HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Birmingham has announced it will end fluoridation of its local water supply following a brief legal battle in the Jefferson County court system, joining a growing number of Alabama cities that have discontinued the practice in recent years.
The decision reflects a broader statewide trend. The city of Madison voted to discontinue fluoride use last year, and over the past two decades, cities including Grant, Piedmont, Arab, Red Bay, and Oneonta have made similar moves.
Dental experts say fluoride helps prevent cavities and tooth decay, particularly in children ages 1-9. Local utilities, however, argue that the maintenance costs and corrosive nature of treating water with fluoride can outweigh the benefits. The Alabama Department of Public Health noted in 2020 that it is up to each city within a county to decide whether to treat its water with fluoride.
Local medical professionals warn that the discontinuation could carry wide-ranging consequences, especially for young children who get the majority of their water from the tap.
“This is, to me, kind of a very unfair way for a water board or city council or anyone to say, ‘We want to pass this cost on to young families,’ because that’s who’s going to absorb it through the cost of treatment, through the cost of missing work, for the cost of a child missing school, for the cost of putting fluoridation in water versus what it will hit these families with. I think it’s incredibly unfair to them,” said Dr. Marc Masterson of Alabama Pediatric Dental Associates.
Dr. Tommy Johnson, state dental director for the Alabama Department of Public Health, echoed those concerns.
“Continuing to decrease the amount of fluoride that’s provided through the community water fluoridation process, those are definitely going to have an effect. It’s been shown in other countries, other cities, that after community water fluoridation is discontinued, then there is an increase in the amount of decay that is present in children and adults, as well,” Johnson said.
A study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that stopping water fluoridation increases tooth decay rates by nearly 8% and could result in millions of additional cavities nationwide.
“Cessation of public water fluoridation would increase tooth decay and health system costs in the US,” the study stated, adding that “despite concerns regarding toxic effects associated with high levels of fluoride, this model demonstrates the substantial ongoing benefits of water fluoridation at safe levels currently recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Toxicity Program, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Whether more Alabama cities will follow Birmingham’s lead remains to be seen.
Original article online at: https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/local/birmingham-ends-public-water-supply-fluoridation-amid-growing-statewide-trend/525-9ccdd813-148b-4022-86b3-0c6f469b13a1