Some of the area’s top dentists and academics at the University at Buffalo say they were blindsided by the news that the Buffalo Water Board stopped adding fluoride to the city’s water more than 7½ years ago.
Dental community leaders said while it’s good that Buffalo aims to continue fluoridating its water sometime later this year, parents shouldn’t wait and should take matters into their own hands when it comes to their children’s dental health. .
Using fluoride toothpaste at home and having children receive regular fluoride treatments from a dentist are among their recommendations.
“No one in organized dentistry knew that the water in Buffalo is not fluoridated and that fluoridation stopped in 2015,” said Dr. Joseph E. Gambacorta, associate dean for academic affairs and faculty affairs at the UB School of Dentistry. “It’s not like there was any kind of memo sent or any type of consultation (like), ‘If we do this, what will the outcome be?'” There has never been a dialogue between the university, organized dentistry or the dental profession to discuss this issue. ».
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Buffalo stopped adding fluoride to its water system in June 2015, according to the Buffalo Water Board’s annual water quality report for that year. Fluoridation was expected to be restored sometime after March 2016, the report said. The following year, this estimate was pushed back to December 2017, before being extended to 2018 and 2019.
Buffalo’s water system now contains much lower readings of fluoride, which promotes dental health and protects against tooth decay, than public health experts recommend. This puts Buffalo in the minority both nationally and in New York State.
As of 2019, Buffalo Water stopped giving a time estimate in its annual reports. Instead, it said its water has been free of added fluoride since 2015, and “we do not expect to restore fluoride addition until the completion of the various capital projects.”
Buffalo Water Board Chairman Oluwole A. McFoy told The Buffalo News that the city was in the process of upgrading an antiquated fluoride system when the lead water crisis in Flint, Mich., caused the water board to shut down in 2016 and studied whether the new type of fluoride system would have a corrosive effect on Buffalo’s many lead pipes. He said studies done in conjunction with the University at Buffalo showed the system is safe and the city will begin adding fluoride to its water again sometime this year.
What steps can parents take?
Dr. Sarah J. Ventre, an attending pediatrician at John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, said she was not aware of the city’s decision on fluoride, but is following what she and other dentists have seen.
“It was definitely a surprise to me, and I know other pediatricians that I work with, they didn’t know either,” Ventre said. “I personally feel bad because I have not properly advised parents about the lack of fluoride in the tap water.”
There are steps parents can take while they wait for city action, Ventre said.
Fluoride toothpaste is now recommended as soon as a child’s teeth come out, he said, adding that parents should use an amount the size of a grain of rice on their children until age 3.
Fluoride treatments – where dentists paint a fluoride varnish on the tooth – should also be done every 3 to 6 months, he said, depending on the child’s risk of tooth decay. Over-the-counter mouthwash is an option, but not until age 6.
“Because they have to be able to wiggle and spit,” he said.
Because Buffalo quietly stopped adding fluoride to its public water system, dentists and pediatricians recommend that Buffalo children brush their teeth with fluoride toothpaste and get regular fluoride treatments from a dentist.
Derek Gee/Buffalo News
Another option is a nutritional supplement that can be consumed from 6 months to 16 years. A doctor’s prescription is required for dietary supplements, he said.
Gambacorta and Ventre said some of these options may be out of reach for low-income families. Ventre noted that fluoride varnish treatments are covered by Medicaid.
All are good options, doctors said, but none rival the effectiveness of a fluoridated water supply.
“We just want the fluoride back in the water,” Gambacorta said.
As of 2015, the CDC has recommended an optimal fluoride concentration of 0.7 parts per million in community water systems. Buffalo’s fluoride concentration in the 2021 water quality report was 0.13 parts per million, more than five times lower than the recommended level. The report cites natural deposits and discharges from fertilizer and aluminum plants as possible sources of fluoride in the water.
Mayor Byron W. Brown on Friday took responsibility for the city’s failure to add fluoride to its water system over the past 7½ years.
“The buck ultimately stops with me,” Brown told reporters in his City Hall office. “Like others, I was not notified immediately, but I should have been notified and we should have shared the information with the community. No excuse for this.”
“The buck ultimately stops with me,” Brown told reporters in his City Hall office. “Like others, I was not notified immediately, but I should have been notified and we should have shared the information with the community. There is no excuse for this.”
McFoy said the Water Board sent residents the city’s annual water quality report containing news of the fluoride shutdown until 2018, when it began sending a mailer directing residents to read the water quality report online at his website. The change in fluorination was not clearly recorded in this online report.
Buffalo Common Counsel Rasheed NC Wyatt said the revelation is unlikely to catch the attention of city residents.
“I don’t think that’s enough,” Wyatt said. “Unfortunately, in our world, businesses and organizations think that just because I put it in writing, it’s OK. You put it in writing but you don’t tell anyone. This shouldn’t have been done without any input from the community. Kind of ridiculous.”
Council Member David A. Rivera on January 18 he sent a letter to McFoy inviting him to address a meeting of the Council’s Community Development Committee at 1pm on Tuesday in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
