Dentist comments on attempt to end Milwaukee water fluoridation

Dr. Monica Hebl, a Milwaukee general dentist, past-president of the Greater Milwaukee Dental Association and Wisconsin Dental Association and vice chair of the American Dental Association Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations, today released the following statement regarding Ald. Jim Bohl’s proposal to end Milwaukee’s community water fluoridation program.

“This is an extremely misguided proposal based on junk science, not fact. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has proclaimed community water fluoridation one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, along with greater use of vaccines and recognition of tobacco as a health hazard. Killing the City’s community fluoridation program would severely threaten the oral health of Milwaukee residents and those who live in the other 15 local communities that get their water from Milwaukee.

“Verifiable science confirms community water fluoridation helps reduce tooth decay by 20 to 40 percent.

“After 65 years of research and practical experience, the evidence has consistently indicated that fluoridation of community water supplies is safe. Of the hundreds of credible scientific studies on fluoridation, none has shown health problems associated with the consumption of optimally fluoridated water.

“And it’s economical – a person can have a lifetime of fluoridated water for less than the cost of one dental filling, and studies show that every $1 invested in water fluoridation saves a community approximately $38 in future dental treatment costs.

“There is simply no easier, safer or cheaper way to prevent tooth decay than community water fluoridation. The Greater Milwaukee Dental Association and the Wisconsin Dental Association strongly urge the City to reject Ald. Bohl’s short-sighted idea. Community water fluoridation, one of modern medicine’s greatest achievements, is too important to go without.”