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.
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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.
"We believe, however," con
cluded the government's chief
dental officer, "that the deter
mination should be left for each
communtiy to decide for itself."
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