Vinalhaven voters will decide Tuesday, Nov. 4 on whether to add fluoride to the town’s water supply to improve dental health.

Five reasons water fluoridation is recommended, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Maine Oral Health Program, are that it is safe and effective, natural, widely accepted, cost effective, and beneficial for a lifetime.

The water district serves approximately 400 customers on the island, according to Town Manager Marjorie Stratton. The cost to water customers for the fluoride treatment is $5 to $6 per customer per year, she said.

“Our medical center [dentist] is the one who suggested it,” she said, noting the island dentist recommended to the board of selectmen that they put the question on a referendum.

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