GRAYLING, Mich. (WPBN/WGTU) — The Grayling City Council has voted to remove fluoride from the city’s water systems following a recommendation from a recent training attended by city water department staff.
The decision was made on Monday.
According to the Michigan Oral Health Coalition, there are over 1,400 water systems across the state, with 614 of them fluoridated and 846 not.
Fluoride is typically recommended at a concentration of 1 part per million for health benefits, such as cavity prevention.
Jeffery Johnston, Chief Science Officer at Delta Dental, expressed concerns about the potential impact of the decision.
“Fluoride has been studied very well with systematic reviews and meta-analysis over the last 70 years so in the scientific community, in other words, those that know what they’re talking about, it’s not questioned,” Johnston said. “A lot of communities took fluoride out not so much because of health reasons but because the fluoridation machines were getting old and it’s a lot of money to keep these machines running.”
Community water fluoridation began in Michigan in 1945.
While fluoride is banned in Utah and Florida, Ohio is reportedly working on legislation to ban it as well.
Original article online at: https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/grayling-city-council-votes-to-remove-fluoride-from-water-systems