Our community, presently, has some of the best water around, without fluoridation. I was always under the impression that a drug must be prescribed to individuals according to their age and size. When our daughter was of the proper age, her dentist applied fluoride treatments to her teeth.
Speaking for myself, I have a lengthy list of meds/drugs to which I get severe allergic reactions. Mass water fluoridation cannot be individually regulated … period.
Many of our wonderful neighbors have hard-labor jobs, and these days more and more folks exercise to better their health, all needing to re-hydrate their bodies with extra water.
It is my feeling that our community’s young folks who need fluoride should have it properly dispensed either by topical applications to their forming teeth or in a tablet form from a dentist. And as a recent newspaper writer indicated, improved diet should be addressed. The whole family needs to participate in teaching the young in our community to refrain from consuming too much sugary foods, snacks and beverages that promote tooth decay. Consider how a vast amount of our water is used — taking showers, doing laundry, flushing toilets, over-watering lawns, filling pools. Would that be cost-effective?
When you think about it, how much water do the younger people actually drink? In my estimation, mass water fluoridation is not the answer for our precious community of various ages.
Perhaps consider a free clinic to offer topical fluoride applications and/or fluoride tablets, to the children’s needs.
It’s a thought.
Janet Carroll
Greenfield