Communal Fluoridation

The Fluoridation of Community Water Supplies debate has always been carried out with the atmospherics normally reserved for religious issues rather than simply a matter of public health.

When I invoke the category “religious” I don’t mean “theological”—I mean that people feel they are entitled to a belief about the matter.  And those Beliefs are not subjects that require  proof--they are outside the Realm of Science.

When I first started Yellow Springs Dental Care in Greene County , Ohio, the Xenia, Ohio community water supply was not fluoridated.

My dental examinations routinely suggested in which town a child had been raised by the number of Decayed, Missing or Filled teeth in their mouths.  On average, Xenia children had twice the rates that YS children experienced.

I was encouraged by a letter I read in this week’s YSNews, March 25th, 2010:

CHECK FLUORIDE FACTS 

Last week I noticed a spate of new orange signs in the windows of businesses around town, which read: "When in doubt, take it out."

When in doubt...consult the experts. That's what a rational citizen does in our scientific age. The Center for Disease Control calls the fluoridation of water in the U.S. "one of ten great public health achievements of the 20th century."

The American Dental Association reminds us that dental decay is "one of the most common childhood diseases," one that causes many lost hours of schooling, not to mention discomfort, pain and long-term detriments to health.

The World Health Organization has stated that "water fluoridation is the most effective method of reaching the whole population, so that all social classes benefit without the need for active participation on the part of individuals."

I for one am interested in the health and welfare of all of the citizens of Yellow Springs, regardless of their income level or access to regular dental care.

To eradicate any doubts, I asked my friend and colleague, the chair of the department of Periodontics at Ohio State University, for scientific data. He suggested I consult the "fluoridation facts", available online at
http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fluoride/facts/fluoridation facts.pdf

That's where I found the facts quoted above.  I suggest others also consult this useful Web site. Don't let scare tactics make you doubt science.

  —Angela Brintlinger

My own letter to the YS News:

Fluoridation

My personal observation of dental health in Yellow Springs and surrounding communities began at a time before Xenia fluoridated their water supply.  At that time I could determine in which town a child resided merely by noting the condition of their teeth.  Xenia resident children had teeth that were twice as bad as YS children.

The Fluoridation of Community Water Supplies debate is always conducted within the religious category. Discourse carried on within this category concerns matters that are not subject to proof.  People may hold strong beliefs about religious matters, but they exist outside and beyond the category of verifiable science.

Should the Yellow Springs Environmental Commission succeed in removing Fluoride from our water, our children will enjoy double the rate of decayed, missing, and filled teeth as they do now.

Instead of removing the proven benefits of a successful public health measure from our water supply, the Environmental Commission efforts should focus on removing the black iron rust contamination that regularly clouds our tap water with an effluvial taste and appearance.

JT Russell,  DDS