Residents of a Vermont community were blindsided last month by news that one official in their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago, giving rise to worries about their children’s dental health and transparent government.
RICHMOND, Vt. — Residents of a small community in Vermont were blindsided last month by news that one official in their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago, giving rise to worries about their children’s dental health and transparent government — and highlighting the enduring misinformation around water fluoridation.
The addition of fluoride to public drinking water systems has been routine in communities across the United States since the 1940s and 1950s but still doesn’t sit well with some people, and many countries don’t fluoridate water for various reasons, including feasibility. But in the recommended amounts, fluoride in water decreases cavities or tooth decay by about 25%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reported in 2018 that 73% of the U.S. population was served by water systems with adequate fluoride to protect teeth. So for some people in Richmond, it was a shock to hear their water wasn’t meeting the standard.
“Fluoride, again, is one of the most successful and important public health measures that has ever been undertaken in this country,” Knowles said. “The reduction in dental disease is just inarguable. You don’t establish safety based on one person’s opinion or one study or this or that.”The mineral was first added to public water in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1945.
Miller said she didn’t realize the town’s fluoride number had been consistently low for so long until March this year. After a site visit by the state in April, the levels did not improve, so Miller contacted the Richmond town manager in June, who requested she attend the meeting in September, she said.
A former Richmond employee who worked under Chamberlin pointed out the monthly report is reviewed by the town manager and goes to the state.
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Town employee quietly lowered fluoride in water for yearsResidents of a small community in Vermont were blindsided last month by news that one official in their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago.
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Town employee quietly lowered fluoride in water for yearsResidents of a small community in Vermont were blindsided last month by news that one official in their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago.
Read more »
Town employee quietly lowered fluoride in water for yearsResidents of a small community in Vermont were blindsided last month by news that one official in their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago.
Read more »
Town employee quietly lowered fluoride in water for yearsResidents of a small community in Vermont were blindsided last month by news that one official in their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago.
Read more »
A town employee quietly lowered the fluoride in water for yearsResidents of a small Vermont community were blindsided by news that a water department official lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago, giving rise to worries about children's dental health.
Read more »