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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 18, 1956)
EIGHT MEDFOBD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Friday, May 18, 1956 Varying Amounts of Fluoride Said Consumed In Daily Menu; Water Fluoridation Favored Bf A. ROBERT SMITH Mail Tribune Corxtipondant Washington Millions of Americans have been drinking fluoridated water for many years, starting long before medi cal research discovered that flu oridation in the proper degree greatly reduces tooth decay, And virtually every American consumes varying quantities of fluoride every day at the dinner table in the foods he eats, wheth er it be a meal of hotdogs or steak. In both cases, it is part of the natural order, for fluoride is a vital element in man's daily diet. These observations are made by top officials of the U. S. Pub lic health service when asked for their views on the controver sial question of adding fluoride to drinking water to cut down dental diseases. Their point is that virtually everyone today has quantities of fluoride in his . diet, and that controlling the quantity of fluoride in drinking water does not introduce any new element into the average person's digestive system Fluoridation Favored The Public Health service stronelv favors fluoridation of water, for the results it has found over the past decade of testing and research are expressed con cisely by Dr. Thomas L. Hagan chief of its division of dental public health: "Extensive scientific evidence has proved that water fluorida tion is effective in reducing tooth decay and causes no bad effects on health. Tests of legal ity have demonstrated that the procedure is not an infringement of individual liberty. Further more, water fluoridation is the most economic decay preventive available today." A survey by the Health Ser vice shows that about 1200 com munities in the U. S. have drink ing water that is naturally en dowed with just about the right amount of fluoride to arrest tooth decay. Nature is taking care of some 4,000,000 people here. Then there are about 60,000, 000 people in many other com munities whose drinking water has some natural fluoride . but less than the recommended amount. In the past decade, about 1,000 communities have adopted con trolled fluoridation of their mu nicipal water supply, adding mil lions more to the total popula tion now obtaining fluoridated water. In some of these cities which have added fluoride, tests have been run to determine the effect on dental disease. In Grand Ra pids, Mich., results showed that before fluoridation the average 16-year-old child had 14 teeth either decayed, filled or extract ed; but after fluoridation had been in effect nine years, tooth disease declined in children of all ages, and the average 16-year-old had 10 teeth which had re quired dental attention. The Public Health Service is interested in fluoridation be cause it believes that probably no other disease affects so large a proportion of the U. S. public as does dental disease. Its offi cials recall that 21 per cent of the boys rejected from military service during World War II were turned down because of bad teeth. "In 1953 the American people sDent about SI. 600.000,000 for High Speed Pulls Tires From Pavement Dayton. O.- U.R) You're really "flying" when you drive at excessive speeds: A good por tion of your tires loses contact with the roadway. When cars travel at speeds over 60 miles per hour, centri fugal force develops a "throw out" in the tires that pulls them away from the pavement, accord ing to engineers of Dayton Rub ber Co. Thafs one of the reasons why you can't stop fast at high speeds. There is less rubber on the pavement to get a good grip. And the gripping surface nar rows more and more at higher and higher speeds. Call for Squad Car Puzzles Radio Operator Muncie. Ind. U.R The local police radio operator was startled recently when he got a call to send a patrol car to "take Young and Massey to jail." - The befuddled operator asked why Detectives Young and Mas sey didn t use their own patrol car? The puzzle was soon solved and a car was sent for prisoners Young and Massey, no relation to Detectives Young and Massey who were together on duty at the time. PICTURE TUBES REJUVENATED Is your picture tub dull and waak? Most picture tubes can tx restored to original brightness at only fraction ol the cost of replacement-. For further information CALL Electronic Service dental care, or about one-sixth of the total expenditure for person al health services in the nation," explained Dr. John W. Knutson, chief dental officer of the Public Health Service. . "This sum, an all-time high in dental expenditures, is but a fraction of the estimated amount needed to provide adequate care for the American people," he said. "Even if there were an un limited amount of money avail able for dental care, there are simply not enough dentists to furnish the required volume of services. Thus, there is little pos sibility that the nation's dental health problem can be solved in the near future solely by increas ing the correction of existing de fects." Dr. Knutson said the Health Service, charged by Congress with responsibility for research into health problems, has cover ed the field in trying to lick den tal troubles even to experi menting with dental assistants for dentists who have multiple chairs which "has enabled den tists to increase their productiv ity and to treat more people." Works With Local Groups The Health Service also does research on diseases of the gums and bones, and it works with state and local health agencies to encourage periodic dental exam inations, to apply proper meth ods of dental care and to pro mote desirable dietary habits. Fluoridation, then, is just one part "of a diversified and balanc ed approach to meeting our to tal dental health needs," said Dr. Knutson. "It has met all the tests. It was studied over a long period of time, both by research workers in the Public Health Service and by other investiga tors. It was subjected to intens ive field testing for safety and practicability. Its effects were demonstrated, checked and re- checked. Practical methods for its application were worked out and perfected in considerable de tail. And it finally became part of the public health armamentar ium, along with other prevent ive techniques." Much as the Health Service favors fluoridation of drinking water, it does not try to dictate what any community should do when this question is raised. Decision Up to People "As with all public health pro cedures," explained Dr. ' Knut sen, "the decision on fluoridation rests and, in our opinion, should continue to rest with the local community. fi public health work, it could not be otherwise, nor would we wish it to be other wise. We believe there is no just ification for any federal inter vention into local health matters. We feel certain that in fluorida tion as in other health matters, the combination of professional health leadership and enlighten ed citizen interest will insure the decision that will enable com munities to go forward in health. . "We cannot accept the premise that fluoridation of public water supplies constitutes a hazard to public health. On the contrary, we believe that its safety has been clearly established and that its potential for improving den tal health warrants the serious consideration of all communities concerned with progressive health measures. 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