits and flossing (well most people don't floss anyways). I remember in elementary some nurse coming in once in a while with a set of fake teeth and showing us how to brush. I haven't seen that in Korea yet.[/quote]
Look up Baby Bottle Tooth Decay, aka Milk Rot. Its easy to prevent but since its grandmas taking care of the kids and having rotten teeth are historically the norm, things havent caught up. That combined with a high consumption of soda usually leaves kids with the black smile by kindergarten. In the US parents who can afford it get all of their kids teeth capped in white and pooer families get them capped in silver. I remember more than one kid looking like that Bond character in kindergaten. In korea they dont seem to want to cap baby teeth and just let them go bad till the fall out. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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Swampfox10mm wrote: |
If you read the article, they are reducing the levels in drinking water because people are getting more from other sources, like mouthwash, etc.
The article does not say that they are reducing Flouride because it's been determined to be bad. Merely that they want to be safer and make sure that, with all of the different products now containing Flouride, people don't go over the amount deemed safe. This makes sense. |
I never said that fluoride was bad or that they were reducing it because it had been determined to be bad. Merely pointing out that the amount of fluoride does not need to be as high as previously thought.
And anyway that's only a side point.
The main point was that some municipalities in Korea DO put fluoride in the water and have been since at least 1981 so your statement that "Korea does not add flouride to the water" is incorrect. Also your claim that it is why "many expats come here and find their teeth begin to rot". Their teeth rot because they don't/didn't take care of them. Beginning year 12 here and my teeth are just fine. |
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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
Swampfox10mm wrote: |
If you read the article, they are reducing the levels in drinking water because people are getting more from other sources, like mouthwash, etc.
The article does not say that they are reducing Flouride because it's been determined to be bad. Merely that they want to be safer and make sure that, with all of the different products now containing Flouride, people don't go over the amount deemed safe. This makes sense. |
I never said that fluoride was bad or that they were reducing it because it had been determined to be bad. Merely pointing out that the amount of fluoride does not need to be as high as previously thought.
And anyway that's only a side point.
The main point was that some municipalities in Korea DO put fluoride in the water and have been since at least 1981 so your statement that "Korea does not add flouride to the water" is incorrect. Also your claim that it is why "many expats come here and find their teeth begin to rot". Their teeth rot because they don't/didn't take care of them. Beginning year 12 here and my teeth are just fine. |
If you figure it in terms of the number of people actually receiving fluoride through the water, the amount of population compared to the entire country is small.
A handful municipalities in Korea put it in the water.
Maybe you are lucky where you are living. The lions share of foreigners, however, will not find fluoride in their water. |
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soomin
Joined: 18 Jun 2009 Location: Daegu
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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I like Perio-E~ it's pretty cheap and doesn't have whitening if you get the regular style ^.^ |
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Dazed and Confused
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:25 am Post subject: |
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I just saw Arm & Hammer toothpaste the other day. I saw it in a friends' bathroom and the package was in Korean. I have no idea where they got it.
Last edited by Dazed and Confused on Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:59 am; edited 1 time in total |
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12ax7
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:29 am Post subject: |
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We just use whatever we get for free (my father-in-law gets tons of gift sets for Chuseok and Solnal). But, yeah, 2080 and Clinx are probably the closest to Crest and Colgate if that's what you're looking for. |
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PeteJB
Joined: 06 Jul 2007
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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I just get 'Sensodyne' (UK brand) imported and use that in combination with regular toothpaste. |
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Vix
Joined: 18 Jun 2010 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:22 pm Post subject: |
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Just go to Namdaemun market. They have tons of western toothpaste. Yeah it is a little pricy but so is the dentist if you don't take care of your pearlies  |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008 Location: Korea
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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jvalmer wrote: |
alongway wrote: |
jvalmer wrote: |
alongway wrote: |
I've never heard of a Korean toothpaste that has fluoride in it. |
A lot of them have it, you have to look for the word 불화물 |
That's the first I've ever heard of that. I've seen this discussion come up several times across several sites and every time every one says they've never seen a Korean tooth paste with flouride so I've just skipped it all together.
That notion was used as the basis for explaining why kindergarten kid's mouths look like 3rd world countries despite brushing 3 times a day. |
I guess some people just don't know the word for fluoride, because there is fluoride in a lot of Korean toothpaste. Although I'm not sure in what quantity it is in. Perhaps there is less fluoride due to potential health concerns of fluoride.
I think parents just don't pay attention to their kids brushing habits. And that schools have yet to promote healthy brushing habits and flossing (well most people don't floss anyways). I remember in elementary some nurse coming in once in a while with a set of fake teeth and showing us how to brush. I haven't seen that in Korea yet. |
I'd had trouble asking Korean co-workers about fluoride in mouthwashes. They only understood what I menat when I wrote it down in chemical notation, like F- or NaF. |
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12ax7
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:06 am Post subject: |
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Vix wrote: |
Just go to Namdaemun market. They have tons of western toothpaste. Yeah it is a little pricy but so is the dentist if you don't take care of your pearlies  |
Actually, dental care is covered by the national health insurance, so it's really not that expensive.
Don't break a tooth, though. Implants aren't covered. |
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