Portland mayor supports fluoridation
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland Mayor Sam Adams responded with pride after receiving a compliment on his teeth Friday: "These teeth grew up on fluoride - Newport, Oregon, fluoride."
The city he governs could soon join the list of places that add the mineral to its water supply to fight tooth decay.
Adams announced he will join commissioners Randy Leonard and Nick Fish in support of fluoridation, giving the pro-fluoride bloc a majority on the five-member council. A date for the council vote has not been scheduled, but it will come soon because Adams and Leonard leave office at the end of the year.
The mayor said his decision, first announced on Twitter, was a "pretty darn easy call" and will fill a hole in the city's health safety net.
Portland is the second-largest city in the country without fluoride in its water, behind San Jose, Calif., according to the American Dental Association. The water district serving San Jose has voted to begin fluoridation, but money to do so hasn't been raised.
Many in Portland and the state at large have long opposed public fluoridation. While 73 percent of the U.S. population drinks water treated with fluoride, the rate is less than 25 percent in Oregon.
Adams said Oregon's children suffer from much higher rates of tooth decay than kids in neighboring states, and noted that the problem is especially stubborn for lower-income children whose parents can't afford dentists.
"I'm all for Portland standing up and being its wonderful, weird self, but not in this regard," he said.
Portland voters have three times rejected fluoridation, most recently in 1980. The issue had not been on the public radar until early August, when The Oregonian reported that a coalition of health and other organizations had been lobbying the City Council to fluoridate the water, and gained the support of Leonard, who oversees the Portland Water Bureau.
City Hall quickly received hundreds of calls from supporters and opponents of fluoridation, which would cost an estimated $5 million.
Roger Burt, 69, a member of the anti-fluoride group Oregon Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, said the group was not ready to divulge whether it would collect signatures to force a public vote on the matter.
The retired addictions counselor said studies show fluoridation hurts child brain development, resulting in lower IQs. He said it can also cause autism, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other problems.
Adams urged Portlanders to go to the Internet and study the issue for themselves. He said the evidence in favor of fluoridation is "sound, rigorous and incredibly compelling."
As for the anti-fluoride argument: "I find it to be less sound, more based on emotions and rhetoric."
Pediatric dentist Andrea Beltzner supports the proposal.
"I see kids in this practice every week that come in with rampant decay, cavities, in 16 of their 20 teeth," Beltzner said. "I'm talking about 2-year-old, 3-year-old children."
Beltzner said friends on the East Coast are "floored" when she tells them about the degree of tooth decay she encounters in Portland, especially in middle- and high-income patients.
"I have two kids. They get fluoride supplements," Beltzner said. "There is no way I want them growing up without that."
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Associated Press writer Nigel Duara contributed to this report.
The city he governs could soon join the list of places that add the mineral to its water supply to fight tooth decay.
Adams announced he will join commissioners Randy Leonard and Nick Fish in support of fluoridation, giving the pro-fluoride bloc a majority on the five-member council. A date for the council vote has not been scheduled, but it will come soon because Adams and Leonard leave office at the end of the year.
The mayor said his decision, first announced on Twitter, was a "pretty darn easy call" and will fill a hole in the city's health safety net.
Portland is the second-largest city in the country without fluoride in its water, behind San Jose, Calif., according to the American Dental Association. The water district serving San Jose has voted to begin fluoridation, but money to do so hasn't been raised.
Many in Portland and the state at large have long opposed public fluoridation. While 73 percent of the U.S. population drinks water treated with fluoride, the rate is less than 25 percent in Oregon.
Adams said Oregon's children suffer from much higher rates of tooth decay than kids in neighboring states, and noted that the problem is especially stubborn for lower-income children whose parents can't afford dentists.
"I'm all for Portland standing up and being its wonderful, weird self, but not in this regard," he said.
Portland voters have three times rejected fluoridation, most recently in 1980. The issue had not been on the public radar until early August, when The Oregonian reported that a coalition of health and other organizations had been lobbying the City Council to fluoridate the water, and gained the support of Leonard, who oversees the Portland Water Bureau.
City Hall quickly received hundreds of calls from supporters and opponents of fluoridation, which would cost an estimated $5 million.
Roger Burt, 69, a member of the anti-fluoride group Oregon Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, said the group was not ready to divulge whether it would collect signatures to force a public vote on the matter.
The retired addictions counselor said studies show fluoridation hurts child brain development, resulting in lower IQs. He said it can also cause autism, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other problems.
Adams urged Portlanders to go to the Internet and study the issue for themselves. He said the evidence in favor of fluoridation is "sound, rigorous and incredibly compelling."
As for the anti-fluoride argument: "I find it to be less sound, more based on emotions and rhetoric."
Pediatric dentist Andrea Beltzner supports the proposal.
"I see kids in this practice every week that come in with rampant decay, cavities, in 16 of their 20 teeth," Beltzner said. "I'm talking about 2-year-old, 3-year-old children."
Beltzner said friends on the East Coast are "floored" when she tells them about the degree of tooth decay she encounters in Portland, especially in middle- and high-income patients.
"I have two kids. They get fluoride supplements," Beltzner said. "There is no way I want them growing up without that."
_____
Associated Press writer Nigel Duara contributed to this report.
Just as bad as fluorine is chlorine which many municipalities around here use rampantly.
I wouldn't do anything to the water supply of Portland, but I would vote to recall the lying dog running it. Follow the money...who is making the money from adding fluoride to the nations water supply? Just because it was pushed onto the public in the fifties doesn't mean it is safe or needed. They used to have x-ray machines you could put your foot in to see how well a shoe fit back then too. When are they finally going to admit mercury in the fillings of the poor aren't the best thing for long term health either?
"I see kids in this practice every week that come in with rampant decay, cavities, in 16 of their 20 teeth," Beltzner said. "I'm talking about 2-year-old, 3-year-old children."
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Seriously? 2 and 3 year old children? How much water does a 2 or 3 year old really drink and how could a kid ruin his teeth that quickly?Â
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The real answer is parents need to limit the amount of sweets their kids are consuming and help them develop healthy teeth brushing habits. I don't think a city should be forced to have fluoride added to its water. Whether it's harmful or not, common sense tells me nothing good can come from putting something in our drinking water that doesn't belong their. But our politicians lack common sense. I guess I won't be drinking out of the bubblers  anymore when I'm in Portland.Â
 @FremontTroll I totally agree with you there. I am thinking bottle rot from giving the kid a sweet drink when they are napping or going to bed for the night. Even watered down it still causes the rot. With information so readily available in this day and age, parents have no excuse that they didn't know. Â
I had to lol at this statement:
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"The city he governs could soon join the list of places that add the mineral to its water supply to fight tooth decay."
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Hate to break it to ya but Fluoride isn't technically a mineral, at least not the variety that is added to water, it's a chemical derived from Fluorine. Besides, anything that requires a hazmat team to clean up probably shouldn't be consumed, it's called common sense, something the majority of this country seems to be lacking of late...
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoride
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorine
Don't do it!!! It's a mind control scheme instituted by the FBI, CIA, and EPA!
Hey mayor take pure unwatered down floride and put it on your skin and tell us how safe it is. You will feel your bones burn.
Ever hear of brushing your teeth after every meal? Why does the government have to force a known poison on people fluoride leaches calcium out of your bones.
 @wynooheeman Are you just trolling or do you have a source to support your claims?
@PrairieDawn http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927595 there you go it is a hazmat waste
Oh how the Fabian society progressives love to control your lives they know how to better govern your life then you.
If adding fluoride to the water is good for you, then how come the hazmat team has to come out if you happen to spill any of it ?
the same reason you have to call poison control if you happen to swallow tooth paste.
Flouride is highly toxic. It has marginal usefullness as a topical on teeth, and has absolutely no reason to be taken internally.
This whole article is BS. If the people with the tooth problems are poor and have no access to dental care, then how is poison the answer? Wouldn't a low income dentist office seem to make more sense?
As a side note, the FDA considers Flouride a contaminant.
Perhaps the food you eat and the high stress lifestyle of always needing to get somewhere the fastest way you can to buy junk you don't need should be regulated. Â Adding toxins to your water is treating a sign, not the source.