Phoenix set to reassess fluoridation
by Lynh Bui - Jun. 10, 2012 10:55 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proclaimed it one of the 10 greatest public-health achievements of the 20th century.
Every U.S. surgeon general since the 1950s has endorsed the practice. And the American Dental Association calls it the "single most effective public-health measure to prevent tooth decay."
But despite overwhelming support from the government and medical professionals, the debate over fluoridating public water systems, which largely subsided after the Cold War, has resurfaced.
Phoenix has become the latest Valley city to reassess the controversial cavity-fighting policy as several City Council members are proposing to save money or limit government's reach by discontinuing water fluoridation in the nation's sixth-largest city.
The City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee is scheduled to decide Tuesday whether the entire council should vote to suspend the city's use of fluoride in city water. A change would affect the more than 1.4 million Phoenix residents who use the city's fluoridated tap water for drinking, bathing and brushing their teeth.
Anti-fluoride activists have continued to rally against municipal fluoridation of water for decades, worried that overdoses could lead to weight gain and muscle pains from thyroid problems, discoloration of teeth and other yet-to-be-discovered side effects. They also worry that ingesting too much fluoride could damage bones the same way it has been found to eat away at tooth enamel.
The Republic | azcentral.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proclaimed it one of the 10 greatest public-health achievements of the 20th century.
Every U.S. surgeon general since the 1950s has endorsed the practice. And the American Dental Association calls it the "single most effective public-health measure to prevent tooth decay."
But despite overwhelming support from the government and medical professionals, the debate over fluoridating public water systems, which largely subsided after the Cold War, has resurfaced.
Phoenix has become the latest Valley city to reassess the controversial cavity-fighting policy as several City Council members are proposing to save money or limit government's reach by discontinuing water fluoridation in the nation's sixth-largest city.
The City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee is scheduled to decide Tuesday whether the entire council should vote to suspend the city's use of fluoride in city water. A change would affect the more than 1.4 million Phoenix residents who use the city's fluoridated tap water for drinking, bathing and brushing their teeth.
Anti-fluoride activists have continued to rally against municipal fluoridation of water for decades, worried that overdoses could lead to weight gain and muscle pains from thyroid problems, discoloration of teeth and other yet-to-be-discovered side effects. They also worry that ingesting too much fluoride could damage bones the same way it has been found to eat away at tooth enamel.
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