News Archive

To fluoridate or not to fluoridate? That is the question being put to Gloucester voters in a non-binding referendum on Nov. 3. Passions about fluoridation run high around the globe, not just in Gloucester. Public health experts point to 70 years of U.S. safety in adding miniscule amounts of fluoride to public drinking water and […]

The town of Sharon has reduced the level of fluoride in its public water in response to a change last spring to federal guidelines. The US Department of Health and Human Services issued a recommendation in April, cutting the optimal amount to prevent tooth decay to 0.7 milligrams per liter. The Sharon Board of Health […]

FLUORIDE helps reduce tooth decay. That’s not just the opinion of a child of the 1950s who spent too many hours in the dentist chair and has the dental work to prove it. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Washington, D.C. calls community water FLUORIDATION “one of 10 great public health achievements […]

 The other side What: Cape Ann Fluoride Action Network presents a forum on why Gloucester should stop fluoridating its water. The short documentary “Professional Perspectives” will be shown, followed a question and answer period. When: Thursday, Oct. 29, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Where: Friend Room, Sawyer Free Library, 2 Dale Ave. Dr. Myron Allukian […]

Gloucester’s mayoral hopefuls and candidates for other offices have been busy discussing the city’s issues in a series of campaign debates, and more are on the schedule in the remaining 2 1/2 weeks before the Nov. 3 election. But the city’s lone ballot question will be in the spotlight when the Gloucester Board of Health […]

One might paraphrase Hamlet and say, “To fluoridate or not to fluoridate, that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of chemical poisons, or to take arms against a sea of bad science, and, by opposing, end them?” Fluoride pollution is one of the most misunderstood controversies […]

“Don’t confuse us with that scientific mumbo jumbo. We know the truth.” For the proponents of fluoridation — that is, the addition of a small dose of fluoride to the public water supply in order to improve dental health — these words reflected their view of the opposition. On the flipside, the anti-fluoridationists couldn’t fathom […]

Following a brief discussion at their June 17 meeting, the Wenham Board of Health plans to investigate the practice of fluoridating the town’s water supply. Although the final decision on fluoride would ultimately rest with Wenham’s voters, board members said they want to be up to date about fluoridate alongside the pros and cons of […]

Fluoride levels in city drinking water will be lower starting in September as a result of action Monday by the committee that advises the city Health Department. The panel voted to recommend reducing the “target level” for the cavity-fighting chemical to a single standard of 0.7 parts per million from a range of 0.7 parts […]

Board of Health Chairman Dr. Sydney Wedmore and board colleague Dr. Sydney Jimenez said a recent report from the U.S. Department of Public Health recommended towns lower the level of fluoride to an optimal level of 0.7 parts per million. “It’s 1.0 part per million now,” Wedmore said “The board voted last month to implement […]