On May 21, the residents of Portland, Ore., soundly defeated an attempt to add fluoridation chemicals to the drinking water by a vote of 61 percent to 39 percent, just six months after Wichita, Kansas, residents did the same. The two cities join a list of over 125 communities that have rejected fluoridation by either a council decision or ballot vote since 2010.
In opposing fluoridation, Portland voters agreed with the position of most Western nations that there are safer, more effective, and less intrusive ways to promote oral health than adding a chemical linked to thyroid disease, IQ loss, and other ailments to the water supply.
Most Western countries, including the vast majority of Europe, do not fluoridate their water. In fact, shortly before Portland’s vote, Israel announced that it will be ending its mandatory fluoridation program, and Ireland has proposed legislation making it a criminal offense to add fluoride to public water supplies. In Canada, the number of people drinking fluoridated water has dropped by about 25 percent since 2008.
Fluoride chemicals are the only chemicals added to public water for the purpose of medication (to purportedly prevent tooth decay). Citizens want their water departments to provide safe potable water, not dental treatments. Let’s keep fluoride supplementation between patients and their practitioners.
It’s time we join Portland, Wichita, and the rest of the world in our opposition to fluoridation. Fluoride consumption should be a choice, not a mandate.
Mary J. Rouzer
Lynnwood
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