Local health professionals want State College Water Authority to keep fluoride. What's next?

Jun. 17—COLLEGE TOWNSHIP — About 60 people were logged into the State College Borough Water Authority meeting Thursday afternoon, where at least ten people who work in the medical field spoke against a committee's recommendation for the authority to discontinue adding fluoride to the water.

The SCBWA serves the State College Borough and parts of Benner, College, Harris, Halfmoon, Patton and Ferguson townships, and has been adding fluoride to the water since 1954. During May's SCBWA meeting, the authority acknowledged the controversy around the topic. In 2019, the board began discussing why they were fluoridating the water. The board created an ad hoc committee to further explore it, but discussions were tabled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The board received a presentation on this information during its meeting May 19 from Vice Chair Rachel Brennan.

Harris Township resident Lisa Davis is a public health professional and advocate. During the meeting, she said while serving on a local PTO, she learned that there is a large number of kids who are eligible for free and reduced lunch programs, despite a high per capita income in some areas served by the SCBWA.

"It is for those children. And this is what public health is all about, is serving the needs of those who need the services without them actually having to go get the services," Davis said. "This is something that makes an enormous difference in the health of children and then individuals throughout their lifespan so I ... very much encourage you to continue to serve the public health needs of the residents that you serve."

Community members voice concerns

Cheryl White, executive director of Centre Volunteers in Medicine, said CVIM serves low income, uninsured patients who are at greater risk of dental decay. They're less likely to have regular dental care due to their uninsured status, she said.

"In many cases, fluoride in the water is the only type of dental prevention these individuals have. This is critical to help strengthen teeth and prevent decay," White said.

According to the American Dental Association's website, if a baby is primarily fed with infant formula, "using fluoridated water might increase the chance for mild enamel fluorosis, but enamel fluorosis does not affect the health of your child or the health of your child's teeth." During May's presentation, Brennan talked about the potential psychological, behavioral and social issues of fluorosis, which is a condition that leads to changes in the appearance of tooth enamel, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, which can occur when children regularly consume fluoride during the years their teeth are being formed.

April Detar, a general dentist in State College, said fluorosis is not a common disease that she sees in her practice. If fluoride is removed from the water, she said it could impact things beyond the health of one's teeth, including wait times and costs at the dentist office.

"Most people do not brush their teeth well enough for fluoride toothpaste that is sold over the counter to make any kind of impact. If we take fluoride out of the drinking water, you can expect your dentist to be much busier, you can expect your wait times to be a lot longer and most importantly you can expect to pay for it," Detar said.

Several others in the dental field spoke in support of fluoridation. They said if it were to end, the amount of cavities will increase in some patient populations, and it will impact the young, the old and the medically compromised the most. When they receive new patients, there are "clear differences" between those who grew up in fluoridated areas and those who didn't, Kelly Braun, a Harris Township resident and registered dental hygienist, said. "Those who grew up in fluoridated areas had little to no cavities and they had very few, if any, fillings."

The subcommittee formed to discuss the fluoridation issue previously recommended to the board 2-1 to cease fluoridation. Though there were more than double the number of people who spoke in favor of fluoride, some did speak against it.

Mike Ewall, founder and director of Energy Justice Network, said water shouldn't be used to convey medicine. He argued that there's no significant correlation between fluoridation of drinking water and a reduction of dental cavities. Rather, he said, the correlation is with income and access to dental care.

"Water should not be used to convey medicine and this is not certified by any FDA or other authority to even be a medicine. And no credible doctor, no medical professional say, 'Here's a drug, take as much as you want,'" Ewall said.

In 2019, the SCBWA budgeted over $70,000 for the purchase of sodium fluoride, equipment maintenance, labor and analysis, Brennan said during the May presentation.

What's next?

Authority board chair Jeff Kern reiterated Thursday that the board has not made a decision. The topic has been discussed frequently in recent years, he said.

"It was brought to our attention rather suddenly this year when we almost were unable to buy fluoride because of supply chain issues and we would have had to change our permit in order to continue to supply water without fluoride. So we came within one month of having to make that decision anyway. And the decision would have been by default to not have fluoride in the water," Kern said.

If the board decides to discontinue fluoridation, the authority would need to apply to the state to amend its permit, as it currently does include fluoridation, Kern said.

The board will have time before the next meeting to digest the information presented in public comment, in addition to "dozens" of documents Kern said have been sent in from the public — both for and against fluoridation.

"I suspect that we'll be discussing this at our July meeting. And we may or may not have a vote at that time," Kern said.

The board is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m.July 21, via Zoom, though the board room at the water authority office is open to the public. Board agendas and Zoom links can be found online at www.scbwa.org/board-meetings.

This story was originally published June 17, 20223:23 PM.

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