title: Fear of fluoride.
abstract: Discusses how dental and medical scares have resulted in a "culture of fear" which has damaged patients and dentists. Forty years of pessimism have created a demoralised and risk-averse society. The reality of a steadily improving world demands a new attitude of rational optimism and a healthy scepticism about new scares.
authors.affiliation: Appletree Dental Studio, 33 Herne St, Herne Bay, CT6 7HL.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reekie
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D019140:Dental Care for Children; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D003815:Dentists; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005460:Fluorides, Topical / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D008297:Male; D011861:Radiography, Dental; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D005460:Fluorides, Topical; D003723:Dental Amalgam