By MATHEW PELLEGRINO – Pro: A glass a day keeps the cavities away

Bill, it doesn’t surprise me you are against fluoride. I bet the last time you saw your toothbrush, you were on your hands and knees scrubbing out your toilet bowl.

People will always assume fluoride in water is bad for them, but Bill, what you don’t realize is that fluoride is good for your teeth. Looking at those black-pearly whites of yours, I can only assume you’ve spent much of your life avoiding fluoride.

I also note you drink about five bottles of soda each day, That makes me think the smart decision is to start force-feeding keep fluoride down your gullet.

Yes, Bill…fluoride CAN be bad for you … in large quantities. So can just about anything. Did you know you can die by drinking too much water? It’s true!

The Food and Drug Administration does not monitor fluoride levels in tap water, but when fluoride levels are high, people can get sick. In 1993, residents in a Mississippi town got a bad case of diarrhea when the fluoride levels in their water reached 200 times the recommended amount.

But by no means does the water around Santa Rosa County reach that level of fluoridation and, if it did, I’m sure residents would be notified, and the levels would be brought back down.

If someone were to swallow a tube of toothpaste, the effect of the fluoride would cause a minor stomach ache. Oddly enough, the cure for an upset stomach is a tube of thick pink liquid that looks just as appealing as toothpaste.

Even if fluoride levels were high in drinking water, I don’t see a lot of people chugging down bottles of tap water, especially you Bill.

If you’re so worried about too much fluoride, you need to change your diet.

According to the FDA, tooth decay cases have dropped dramatically since water systems started adding fluoride to their water back in the 60s.

And Bill, there are devices the truly paranoid can purchase to remove fluoride from drinking water.

A home fluoride testing kit can easily be purchased from a local hardware store dirt-cheap. From there, you can find out how much fluoride is in your tap water and, if need be, purchase water treatment devices to help control the amount of fluoride in your water.

So where there is thought to be a problem, there is a solution.

The same can be said for your diatribe: where there was thought to be a position, there is actually lukewarm water.

By BILL GAMBLIN – Con: Keep flouride and the concern out of the water

Mat, you amaze me with your flip-flopping beliefs regarding individual rights.

You note I don’t have to go to the doctor unless I so want yet here you are telling me I have to take my fluoride.

What gives?

It is my right, if I want, to not have fluoride. I don’t need a bureaucratic agency funding the stuff and insisting it be put into my drinking water.

If that is the case, let’s jump past Obamacare all together and go straight to socialized medicine.

Several times we hear people talk about the “greater good,” well Mathew, I am a little concerned that you are missing the point.

There are people who cannot drink the water the city is selling.

Is that fair?

Of course not. The city will charge you a minimum usage fee whether you consume the water or not.

Have you noticed how much more we hear about cancer these days?

Experts say cancer is more of a problem now because people are living longer – giving “the big c” more of a chance to come into their lives, but I find myself wondering if fluoride has anything to do with it.

I have heard of many different ailments and concerns and it just makes me ponder.

I think I get enough fluoride in my toothpaste and mouthwash and, if I remember correctly, places like the Santa Rosa Health Department and other outlets help by distributing these fluoride-enriched items.

We even have groups and organizations that come here to help with health care.

I tip my hat to a city that is concerned enough about the health and welfare of its citizens to feel the need to fluoridate water for dental care.

Where my concern lies at the point where a person gets too much. What will that do?

Brushing teeth with a fluoride-based toothpaste, rinsing with fluoridated water, and then using a fluoride-based mouthwash seems like a good regimen.

I’m not sure we all need to drink it, eat it in our food, and even bathe in it every day of our lives.

Today there are medicines which have a purpose and they often have side effects. Listening to some of the modern commercials about these products, we’re left wondering if the “cure” is worth the potential risk.

I feel the same way about fluoride.

Now, I need to go brush my teeth. This debate has left a bad taste in my mouth.