The debate over fluoridated water came back to the table during the May 19 Iowa Falls City Council meeting after Michael Krogh had asked the board about it during their April meeting. This month it appeared as an agenda item.
Oral Health Consultant with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Mindy Wells spoke to the council first and submitted information in favor of keeping fluoridated water in Iowa Falls. She noted that the findings were not her personal opinion, but they were backed by facts, science and years of research.
Wells said in the late 1950s, about half of Americans over age 65 had lost all their teeth, and many were wearing dentures. “Nearly everyone had tooth decay,” she said. “Then enter community water fluoridation. In 1962, the U.S. Public Health Service recommended that community water systems add fluoride to their drinking water in order to prevent tooth decay.”
Iowa Falls began fluoridating its water in 1968, she said, adding that the Centers for Disease Control stated it was one of the great public health issue achievements of the 20th century. “We know drinking fluoridated water decreases tooth decay in both adults and children by 25 percent,” Wells said, adding that tooth decay is a chronic disease, but it’s also preventable.
She suggested that people could use fluoridated toothpaste and have fluoride treatments, but the exposure is shorter, she said, so fluoridated drinking water was the best option. Wells also said fluoride is naturally found in the earth’s crust.
“In its concentrated form, fluoride is potent,” she added. “This is why you would never consume fluoride in a concentrated form. If you were to consume it as it is, it would be toxic.”
She said the water in Iowa Falls has natural fluoride in it, but that number is lower than the optimal distribution, which is .7 parts per million.
Krogh listened to Wells’ presentation, then asked what the difference was between consuming fluoride in water vs. brushing teeth with fluoridated toothpaste, and she said the type of product and dosage was “very different.”
Krogh questioned the optimal range of fluoride that is in Iowa Falls water system, noting that it fluctuates between .7 and .8 part per million. Water/Wastewater Manager Travis Schutt agreed with Krogh’s figure. Wells said .6 to 1.2 parts per million were considered acceptable.
“I think fluoride is good for your teeth,” Krogh said. “But I don’t think water is just for your teeth.” He also presented studies to the council that suggested watering plants with fluoridated water can kill them and that most people take fluoride out of the water, and added, “it had never been approved by the FDA to be consumed.”
Studies Krogh also shared with the council said that a court ruled that fluoridated water at .7 parts per million “poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children.”
Krogh asked if fluoride built up in human bodies, and Wells said, “I don’t think so.”
“The environmental impact has probably not been fully investigated,” Krogh said. “I think it’s way too huge of a risk when the EPA has proven that it causes IQ loss in children.”
Krogh asked Wells if any concerns, or if tests had been done addressing fluoride going into people’s lungs when they take a shower, or into their open wounds, and Wells said, “I don’t think they’ve found any concerns with that. I’m pretty sure it’s been thoroughly studied by hundreds of agencies.”
Krogh also said he talked to the DNR who told him the city could take the fluoride out “any time they wanted.” He also posed the question of fluoridated water seeping into the ground from people watering their lawns and if that number was monitored if goes back into the drinking water. “If fluoride is naturally in the water, it did not come from watering lawns,” Wells responded. “It’s just brought up to an optimal level during water fluoridation.”
“We should make a law that says we can never tamper with the water until everyone’s voted on it,” Krogh said.
Iowa Falls resident Noah Goedken also spoke in favor of leaving the fluoride in the water. He noted that a number of water studies that were done came from other countries, like China, India and Mexico where the parts per million of fluoride was higher than used in the United States, “And there was also a high risk of bias,” he said, focusing on the risk of a reduced IQ in children due to drinking fluoridate water. “This makes it difficult for us to draw conclusions.”
Others addressed the council asking them to take the fluoride out of the water. Karla Damiano said she had toured the water treatment plant, and the vats of fluoride “did have a skull and cross bone symbol on it. What if I don’t think it’s healthy? I have no choice but to buy a reverse osmosis system. You can’t take fluoride out of the water with my Brita. I have to invest in a system.”
She also said there was a warning on the vats that said if swallowed, call a medical provider, and she wondered why fluoride was being added “to medicate the public. We’re putting something poisonous into the water. Drinking it is unnecessary and potentially harmful.”
Darla Sharar also agreed with Krogh, and other who spoke against fluoridated water and said, “there has been reliable research showing numerous negative effects such as lower IQ, increase in bone fractures in the elderly, joint pain, thyroid disease, other neuro developmental issues and more. All the benefits of fluoride are topical like toothpaste or mouth rinse.” She asked the council to discontinue adding fluoride to the water.
Dominick Damiano also spoke and suggested that Wells’ studies were done by the American Dental Association long ago, and now, better research is available. “Cities are making a stance to get rid of fluoride. This is a tough decision to make, but the right decision is… it’s my consent, and it’s my choice, and you’re not giving that choice to me,” he said.
“I’m sure when the city put fluoride in the water, it was announced to the public,” said council member Steve Klein. “I’ve known my entire life the city puts fluoride in the water. Most people say that’s a good thing. We’ve all got opinions… you’ve stated your opinions and I’m stating mine. I think it’s a great benefit to the city to have it in the water.”
“Its funny dentists promote this, but it hurts their income,” council member Roger Nissly added. “If they got rid of fluoride, there would be a lot more cavities. So, why are they promoting it?”
After well over an hour of discussion, City Attorney Kali Adams suggested the council table the subject, read through the information received from both sides, and talk to other citizens to get more of a consensus.
Original article online at: https://www.timescitizen.com/news/the-tooth-of-the-matter-council-hears-fluoride-pros-and-cons/article_4befe4bf-c6e9-445c-aa7d-4a515033827e.html