Next month, Durango voters are being forced to make a decision: whether or not to discontinue fluoridating our community water supply. A small misinformed part of our community is attempting to deprive our city residents of one of the most time- and science-proven, cost-effective health benefits ever – all based on erroneous and undocumented claims.
Yes, fluoride is in fact “poisonous,” but only in amounts much higher than what Durango allows. But then, so is chlorine, that horrific and terrible poison which is used in the manufacture of paints, solvents and insecticides, and which in its gas form was used as an agent of chemical warfare in World War I, yet which is used today to make our water safe to drink. So are many other chemicals found, or even yes, added to our water and food. That doesn’t mean we should remove them all.
The fact is that water fluoridation is the single best community-wide method of reducing dental decay in children without requiring their active participation. But that’s not all: studies have shown a 25 to 30 percent reduction in dental decay among adults in fluoridated versus non-fluoridated communities as well.
Every major health organization world-wide endorses community water fluoridation. I urge you to choose facts over opinions and pseudoscience.
Please take the time to vote against Question 1A on your April ballot.
James Eich, DMD
Durango
