More than 20 years ago, a 13-year-old girl stood up before Allentown’s City Council with a problem — it was hard to remember to take her terrible-tasting fluoride pills.
And, she pointed out, not everyone could afford them, according to minutes from the Jan. 20, 1999, meeting.
“I usually drink a lot of water so it would not be a hassle any more if the city’s water had fluoride,” she said.
She was among dozens of residents at the meeting, including a brother and sister who made banners to represent more than 380 city kindergarteners with tooth decay that could have been prevented, arguing that the city should fluoridate the drinking water to protect residents’ teeth.
The bill was adopted by a split vote, with five in favor and two against. It came almost 30 years after Bethlehem decided to fluoridate its drinking water, adopted through a resolution in March 1970.
Decades later, Lehigh Valley municipalities still have mixed support for fluoridated water despite what experts say is a cost-effective way to protect the dental health of all residents, including those with lower income who don’t have access to regular dental care.
*Original full-text article online at: https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-lehigh-valley-fluoride-20230113-uykgbhdrwvbxfltsjwja352t7y-story.html
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