While I am sure that Lisa Intemann and her fellow anti-fluoride campaigners are well motivated to save the community from what they perceive to be the harmful effects of ingesting fluoride added to the town's water supply, I am disappointed that our council has voted to hold a "referendum" on the issue in conjunction with the council elections scheduled for September this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
What seems to me to be missing from their campaign is clear evidence, based on reliable and peer reviewed case studies, of the harm that they claim to be caused by the addition of fluoride to drinking water.
In the absence of such evidence, their campaign will create fear on an issue where members of the community will be expected to judge which scientific opinions to support, given that there are many, well accredited scientists who support the addition of fluoride to drinking water, not to mention the vast majority of experienced dentists who can attest to the benefits for dental health.
I am quite content to rely on my "lived experience" in which both my parents lost most of their teeth and had to make do with dentures before they died.
My wife and I are in our late 70s and we each have a mouthful of fillings, nearly all of which we acquired before fluoride was added to drinking water.
We have two daughters who grew up with fluoridated water and who are attractive, healthy and intelligent, and neither has experienced the discomfort of a dentist's drill; and between them, they have four children, two of adult age and two teenagers - all are healthy and intelligent and none has experienced the dentist's drill.
Theo Van der Veen
Bonny Hills