Santa Clara – The former head of the US Centers for Disease Control says the water in San Jose is missing an ingredient that is available in other parts of the country. Dr. Julie Gerberding says the local water supply needs fluoride.

Dr. Gerberding says she’s shocked that a city the size of San Jose does not have the basic protection that growing children need for healthy teeth and adults need to prevent tooth loss as they age. She adds that communities that have fluoridation have lower incidents of cavities in children. She says she has seen local children whose mouths look worse than the mouths of children in rural Vietnam.

Dr. Gerberding was in Santa Clara speaking at a Health Trust event about the health disparities in Silicon Valley. She says many of the disparities here need long-term fixes which will be difficult to implement. However, she says fluoridating the water is relatively easy.

Dr. Gerberding headed the CDC from 2002 until the end of the Bush Administration.

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