Science on fluoride has evolved and we now know quite a bit more than 60 years ago when fluoride was first added to water elsewhere. Bennington, historically, has taken a holistic approach and its citizens have had the smarts to look at the science of water fluoridation and its effects on the whole person. With the use of fluoridated water in the food industry, the fluoride content of foods and beverages has markedly increased since the 1970s. The World Health Organization utilizes the precautionary principle in public health policy that advises water fluoridation programs should not be started unless the municipality/water authority has conducted prior tests on residents to establish their total daily fluoride intake from all sources of food and beverage and environmental exposures. Bennington should do the same.
Reputable scientific and medical journals officially classify fluoride as a neurotoxin, which the dictionary defines as “a substance that damages, destroy or impairs the functioning of nerve tissue.” Science shows fluoride has a cumulative effect on the human body and not just the brain. From a public health perspective, water fluoridation is a mass medication of the public in uncontrolled doses without informed consent. The more water ingested, the higher the dose of fluoride one receives, a fact very disconcerting for athletes and formula fed infants at risk for overdose.
The addition of fluoride to the water supply has never been, and will never be, a substitute for dental care. The dental experts should be talking about financing preventative dental care, hygiene, nutrition education, sealants, free toothbrush/toothpaste programs, and reduced sugar intake. See Vermont’s Department of Health September 2014 report “Keep Smiling Vermont” for key findings and strategies on ensuring Vermont’s children receive the oral health services they need. It can be found at http://healthvermont.gov/family/dental/documents/oral_health_survey_2013-2014.pdf. Water fluoridation is not dental care. It is medical malpractice.
Kathleen Krevetski is a resident of Rutland.
Print 
PDF