The city of Eagle River has added fluoride to its water for 50 years, and after last night’s debate, the city council voted to continue that practice. Most people know that fluoride strengthens teeth against decay. As Marshfield Clinic physician Mike Schaars said in his argument for fluoride, there’s also an increasing awareness of the connection between poor oral health and medical conditions. The same blood that runs through infected teeth circulates through the body, raising the risk of infection in joint replacements in our aging population, says Schaars.
Schaars: The other big thing is kind of the emerging connection between poor oral health and cardiovascular disease. That really means strokes and heart attacks…
The public health argument carried the day, particularly for the health of children who don’t see the dentist and only receive fluoridated water at school. Eagle River will continue to add fluoride at point-7 parts per million, the federally recommended dose.
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