A coalition of associations and groups have joined together to ask Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius to commission a report to evaluate the scientific community’s literature and research on sugar-sweetened beverage consumptions affects on oral health. Story posted at the ADA website.
Why? Do they think someone is lying about sugar being bad for your teeth?
If you google “evaluation of oral effect of sugar-sweetened beverages” I believe you will find this study has been done numerous times! One as late as 2009, heck it’s only 2012. Has sugar changed that much?
Maybe there is a legitimate reason for this request, I’m no expert, nor do I pretend to be. Sound a bit stupid to me, don’t we all know sugar is bad for oral health? Or are we not teaching this anymore? Maybe this is just something to keep HHS and Kathleen Sebelius’ busy so HHS is not digging into the massive fraud and abuse happening in dentistry today?
Naw, I’m probably wrong, as usual.
No doubt, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) is concerned about our children’s oral health, after all they are in front of Congress on a “regularly scheduled basis” with their hand out, telling lawmaker more taxpayer dollars are needed to give children “access to care” so these cavities can be treated as soon as possible. We all know children’s, teeth are highly susceptible to rot over sweets, right?
Heck Bernie Sander’s recently introduced yet another bill to appropriate more money to treat children who they say go to bed at night with “sippy cups” full of Coke.
The issue is so terrible says the AAPD and the Pew Institute that thousands upon thousands of private equity owned corporate dental clinics have spread across the US faster than a Colorado wildfire. All paid for by the taxpayer and all to combat the cavity crisis this country has had since the beginning of time.
Some states such as Texas have doubled their reimbursement for procedures needed to treat these specific problems.
In an effort to end this crisis, the AAPD has turned a blind eye to highly questionable treatment of children’s cavities by dentists, and in many cases have endorsed such treatment – papoose boards, risky sedation etc.
Organizations pleading for the study are:
- American Dental Association (ADA)
- Academy of General Dentistry, (AGD)
- American Academy of Periodontology,
- American Association for Dental Research,
- American Association of Dental Consultants,
- American Association of Endodontists,
- American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons,
- American Association of Public Health Dentistry,
- American Association of Women Dentists,
- American College of Prosthodontists,
- American Dental Education Association,
- American Dental Hygienists' Association,
- American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists,
- Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors,
- Hispanic Dental Association and National Dental Association.
HOLD YOUR HORSES!!! Where is the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry? They are not on the list?
Why? You would think they would be on top, right? I must have missed them, let me read back over that list again.
Nope, not there?
Why?
Could it be because of The Coco Cola Foundation?
The Coca Cola Foundation hold the number 1 position on the donors list to AAPD’s Healthy Smiles Healthy Children program as of 2010. AND guess what?…. Dr. Joel H. Berg, the new AAPD President is the past president of the Health Smiles Health Children program! Well, there ya have it!
In 2006, the AAPD crawled into bed with Dannon Spring Water, which was owned by Coca Cola at that time.
Then there is the $1 million AAPD received from Coke in 2003 that caused a stir many have forgotten about.
Oh, and let’s not forget that Dan DeRose worked with Coca-Cola to get drink machines in the schools along about this time. DeRose, at the time, being one of the owners of a nasty dental mill; Small Smiles Dental Centers.
As it was so eloquently put by one dentist:
So let me get this right, the AAPD is so concerned about access to care that they will support documented child abusers who provide excessive and unneeded care in pursuing their goal.
They will also take big bucks from COKE to assure that there is always a need of dental care (that will never be adequately accessible).
They will also go out and promote the questionable fear mongering (lies?) about an epidemic of caries. Surely Coke has no role in that.
The AAPD has put themselves in the position of advocating for a hyped up problem that they refuse to help prevent and will never consider solved. Asking for more money every step of the way.
Related:
Coca-Cola’s dubious grant creates a sticky situation for dentists – March 6 , 2003
Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax – 2012
Joel H. Berg, DDS – May 29, 2012 Appointed New President of the AAPD
