Fluoride again: Legislature had better take another look

One of the nation’s oldest public policy debates is again bubbling to the surface in Oregon — whether it’s wise or necessary to add fluoride to more public drinking water. HB 2742, introduced by state Rep. Bob Jenson, R-Pendleton, would require cities with populations of 10,000 to fluoridate their water supply if they can afford […]

Debate grows hotter over Jersey water

Frank Graham believes fluoridation is one of the great public health achievements of the past century. Adding fluoride  to community water supplies has improved children’s oral health and led to steep declines in tooth decay, says Graham, who is president of the New Jersey Dental Association. He calls the additive safe and effective. Nancy Browne […]

House takes second try to pass bill for fluoride

SALEM — Pressure is building on the Oregon Legislature to require cities to add fluoride to their drinking water. Such a bill passed the House in March but appears bottled up in a Senate committee. So proponents have inserted identical language in another House bill, giving them a second shot at passage through a different, […]

Health department, not cities, must solve dental-care woes

The News Tribune once again demonstrates an unwillingness to research and correctly report on the subject of water fluoridation, including the alternative dental-care program for at-risk children recommended by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Oral Health Advisory Group. A May 13 editorial states that water purveyor resistance to fluoridation does not make economic sense. A […]

Fluoride Chemicals Leach Lead into Water Supplies

Fluoride chemicals, combined with other water additives, pull health-damaging lead from plumbing systems into drinking water, according to University of North Carolina researchers reported a North Carolina newspaper on May 18, 2005 (a). Fluoride is added to water supplies to prevent cavities, not purify it as some believe. A combination of chloramines and fluorosilicic acid, […]

Gering: Fluoride in the city water supply

Loretta Roth, 1745 R Street, said the fluoride in the water has occurred a long time and it needs to be updated. Mrs. Roth said fluoride is a dangerous toxin that causes cancer and other diseases. Data indicate that subsets of the population may be unusually susceptible to the toxic effects of fluoride and its […]

Nothing to smile about

Editor’s note: Sunday Citizen reporter Ulrika Gerth has spent the past six weeks researching the plight of people who cannot afford regular dental care, to be presented in a series of stories. Today: Along with an overall look at the issues, we profile one woman’s efforts to get care for her and her sons. —— […]

Activists want teeth in mercury laws

When patients go to Dr. Robert Muller’s dentist office for a check-up and he finds a cavity that needs filling, they usually ask for the composite filling that matches the shade of their teeth. “They’ll choose it because of what it looks like,” said Muller, of New Milford. For cosmetic reasons alone, the mercury-silver amalgam […]

Hood River voters pass bill that prohibits fluoridation

Hood River’s charter is seven pages long. It includes 10 chapters and 43 sections. Those 43 sections establish the most fundamental pillars of Hood River, such as its name, who in city government can fire whom and how many councilors comprise a city council. It is the city’s constitution, the citizens’ most powerful municipal document […]