Debate over fluoride in tap water rages on - Monroe Times

Oct 27, 2024

MONROE — Whether the city continues to add fluoride to its water supply to support dental health remains an open question, even after a standing-room only meeting on the topic before the Monroe Common Council last Monday, Oct. 21.

The topic was added to the council agenda due to widespread interest, Mayor Donna Douglas said. She first introduced the question of continued fluoridation due to concerns voiced to her recently from several different people.

After that, the initial discussion about whether to continue fluoridation first occurred at the Sept. 23 Public Works Committee meeting.

“At that point I felt like it was important,” Douglas said, adding that she thought it would be good for the council to revisit the topic and for the public to have an opportunity to weigh in.

Fluoride, many experts and dentists say, strengthens tooth enamel, which protects teeth from the acids produced by bacteria in the mouth. This prevents cavities and reverses early signs of tooth decay.

Fluoride is naturally found in soil, water, and plants, but the levels are usually too low to prevent cavities. Many communities — including Monroe — add fluoride to their water supply to help prevent cavities. Experts say they can see the positive impact of fluoride when they compare the dental health of children raised with fluoridated water in cities and those, for example, in the country who are drinking well water without the chemical.

But voices in the crowd and on the council were decidedly split on the matter, although those who supported continued fluoridation seemed to be greater in number at the Monday meeting.

Several dentists and dental health professionals in attendance — including one dentist who attended remotely from England — also spoke in favor of keeping the chemical in the city water supply, as did some common council members. The city council has quickly accumulated a stack of emails and letters weighing in on both sides of the issue, officials said.

Ald. Tom Miller said his dental health suffered from not having access to fluoridated water growing up, while siblings who did have access to it had far better oral health outcomes. He said that despite the medical community’s overwhelming support of the practice, opposition to fluoride or any public health initiative can be found if you look hard enough online.

“I’ve got enough money in my mouth to buy a car,” he said. “You can go on the Internet and find whatever you want, there’s a good theory for it.”

Joan Rufenacht, who grew up in Wiota without fluoride in the water and now lives in Monroe, agreed.

“I love the fact that after I moved here 45 years ago there was fluoride in the water,” she said. “Me and my brothers and sisters had horrible dental,” health she said, of their time in Wiota drinking well water.

But the were also strong calls from the public to get rid of fluoride, including from Ald. Richard Thoman, who called the continued push for fluoridation “narrow-minded” and dated.

“If there’s even a small chance that this is harmful,” the city should not risk public health putting it in, Thoman said.

“Remove the stuff, it’s poison,” said Dan Collins of Monroe. “Since it’s in the toothpaste, why have it in the water…. If God didn’t make it, don’t take it.”

Ald. Andrew Kranig also voiced his opposition.

“I will be voting to remove it because everybody deserves a choice,” Kranig said.

Following the meeting, a local dentist who supports fluoride in water said she has noticed a marked decline in public trust in institutions and health professionals in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the debate over fluoride after decades of successful public health use — and dozens of failed lawsuits — is an example of that trend.

“It’s really sad that this is happened, we no longer trust the health professionals to keep us safe,” said Dr. Laura Hibbard, who practices at Monroe’s The Dental Haus.

The matter isn’t going away anytime soon — it will be up to several city committees to make recommendations and a final vote at some point by the council, officials said.