Pasco should reconsider removing fluoride from its water | Editorial

Pasco has joined an expanding list of North American cities that have turned their back on a cost-effective, well-researched benefit to public health: water fluoridation.

The Pasco City Council on Monday voted to discontinue fluoridating the community water supply, which the city began in 1998.

Reliable science does not support the decision, despite a national movement against fluoridation. Utah this year became the first state to ban the addition of fluoride to public water supplies. At least in Washington it is still up to local water providers.

Fluoridation has long been controversial. Some Washington communities embraced it. Others have said no.

Community preference, however, does not change the medical evidence that fluoridation is good for dental health, especially in children. The introduction of fluoride into public water supplies is one of the great public health accomplishments of the past hundred years.

Too many children do not learn good oral hygiene practices. They do not brush regularly and do not floss their teeth. Cavities become expensive health problems for families or for taxpayers when those children are on Apple Health or other assistance.

Topical fluoride in toothpaste is effective, but if kids do not brush regularly, they do not get that. Moreover, ingested fluoride helps developing teeth.

Pasco should have stuck with it. At a minimum, the council could have left such an important decision to the public.

Council members were headed that way on Monday but then tied 3-3 on whether to send the issue to voters next year. After supporting an election, Mayor David Milne cast the deciding vote on a 4-2 motion to remove fluoride.

Milne opposes fluoridation, but the intense public interest had led him to propose putting the issue on the ballot. He previously told the Tri-City Herald, “I had no idea it was this big of an issue.”

Who knows what voters would have decided? Pasco’s recent city survey showed respondents split: 51.5% wanted to keep fluoride, and 48.5% wanted to end it. That is close enough that an election could have swung either way.

Fluoridation foes maintain this is an issue of personal choice. People should decide for themselves whether to use fluoride as a defense against dental disease and take responsibility for their own health.

That would be a worthy argument, if everyone were on a level playing field and could afford to make that choice themselves. The reality is that many folks cannot afford to either buy fluoride products or to get fluoride treatments at the dentist. City water is readily accessible to all.

Unhealthy teeth affect more than a person’s smile, although a smile certainly is important to a person’s self-esteem and mental well-being. Poor oral hygiene and untreated cavities contribute to a number of serious health issues, including an increased risk of a stroke.

Franklin County, which includes Pasco, also has a majority of residents, 54%, who are Hispanic and are statistically at higher risk for tooth decay in Washington state. Hispanic children in second- and third-grades have a 50% higher rate of tooth decay compared to non-Hispanic white students, and nearly double the rate of severe decay, according to the Washington State Smile Survey.

“Poor oral health can lead to pain, poor school performance, productivity losses, and lowered quality of life,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC also notes, “Protecting teeth requires consistent, low levels of fluoride in the mouth.”

Fluoride is a common element found in rocks, soil and water. In many places, including Pasco, there is too little naturally occurring fluoride to benefit teeth. Communities that have ended fluoridation have seen a corresponding increase in dental problems.

It has become fashionable in some circles to embrace skepticism of science. It is true that practically any substance can be harmful if consumed in excessive quantities. Fluoride in drinking water is not at excessive levels.

Communities should act on evidence, not conjecture. Fluoridation is one of the most accessible and cost-effective public health measures America has. Pasco should reconsider its decision or leave it to voters to decide.