A pickup rolls through downtown Richmond, Vt., on Wednesday. A city employee is under fire for reducing fluoride in drinking water below the state’s recommended level.
Wilson Ring/AP
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Wilson Ring/AP
A pickup rolls through downtown Richmond, Vt., on Wednesday. A city employee is under fire for reducing fluoride in drinking water below the state’s recommended level.
Wilson Ring/AP
RICHMOND, Vt. — Residents of a small Vermont community were blindsided last month by news that an official at their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels nearly four years ago, raising concerns about their children’s dental health and transparent government — and highlighting the persistent misinformation about water fluoridation.
Katie Mather, who lives in Richmond, a town of about 4,100 in northwestern Vermont, told a water commission meeting this week that her dentist recently found her two children’s first cavities. She acknowledged that they eat a lot of sugar, but noted that her dentist recommended avoiding fluoride supplements because city water should do the trick.
Her dentist was “operating and making professional recommendations based on state standards that we all assumed were met, which were not,” Mather said. “It’s the fact that we didn’t have the opportunity to give our informed consent.”
Adding fluoride to public drinking water systems has been routine in communities across the United States since the 1940s and 1950s, but some people still don’t like it, and many countries don’t fluoridate water for a variety of reasons, including expediency.
How much fluoride is too much?
Critics argue that the health effects of fluoride are not fully known and that adding it to municipal water can amount to unwanted medication. some communities in recent years have ended the practice. In 2015, the US government lowered the recommended amount of drinking water after some children drank too much water, causing white spots on their teeth.
While such stains are primarily a cosmetic problem, the American Dental Association notes on its website that fluoride — along with bioactive substances such as salt, iron and oxygen — can be toxic in large doses.
However, at recommended amounts, fluoride in water reduces cavities or tooth decay by about 25%, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reported in 2018 that 73% of the US population was served by water systems with adequate fluoride. protects the teeth. So for some people in Richmond, it was a shock to hear that their water didn’t meet standards.
The water superintendent explains why he lowered the fluoride level
Kendall Chamberlin, Richmond’s water and sewer inspector, told the Water and Sewer Commission in September that he lowered the fluoride level because of his concerns about changes in its source and recommended levels.
He said he is concerned about the quality control of fluoride used in US drinking systems because it comes from China — a claim that echoes unsubstantiated reports about Chinese fluoride that have circulated online in recent years.
And, he said, he doesn’t think the state’s recommended fluoride level is warranted at this time.
“It is my duty to exercise care and exercise reasonable judgment to protect the public health, safety and environment of my clients,” he said, adding that “being cautious is not a bad position to be in.”
Chamberlin did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
CDC says fluoride additives from China are under review
Two of the three fluoride additives that U.S. water systems can use actually come from China because they have no domestic manufacturers, but all are subject to strict standards, testing and certification to ensure safety, the CDC spokeswoman said. Tracy Boehmer in an email. Vermont Department of Health officials agreed that all additives must meet these national standards.
Chamberlin’s decision surprised residents and doctors.
“For one person to unilaterally make the decision that this public health benefit may not be warranted is inappropriate. I think it’s outrageous,” retired Dr. Allen Knowles said at the Sept. 19 meeting. She said she has an 8-month-old granddaughter who she thought was getting enough fluoridated water.
“Fluoride, again, is one of the most successful and important public health measures ever taken in this country,” Knowles said. “The reduction in dental disease is just indisputable. You don’t base safety on one person’s opinion or one study or this or that.”
Most water naturally contains some fluoride, but usually not enough to prevent tooth decay.
The mineral was first added to public water in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1945. It is now common, though more prevalent in some states than others. Oregon, New Jersey and Hawaii have the lowest percentage of residents with fluoridated water, according to the United Health Foundation.
Fluoride is also added to toothpaste and other topical products and is found in some foods.
In sparsely populated and largely rural Vermont, 29 of 465 public water systems are voluntarily fluoridated, and just over half of residents served by a public system receive fluoridated water, according to the Vermont Department of Health. The standard state level is based on federal recommendations.
Cities that fluoridate must maintain levels in accordance with state recommendations and submit monthly reports to the state Department of Health.
The former director of the state’s fluoride program, who retired in 2019, had tried to work with Chamberlin and his team in Richmond, “and things would improve for a while, but they would fall back again,” Bureau director Robin Miller Oral Health. , he wrote in an email to the AP.
Miller said she didn’t realize the city’s fluoride number had been consistently low for so long until March of this year. After a state visit in April, the levels didn’t improve, so Miller contacted Richmond’s city manager in June, who asked her to attend the meeting in September, she said.
The official who caused the controversy apologizes
At the second meeting Monday, the one in which Katie Mather raised concerns about her children’s teeth, Chamberlin — who does not live in the city and appeared online — read a statement of apology.
“Words cannot express how sorry I am for causing this controversy,” he said. “Trust me when I say that I’ve always had good intentions based on a misunderstanding. I promise I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again.”
A former Richmond employee who worked under Chamberlin emphasized that the monthly report is reviewed by the city manager and goes to the state.
“He’s not just a guy who does what he wants. He brings these reports to his boss, who signs them off,” said Eric Bailey, now the village manager in Johnson.
Mayor Josh Arneson said Chamberlin or other officials always told him the levels were acceptable. He said he first heard from the state in June about the consistently low levels.
The committee voted to return the water to full fluoridation. It’s unclear whether anyone could face professional repercussions. personnel matters were discussed in closed session.
