During these dog days of summer, when parents are preparing to send their children back to school, the CDC  has chimed in to recommend that they make sure the kids are up to date with their 6-month dental appointments.  Sensible advice—at least for families that can afford it. 

The agency goes on, with uncharacteristic candor, to inform us that a fifth of American children aged 2-19 have untreated cavities.  That’s one fifth of everybody.  Not just the underprivileged kids they claim to be so concerned for (most of whom are drinking fluoridated water).  It’s everybody.  Nor do they hesitate to admit that the percentages are much higher among low-income and minority children.

They then go on to describe a child’s ideal “complete preventive dental program."

Fluoride.  Twice-daily brushing.  Wise food choices.  Regular dental care.  Fluoride, of course, is the most important.  That’s why it comes first.    . 

Their prescription reminds me of an amusing conversation I had years ago with a country neighbor.  We were having a discussion about woodchucks and how to get rid of them.

“It’s easy,” she informed me.  “They’re very reasonable.  You just write them a letter.”

A letter?

“Sure,” she continued.  “Write a simple note, politely asking them to leave.  Explain that they are destroying your garden by taking one bite out of each tomato, that this makes you unhappy, and that there are many other places they could live.  Place the note just inside their burrow entrance.  . 

“Then, to make sure they can read it, shine a very bright light right on the entrance.  You’ll see.  Within a few days, they’ll be gone.”

While I never had occasion to try out her unique method, it’s deliciously comparable to the CDC’s vaunted oral health regime.  But people are waking up to organized dentistry’s propaganda, and it’s not that hard to tell the difference between what really works and what doesn't.