USA - Improved oral health

Letters for May 24
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Improved oral health
In 2005, 60 years of public water fluoridation was commemorated. Grand Rapids was the first city to adjust the level of fluoride in its water supply.

As a dental hygienist with over 30 years of practice, the difference between children drinking fluoridated water and those without it is very evident. Since 1945 fluoride has dramatically improved the oral health of Grand Rapidians.
In a time when our state is in a crisis financially, when decay rates of our youngest children are on the rise and access to dental care for many is hard to find, let's not be penny wise and pound foolish.

For every $1 spent on water fluoridation more than $380 is saved in dental bills. The average cost for one filling is $101.94. The cost to fluoridate water for one person for their lifetime can be less than the cost for one filling.

Families are spending unlimited resources on bottled water. Consumption of bottled water is growing. The vast majority of bottled water has less than the optimal amount of fluoride, so families are missing the benefits of water fluoridation.
In all the 60 years of research and practical experience with water fluoridation, no charge against the benefits and safety of fluoride has ever been substantiated.
Mr. Corky Overmyer, director of sustainability for the city of Grand Rapids, should save our smiles for sustainability

-- SHARON BREUKER
Grand Rapids

Not much doubt then, fluoridation wonderful if we believe her.