USA - Why is City Council afraid to revisit fluoridated water issue?
Commentary: Why is City Council afraid to revisit fluoridated water issue?
July 31, 2008
It was with great pleasure that I read the guest commentary on July 17 from Fond du Lac City Council Vice President Jeremy Thiesfeldt.
The heading "Democracy includes right to petition, call for referendums" brought back to me the sense of betrayal I felt back in the year 2002.
My signature is one of those 2,060 found on that petition for a referendum on whether to continue adding fluoride to our city water "silently collecting dust somewhere in the bowels of City Hall." For those of us who actually listened to Richard Matthew and studied the evidence he gathered for us, it was a great disappointment that that City Council would not do as we requested and put the matter to referendum.
So please, City Council members take some time and be willing to have an unbiased position. I know back in 2002 I too thought the American Dental Association, and even the Medical Society, should know the right answer. They said fluoride in the public water was good for our dental health; in particular, poor kids who in all likelihood did not get to see a dentist.
Things are different now in Wisconsin. And even the medical community is wondering if that wonderful fluoride that hardens the enamel of teeth on contact may also be hardening our innards. After all, the fluoride does not disappear after it does its intended job on our teeth, but it continues on throughout our bodies and, apparently, is difficult to tell what it may be doing down there.
Even though I had doubts about fluoride back in 2001, under pressure from my dentist, I agreed to pay for the treatment. The woman who applied the stuff to my teeth was very careful with it and she warned me, more than once, not to eat or drink for 30 minutes. And then to be sure to rinse my mouth thoroughly before swallowing anything.
I know that fluoride is much more concentrated than what we get in our water; and I know all fluoride is not alike. I also know some of the businesses that grow flowers will not use fluorinated water and some businesses prefer no fluoride in the water they use because they think fluoride corrodes their machinery.
So please let us have a referendum, and please, everybody, learn about fluoride from up-to-date research information.
Ruth Dauterman is a longtime resident of Fond du Lac.
July 31, 2008
It was with great pleasure that I read the guest commentary on July 17 from Fond du Lac City Council Vice President Jeremy Thiesfeldt.
The heading "Democracy includes right to petition, call for referendums" brought back to me the sense of betrayal I felt back in the year 2002.
My signature is one of those 2,060 found on that petition for a referendum on whether to continue adding fluoride to our city water "silently collecting dust somewhere in the bowels of City Hall." For those of us who actually listened to Richard Matthew and studied the evidence he gathered for us, it was a great disappointment that that City Council would not do as we requested and put the matter to referendum.
So please, City Council members take some time and be willing to have an unbiased position. I know back in 2002 I too thought the American Dental Association, and even the Medical Society, should know the right answer. They said fluoride in the public water was good for our dental health; in particular, poor kids who in all likelihood did not get to see a dentist.
Things are different now in Wisconsin. And even the medical community is wondering if that wonderful fluoride that hardens the enamel of teeth on contact may also be hardening our innards. After all, the fluoride does not disappear after it does its intended job on our teeth, but it continues on throughout our bodies and, apparently, is difficult to tell what it may be doing down there.
Even though I had doubts about fluoride back in 2001, under pressure from my dentist, I agreed to pay for the treatment. The woman who applied the stuff to my teeth was very careful with it and she warned me, more than once, not to eat or drink for 30 minutes. And then to be sure to rinse my mouth thoroughly before swallowing anything.
I know that fluoride is much more concentrated than what we get in our water; and I know all fluoride is not alike. I also know some of the businesses that grow flowers will not use fluorinated water and some businesses prefer no fluoride in the water they use because they think fluoride corrodes their machinery.
So please let us have a referendum, and please, everybody, learn about fluoride from up-to-date research information.
Ruth Dauterman is a longtime resident of Fond du Lac.
posted by Bill at
9:48 AM
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