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UK Against Fluoridation

Thursday, June 23, 2016

USA - Buffalo City Council decides to forgo fluoridation

After more than a year of discussions and public meetings, the Buffalo City Council decided, at its June 21 meeting, to repudiate supplementing the city’s water source with fluoride.
A 2010 study from the Wyoming Department of Health found that Johnson County had the highest rate of untreated tooth decay in the state, which became the impetus behind fluoridating the city’s municipal water supply.
Buffalo City Council first heard the proposal to fluoridate the water in July of last year. Dr. Mark Schueler, a physician at the Johnson County Healthcare Center, discussed the potential benefits of fluoridation at a July 21, 2015, council meeting.
Schueler said that the naturally occurring rate of fluoride in the city’s water supply is far below that of the U.S. Department’s recommended amount. Schueler, along with various health organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local, statewide and national dentists, maintain that fluoride protects teeth from tooth decay and can result in fewer cavities, less need for filings and tooth extractions and less pain and suffering from tooth decay. They say that fluoride remineralizes the tooth surfaces, preventing cavities from forming.
Mayor Mike Johnson was intrigued by the idea at the time but first wanted public input on the subject, and public input is just what he received. Following Schueler’s suggestions, numerous stalwarts on both sides of the issue began to vocalize their apprehensions and abutments.  

Local dentists came out in favor of fluoridation but understood that some residents may not agree with the idea. Dr. Brian Cotant, DDS, proposed an alternative idea, one that would involve taking the money to fluoridate the water and instead providing topical fluoride treatments, or pills for those who favor it, to community members.

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