In my 30 years of practice providing health care to low income kids, I have seen the profound difference in dental decay in kids living in communities without fluoridation. Cortez is one example.
Effectively combating tooth decay requires a multipronged approach water fluoridation, healthy diet, good home care including brushing with a fluoride toothpaste, and regular dental care. The kids I see in Cortez often receive few or none of the above.
Kids dont have a choice, so I am advocating for them. All children deserve to grow up in healthy communities. Thats why community water fluoridation is so important. Its one of the greatest advances in our nations public health during the past century.
Because of its contribution to the dramatic decline in tooth decay, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared community water fluoridation as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.
Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in all water sources, even our local rivers, lakes and oceans, as well as many wells. It helps harden tooth enamel, protecting against decay, especially in the first five years of life when teeth are developing.
The profound disparities we see in oral health are evident in the poor, the elderly and other subgroup populations and minorities. According to the National Institute of Health (2000), 25 percent of children living below the federal poverty level experience untreated dental caries and decay. They are in pain, have difficulty concentrating and miss school.
I worked in public health clinics in Salt Lake City before 2000 when they began water fluoridation. The degree of dental decay I witnessed in younger children and their parents imitated the experience of working in a third-world country.
More than 70 years of credible scientific research and practical experience has shown that fluoride at optimal levels is the most cost-effective, practical and safe means of reducing dental decay. Optimum level is the key point to consider when discussing community water fluoridation.
Fluoridation of community water is simply adjusting the natural level of fluoride already present in our drinking water to 0.7 mg/L or parts per million the level proved to prevent tooth decay.
A miniscule .7 parts of fluoride in a million parts of water is comparable to 1 inch in 23 miles, a minute in 1,000 days or 1 cent in $14,000. According to the American Dental Association, this incredibly small amount of fluoride can keep all residents of our community, regardless of socioeconomic boundaries, healthy.
Water fluoridation is also an investment that offers a tremendous return. A study published this year by the Colorado School of Public Health found that $6.8 billion in dental costs nationally was saved in 2013 from an investment of $324 million in fluoridation. That is a $20 return for every $1 spent.
The initial research into the beneficial effect of fluoride began in the early 1900s here in Colorado. Not surprisingly, the greatest supporters of community water fluoridation are our public health nurses, pediatricians and dentists, who see not only the benefits of good oral health but also the negative consequences of tooth decay.
Durango has provided its community with fluoridated water for 60 years. It is vital that we sustain Durangos long-standing policy of safely supplementing the natural level of fluoride in our drinking water. It will help ensure a healthy future for all Durango residents.
Unfortunately, some in our community would like to remove the beneficial levels of fluoride added to our water, based on misconceptions and untruths about fluoride, and put the health of our communitys children and residents of all ages at risk.
The ballot proposal is misguided and would roll back generations of progress, especially for our most disadvantaged families, while offering no conceivable benefit.
We ask you to vote against Question 1A on April 4, for the sake of our communitys health and especially that of our kids.
For more information, visit VoteNO1aDurango.org.
Sherrod Beall, RN, MS, CPNP, lives in Durango and is a pediatric nurse practitioner. She is chairwoman of the Healthy Kids, Healthy Durango campaign against Question 1A. Reach her at sherrodb@gmail.com.
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Vote against 1A: Fluoride protects our health - The Durango Herald
