Fluoride Proponents Speak Up at Board of Health Hearing

The Wayland Board of Health is taking a look at whether to continue the 13-year-old Community Fluoridation Program in Wayland, and a public hearing July 8 brought nothing by fluoride proponents to the microphone.

In particular, a number of dentists -- two of whom practice in Wayland -- spoke up in favor of continuing the Community Fluoridation Program, saying their years of practice consistently reveal tooth decay issues among patients in areas without fluoridated water.

Dentist Leonard Carapezza said he began practicing pediatric dentistry in Wayland in 1970. At the time, in the "era of no fluoridation," he said he saw a high degree of tooth decay in his patients.

"I had the opportunity to see the change and see the development of the children going through my practice," Carapezza said. "There's no question in my mind that my practice right now is less than 5 percent tooth decay. That is related to the education process of what we give our kids in the school system here, the parents we're dealing with and, no question about it, the fluoridation of the water supply."

Another dentist, Dr. John Fisher, has practiced for nearly 40 years in Salem, Mass., and said he saw similar changes among his patients as communities began to fluoridate their water.

Fisher said that 140 Massachusetts communities now fluoridate their water, a practice he says dramatically reduced the tooth decay he treated in his practice. 

"Any disease entity -- and make no mistake about it, decay is a disease -- can be dealt with in two ways," Fisher said. "We can develop ever newer, better, more costly treatment modalities or we can work harder to prevent and eradicate the disease. Dental decay, to a great extent, is preventable."

While not directly speaking against the Community Fluoridation Program, resident Linda Segal did point out that there are about 350 communities in Massachusetts, which means that as many as 210 communities do not add fluoride to the water. She asked that the data regarding patients in the non-fluoridated communities be gathered so the public can be fully informed.

The hour-long hearing drew only a handful of attendees and the board did not take any action on the decision. Board Chair Thomas Klem explained that the board would decide whether to put the issue before the town.

"This board is not going to vote by itself to remove fluoride from the town's water supply," Klem said. "That would come before the town and it will be a town decision. Wayland originally undertook community water fluoridation on a town vote."

(Editor's Note: After this article was published, Patch was forwarded an email from Town Counsel Mark Lanza. It reads, in part: "It is my opinion that the town may decrease the level of or discontinue fluoridation altogether by vote of the Board of Health. No town meeting vote or local ballot question vote at an election are necessary.")

He added that the board could also make the decision to lower the amount of fluoride in the water, currently at about 1.0 milligrams per liter, once the Centers for Disease Control issues a new opinion on the amount it recommends. 

The Board of Health is scheduled to meet again on July 22, and depending on the number of members who can attend that meeting, Klem said the hope is for the board to make a decision at that time.

This write-up was completed after viewing the WayCam recording of the Board of Health meeting. The recording can be viewed online.