Saipan Ice and Water Inc. is working with dentists on the island to promote dental health care by distributing fluoridated water.

The only difference between regular water and fluoridated water is that fluoride is added. There is no difference in taste at all, according to Saipan Ice.

Eileen Olopai-Pellegrino, president of Saipan Ice, said she used to give her children fluoride supplements. But some children dread the taste of these supplements so she substituted them with fluoridated water.

Dr. Alan Stuart Markoff, a dentist for Toothworks Dental Clinic, noted that fluoride is a “wonderful additive” to water. He noted that fluoridated water is ranked as one of the top 10 advances in preventive medicine in the 20th century.

“It is on par with penicillin, and the vaccines to prevent polio,” Markoff said.

Some dental clinics are already distributing fluoridated water and urging parents to make it available to their children on a daily basis.

Saipan Ice has been making fluoridated water available to the community for almost a year now. The water comes in individual bottle sizes and five-gallon water bottles.

Pellegrino said Saipan Ice also has fluoride supplements available for purchase.

Print PDF