SCHENECTADY Council returns to fluoride debate Rising cost, uncertain benefit cited BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com
The price of fluoride has crept up another $20,000, leading the Schenectady City Council to once again debate the effectiveness of the controversial chemical. The city will pay $65,000 this year for the increasingly-rare chemical, which cost $45,000 last year and $25,000 just two years ago. The chemical was added to protect teeth, particularly the developing teeth of children too poor to get annual fluoride treatments at a dentist. But some physicians now believe fluoride can hurt more than it helps. The chemical can be dangerous if too much of it is consumed, and it can be found in many innocuous foods, ranging from tea and coffee to chocolate ice cream. It’s also in most toothpaste — but not children’s toothpaste. In large amounts, fluoride has been accused of causing everything from discolored teeth to cancer. No studies definitively prove that fluoridated water causes such effects, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but advocates of fluoride-free water say they are generally opposed to having any medicine forced upon them, particularly if it could be risky. C o u n c i l w o m a n B a r b a r a Blanchard has been somewhat convinced by their arguments. She suggested that the council reduce the amount of fluoride in the water to make sure avid tea drinkers and other fluoride consumers don’t get an overdose. “The question is, are we irresponsible in putting in as much as we are?” she said, adding that her research into the chemical left her seriously worried. “It made me realize we’re not just fooling around with nothing,” she said. “The amount of fluoride that had been recommended and that we have been using may be too high.” Other council members and the mayor vehemently disagreed with her. “I think adding fluoride to the water is one of the most cost-efficient things we can do as stewards to protect the children of this city,” Mayor Brian U. Stratton said. “I know with my son, you have to kick and drag them to get them to brush their teeth.” Councilman Mark Blanchfield added that poor children aren’t likely to get the right amount of fluoride if it isn’t in the water. “They reference all these things that in the perfect world every child is eating, but we know in Schenectady they don’t,” Blanchfield said. McCarthy added that many adults may need the fluoride more than ever. “Because of the instances of bottled water, you’re seeing an increase in cavities,” he said. The CDC says that fluoridated water is only helpful to adults when they have exposed roots. The agency studied the issue in 2001 and determined that fluoridated toothpaste and fluoridated water have played an important role in decreasing cavities. However, it said treated water played the greatest role and urged municipalities to continue their fluoridated water programs. McCarthy indicated he might be willing to compromise on that point, saying, “If there are studies that show we can get the same results with a lower concentration, we can make that adjustment down the road.” Most of the council seemed to agree with McCarthy. Blanchard plans to continue the debate at upcoming council meetings in hopes of determining how much fluoride to use in city water this year. Schenectady is not the first municipality to question fluoride. The village of Cobleskill stopped putting fluoride in its water two years ago. Amsterdam in Montgomery County and most Schoharie County public systems don’t treat their............................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01000
SCHENECTADY Ending fluoride program raised Not treating water could yield savings BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
As the city faces the possibility of layoffs, City Council members leapt at the idea Monday of saving money by eliminating fluoride treatments in city water. The idea was floated at Monday’s council meeting by two residents who cited a series of studies showing that fluoride causes cancer and other health problems. Those studies have been widely debunked, but they attributed this to the power of pro-fluoride special interests. However, they got the council’s attention when they cited other studies showing that fluoride is most effective when applied topically through toothpaste, rather than being drunk from the tap. “Fluoride’s primary benefi t comes from topical contact — brushing your teeth with it — if at all,” Arik McNamara told the council. “So, really, my key point is I’m not sure why we are purchasing this and putting it in our water system. I don’t see the benefits to any person here.” Fluoride is believed to reduce tooth decay, protect children’s teeth before they erupt, and protect exposed roots in adults’ teeth, according to the Centers for Disease Control. However, the CDC notes that fluoride is so readily available now, in toothpaste and other forms, that treating water may not be as important as it was when cities started doing it in 1945. Schenectady dentists have strongly supported fluoridated water as the best way to reach children living in poverty. Eliminating the fluoride treatment would hurt those who are least able to buy fluoride or get treated at dentists’ offices, where children are routinely given fl uoride, dentists said when this issue was last raised by the City Council. The country is also seeing skyrocketing rates of young children with extreme tooth decay, requiring dangerous general anesthesia because young children can’t sit still long enough to get a dozen or more cavities drilled. Dentists have blamed a lack of brushing for that problem, as well as some parents’ choice to use only bottled water, which generally doesn’t have fl uoride. For the council, it may come down to money. It costs roughly $50,000 a year to treat the city’s water. That’s a cost council members would like to avoid, and eliminating fluoride has been discussed regularly, most recently in 2009. “The mayor’s administration and the council doesn’t want to spend the money, or do any harm,” Council President Denise Brucker said when the subject was broached Monday. Councilman Carl Erikson said the county’s public health doctor should be asked to speak to the council about the issue. ...............................>>>>......................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01102&AppName=1
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