When I read this morning that the city of Dallas, Texas was considering discontinuing fluoridating its public water supply I couldn’t believe my eyes! But it’s true! The city fathers want to save money ($1.8 million for a 3 year contract) by discontinuing the practice after nearly 50 years. Dallas would be the largest city in the country to do this. Approximately 210 million people in the U.S. receive the benefits of drinking fluoridated water-20 million people in Texas alone!
So why all the fuss? Several reasons:
- Firstly, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that fluoridation of public water supplies is one of the top 10 public health advancements in the last century! No one can seriously argue that drinking fluoridated water helps prevent tooth decay by strengthening the enamel of children’s teeth while they are forming.
- Secondly, the move by the industrial food chain in America to a corn-based and processed food diet has wrought havoc on the decay rate in children in particular. Decay rates that were initially lowered with the help of fluoridation are now climbing again thanks to foods and drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. (As a reference consider reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.)
- And finally, in the end, the cost of treating dental disease would be much higher than the investment needed to prevent it. In this case an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure!
Any questions? Don’t hesitate to contact me or the office, Dr. Laurence Stone in Doylestown, PA, today to schedule your next appointment and we can talk more about this. See you soon!
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