Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home City Council Tuesday evening opted not to take action on a request to stop using fluoride in city water.
Following testimony from 19 residents, with 10 against fluoridation, eight speaking in favor of the practice and one other member of the public urging the council to defer to the experts, the council declined to take action of any kind.
Councilors had the options of passing a new ordinance that would remove fluoride from Sweet Home’s water, referring the question to voters or taking no action.
Mayor Jim Gourley told the audience, which packed the council chambers, that members of the public could gather petition signatures to place the question on the ballot.
Sweet Home residents voted to begin fluoridating city water in 1964.
Councilors said they weren’t willing to overturn a vote of the people.
Those opposed to fluoridation argued that, while it might be helpful topically for teeth, it also affects other parts of the body causing a variety of health issues. Fluoridation proponents, several of them dental workers, as well as a general surgeon, disagreed.
Even if fluoride serves a beneficial purpose, it still presents a danger, said Trevor Burchard. Even the highly beneficial vitamin C can be cause adverse effects in the body if dosage is too high. Even showering can increase exposure.
Different people drink different amounts of water, and with people in different sizes, fluoride dosage is not consistent, Burchard said. Regulating fluoridation levels does not prevent the populace from overexposure.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s website says that excessive consumption of fluoride over a lifetime may increase the likelihood of bone fractures in adults and lead to tenderness and pain in the bones, Burchard said.
Children exposed to excessive amounts of fluoride may develop puts in their tooth enamel, he said.
“We know that fluoride is beneficial topically and harmful if ingested at certain levels,” Burchard said. “We know there is no way of controlling how much people get or how much they retain. We understand that it is relatively cheap to access and expensive to avoid. This is why I encourage the City Council to remove the water fluoridation program from the City of Sweet Home.”
Gary Jarvis said that the U.S. Environmental Agency fired a scientist for blowing the whistle and testifying in 38 different court cases about the dangers of fluoride, a study that showed sodium fluoride produced cancer in rats.
Marla Blanchard noted that her children have been diagnosed with stomach problems and attention deficit disorder. She believed it also may have caused deformities in her frogs.
April Baxter said that, within a year of moving into town, she started noticing symptoms of psoriasis. Her son got sick and developed ADHD. Since taking him off of city water, his conditions have improved.
“I don’t know if it’s fluoride, but it’s something to think about,” Baxter said.
“It’s poison,” said Jim Oviatt. “All of Europe has given it up.”
Some 40 percent of children have fluoride poisoning, he said.
“This is actually a political football,” Oviatt said. “It’s a poisonous byproduct, and the big companies have to find a way to get rid of it. They do it by selling fluoride to water suppliers, affecting families, children.”
“Everybody is sick and dying in America,” Oviatt said. “It’s time to fight it.”
The federal government labels fluoride a poison on its MSDS sheet, said Robert Baird. “It’s all bad. It’s a poison. The government has labeled this a poison.”
Theresa Mahler, Councilor Greg Mahler’s wife, said that after she married and moved to Sweet Home, she began feeling lethargic and learned she had developed hyperthyroidism, a condition that has doubled its incidence in the population in the last decade. Among its health impacts, it disrupts the endocrine system, affecting multiple glands.
Chuck Haynie, a general surgeon from Hood River, told the council that pediatricians and family doctors believe fluoride is beneficial and safe; and the effect of fluoride on teeth is noticeable.
While practicing in Hood River, the operating room next to his had children in for mouth surgery week after week with mouthfuls of rotten baby teeth, he said. That drove him to propose fluoridating in Hood River when he joined the City Council there.
Haynie shared a comparison between Hood River and nearby The Dalles, which had fluoridated since 1956. Some 70 percent of cases were prevented in The Dalles by fluoridation. In Head Start in Hood River, 9 percent of children had cavities like those depicted in photos he showed the council, while The Dalles had none.
In comparisons between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities, he noted an amazing difference in the oral health of Head Start children.
He said that national data show the same thing.
Hundreds of scientific organizations, Pediatricians of America, Family Doctors and American Cancer Society, have reviewed the science and made reasoned judgment sin favor of fluoridation.
Local dentist Ivan Wolthuis said he can tell when a child drinks fluoridated water or water without fluoride, based on the condition of their teeth.
Bruce Austin of Corvallis, who has worked on the Tooth Taxi, a traveling dental clinic that regularly visits Sweet Home schools, said he’s seen “huge differences” in dental conditions thanks to fluoride. The cautionary stories are “anecdotal,” he said, “but after a while anecdotal becomes a trend.” He echoed Wolthuis’ comments about being able to look in children’s mouths and tell which ones drink fluoridated water.
Ken Bronson told the council that he grew up in a home without fluoride, and he and his siblings have all had problems with their teeth. He has three children, and they used fluoride tablets. Now they are in their 20s and among all of them there are two fillings.
John Mahler, father of Councilor Greg Mahler, and Tom Albert said they could see the difference between fluoridated and unfluoridated water. Mahler said he didn’t drink fluoridated water growing up, and his teeth have been in bad shape.
There’s no comparison, he said. His children’s teeth have had fewer problems after growing up on Sweet Home’s fluoridated water.
Resident Jeff Goodwin said opponents paint a case out of fear and confusion, but their arguments say nothing about whether the cause is fluoride.
“Where are the patients struggling with fluoride poisoning?” he asked. “Even water is poison. Everything is poison if you drink too much of it.”