8/12/2009 9:25:00 AM Dissent remains in fluoridated communities
DENNIS MEYER/DAILY NEWSLYLE JURACEK, Neligh city superintendent, shows the fluoride system that has been installed in Neligh, which has been adding fluoride to the community water supply since the 1970s.
More FAQs about fluoride
Why would a community want to add a toxic chemical to its water?
Hydrofluorosilicic acid is toxic in its concentrated form. However, after it's diluted in water, it is at such a low concentration that it is no longer toxic, proponents say. They say the acid dissociates (breaks down) into the same fluoride ion that is present in naturally occurring calcium fluoride. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency have both concluded it dissociates safely. But fluoridation opponents worry the chemical is still too potent in water. Is fluoride rat poison, as some seem to think? Hydrofluorosilicic acid is not used as either a rat poison or an insecticide. Very high doses of sodium fluoride, sometimes used in toothpastes, have been used as pesticides. Most communities don't use the sodium fluoride compound in water because it is expensive and difficult to handle. How else do people get fluoride? Fluoride is present in some foods, bottled waters, sodas, juices, etc. In addition, it's added to many toothpastes and mouth rinses. Dentists also administer topical fluoride treatments and prescribe fluoride drops. Why is fluoride needed in water if it's in toothpaste? Not everyone brushes their teeth well. Proponents say water fluoridation is particularly helpful for children and people who can't afford dental care. It's beneficial, they say, for children because it strengthens teeth during formation and because they tend to have subpar dental hygiene as compared to adults. Can a person overdose on fluoride? Both supporters and opponents say getting fluoride from too many sources can cause dental fluorosis. However, opponents say they believe drinking too much fluoridated water also leads to cancer, weak bones, thyroid problems, lower IQ, infertility and other adverse effects. Proponents agree fluoride is problematic in excessive amounts, but they counter that people could not physically drink enough water fluoridated at recommended levels to develop such problems.
NELIGH - Young children pedal their bikes down the center of the streets snaking through the Antelope County seat.
Signs blink in the windows of the quiet mom-and-pop shops.
The downtown's stately architecture reflects the quiet Nebraska community's rich roots.
It's a typical small, rural Nebraska town, but what flows underground sets it apart from some others.
Since the 1970s, Neligh has fluoridated its community water supply to prevent dental cavities. But after three decades, distaste for doing so still lingers.
A glass full of ice water sits in front of 87-year-old Joe Knievel at Daddy's Country Cafe here.
Knievel, who drinks well water, says he usually takes only a few sips. Fluoridated water can cause cancer, he asserts.
Chuck Thiemann, a 56-year-old fluoridation supporter, sits nearby and disagrees.
"With kids like they are nowadays, I think fluoride's a good thing," he says. "I see enough cancer in this town, but I don't think it's because of fluoride."
* * *
Sixty-five community water systems are fluoridated in Nebraska, including those in Humphrey, Laurel, Osmond, Tilden and West Point. Thirty-three more purchase their water from the 65 that are fluoridated. And 40 more have water that is naturally fluoridated.
As a result of a 2008 legislative bill requiring all communities with more than 1,000 residents to fluoridate unless they vote to opt out, 13 cities plan to add fluoride by next summer. It's the law, after all.
Fremont has fluoridated its water since 1996, after the community voted to do so in conjunction with the construction of the new water treatment plant.
Aside from one e-mail asking why he's poisoning the water, Larry Andreasen, who is Fremont's water and sewer superintendent, said he hasn't heard much about the fluoride.
Andreasen said he can't remember any complaints about the costs to implement and maintain fluoridation. A grant paid for the $7,000 worth of equipment in 1996, and the expenses for the separate fluoride room and ventilation system were absorbed into the $6.5 million price tag for the new treatment facility.
Hydrofluorosilicic acid - the artificial fluoride compound pumped into most water systems - will cost Fremont more than $21,000 this year, or about 84 cents for each of the roughly 25,000 residents.
That's ridiculously cheap, supporters say, compared to the price of dental problems that fluoridation helps prevent.
Fluoride's been flowing in Kearney since 1998. For the town of about 30,000, each resident pays around $1.33 to fluoridate per year.
As for the feelings toward fluoride in Kearney, "we had a little bit of debate when the state vote came about last year, but we've had it so long that I think people understand the benefits," said Mark Bowman, the city's water production supervisor.
Unlike the subdued discussion in Kearney, the fluoridation debate in Hastings last year before the city voted not to fluoridate was explosive.
In letters to the Hastings newspaper, opponents insisted fluoride was a cancer-causing poison. Supporters called opponents misinformed fearmongers, arguing that fluoride is a safe and effective cavity fighter.
The unusually high price tag to add fluoride also brushed some residents the wrong way. Hastings Utilities quoted approximate capital costs for 24 well houses (the city doesn't have a central treatment plant) at nearly $1.1 million. Annual expense estimates neared $90,000, or $3.53 per each of the 25,500 residents.
Steve Cogley, customer relations coordinator for Hastings Utilities, said some of the older well houses would have had to be modified to accommodate fluoride. In addition, he said, it would've been rather expensive to equip and maintain 24 sites.
The money flowing toward fluoridation, according to several dentists practicing in fluoridated communities, hasn't just twirled down the drain.
Michael Bryson, a dentist in Kearney for 31 years, said fluoride in the water "absolutely makes a big difference" in preventing dental cavities. Bryson said he sees more rampant decay in patients from non-fluoridated areas.
Bryson joked about the fluoride controversy, saying his three children were raised on fluoridated water "and they haven't gone nuts or had their hair fall out yet."
Michael Heeney, also a Kearney dentist, said fluoridation has benefited his patients. But he worries that hydrofluorosilicic acid - a byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer industry - "contains some things you don't want in your water."
"Fluoride is a good idea, but I think you should do it the right way," Heeney said.
Three dentists in Fremont and one in Neligh also said fluoridated water had reduced tooth decay rates in their city. None in Nebraska contacted by the Daily News opposed fluoridation.
Terry Jensen has treated patients in Neligh since 1976. He said the contrast between the teeth of patients who drink fluoridated water and those who don't is "night and day."
When toddlers visit him for their first appointments, "we may see 8 to 10 teeth with decay in non-fluoridated kids and 0 to 1 in fluoridated ones."
Jensen and other dentists said they haven't noticed a simultaneous upswing in dental fluorosis, which is the white and brown spotting on teeth caused by too much fluoride.
"Over and over I have parents say they're thankful that there's fluoride for kids," Jensen said.
But fluoride remains relegated to toothpastes and prescriptions in 48 Nebraska communities that voted down fluoridation last year. Four others - including Norfolk - required by the Legislature's mandate to either fluoridate or opt out have yet to do so.
Several months after Wahoo, Yutan and Wisner residents voted to fluoridate, there is not peace.
Opponents in those communities, dismayed by the backward ballot language and some fearing the injection of fluoride into their water, are working to overturn the vote.
Voters marked "yes" on their ballots if they wanted to reject fluoridation and "no" if they were in favor.
"There has been a small group of citizens that have questioned how it could be put back on the ballot," said Melissa Harrell, a city official in Wahoo. "We're working on trying to get a clear answer" on how to do so.
Wisner city officials are fielding calls from residents concerned with steep capital costs and the ballot language.
The city expected to pay about $10,000 to implement fluoridation, but the tally has rocketed to $80,000, according to an engineer's estimate.
Wisner is looking into a by-mail special election to address fluoride in November.
* * *
A panting pup follows a young child walking alone in Neligh as he slurps a dark soda.
Muddied farm trucks whisk by the gas station along the highway, spitting dirt clods as the tires turn. An elderly man pumping gas grins and waves to the driver.
After three decades of fluoridation, people in Neligh are still smiling.
In the end, the town may have changed its water, but the water hasn't changed the small Nebraska town.
* * *
Coming tomorrow: Norfolk is shaping up for considerable debate over the pros and cons of fluoridating its water supply.
Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, August 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Sandra Reiss
I grew up in Neligh and flouridation happened the year I left Nebraska. Subsequent to that I had terrible teeth, since then I have had many dental procedures to save my teeth. It worked, but my dentist tells me that if I would have had flouride like my children I wouldn't have the teeth I have.
Posted: Thursday, August 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Mykel G.
I think technology is way too advanced for humans. That includes putting fluoride in the water. Maybe they should conduct a bit of research on the outcomes of fluoridated water first. Just a thought Ms. Lostroh.
Posted: Thursday, August 13, 2009
Article comment by:
davehaney
my dentist told me that if everybody brushed and flossed twice a day we would see very little tooth decay.ya know what he was right my last check up came back zero cavities.
Posted: Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Article comment by:
nyscof
80% of dentists refuse Medicaid patients and 130 Americans lack dental insurance. So when a dentist looks into a patient's mouth and sees little decay, he hasn't discovered someone who "benefited" from fluoride. He's discovered someone who has a higher socio economic status and can afford healthy food and/or frequent trips to the dentist to fix little cavities before they grow into abscesses that destroy neighboring teeth.
Two boys died in recent years from the effects of untreated tooth decay.
Tooth decay crises is occurring in virtually every fluoridated city and state regardless of fluoridation status.
