Some members of the Dallas City Council say it’s time to reevaluate the practice of adding fluoride to the city’s water supply.

The Centers for Disease Control and the American Dental Association both support fluoridation as a way to help reduce cavities and tooth decay.

Cities started adopting the practice in the 1950’s. It was approved in Dallas in 1966. There was a measure on the ballot in January of 1966 that would have made it illegal to fluoridate the water in Dallas, but that proposition was defeated.

“I look at anything that’s been in place for 60 or 70 years and say ‘why are we still doing it? Why are we not changing things?’,” said Council Member Adam Bazaldua during a meeting of the Dallas City Council’s Quality of Life Committee. “It’s a very old practice. I want to see if this is something that’s just a sustained practice because we’re used to it, or if we have actually dug into what the need is.”

Members of the Committee heard from staffers from Dallas Water Utilities, Dallas County Public Health, and dentists about the benefits of fluoride.

“We can reach and prevent more decay with a community water fluoride system than any single dentist could ever reach into the population and benefit,” said Dr. Mary Swift. She is the Chair of the Texas Dental Association Community Water Fluoride Committee.

Dallas County Public Health Director Dr. Philip Huang told the council that there are periodic reviews to determine the proper amount of fluoridation in the water, but the consensus among public health experts is that it is still recommended.

“We’ve had hundreds of millions of people who have lived with this and much literature review conducted on this, and it’s well-established that it’s safe and effective,” Dr. Huang said. “Water fluoridation has been recognized by the CDC as one of the great public health achievements of the 20th century.”

Some members of the Council were receptive to the information presented by the experts during the meeting.

“It is clearly based upon science and rigorous peer-reviewed studies, and I find it to be credible and persuasive,” said Council Member Paul Ridley.

Others, however, wanted further discussion.

“I think it’s a fair question for this Council to ask,” said Council Member Paula Blackmon, “in 2023…is a practice that we had in 1950 still a fair practice, given what we have in our society today?”

Committee Chair Adam Bazaldua wants another briefing featuring critics of fluoridation.

“I still think that there are some questions that I would like to hear answered from an unbiased standpoint,” he said. He also had concerns about the motives of some who support fluoridation.

“It’s made a lot of lobbyists a lot of money across the country. It’s a practice, like a lot in medicine and in dentistry, that is about profit,” he said.

One of the outside experts brought in as part of the presentation attempted to reassure the Council.

“As a dentist, we are advocating for less business,” said Dr. Johnny Johnson, President of the American Fluoridation Society. “We are advocating for something that is going to knock out at least 25 percent of the cavities that are out there.”

*Original full-text article online at: https://www.audacy.com/krld/news/local/dallas-officials-debating-city-should-keep-adding-fluoride

Print PDF