There has been much complaint in letters of late regarding fluoridation.
Tooth decay was one of the most universal problems suffered by mankind. No more in many countries. Water fluoridation was the first really effective public health measure for preventing tooth decay. From an economic view, there was never anything minor about dental disease.
Dental defects were the largest single cause of rejection among the first two million men examined for military service for the Second World War. Prevention of tooth decay would have been the obvious answer but we didn't have it.
Years of concentrated study in Canada, the U.S. and abroad was done before, fluoride was ever introduced to the water systems. It had been proven safe, in the prescribed amount, one part fluoride to one million parts water. It has also been proven that even elderly people suffering from chronic ailments have not been harmed by fluoridated water .
There are many of us in the city who have been drinking fluoridated water since it was first introduced, when we were kids. Lots of babies around then too. They seemed to have fared OK.
There was a lot of exact science in the study of fluoridation before it was allowed into our water systems. Remove it from the water and it will be a step backward.
Shirley Ballum
Prince George
