The following letter was published in the Timaru Herald:
In David Tranter's (June 3) defence, I found his letter on the fluoridation of water to be well written. Stephen Conn (June 13), in arguing against Tranter, suggests that since about 90% of toothpaste contains fluoride, it follows that the majority of people think fluoride is safe. Although I expect that most people have read (and follow) the fine print on the back of any fluoridated toothpaste - do not swallow. Taking that into account, one can only infer that the majority of people think toothpaste is safe to brush their teeth with.