To the editor:
Though I am grateful that we decided against fluoridating our entire municipal water supply in Edgartown, I wonder if the CDC’s recommended School Sealant Initiative will be pursued. This program would ensure that all children in Edgartown, with parental consent, would be served.
If we had chosen to fluoridate our water, it would by no means have reached all of our children or citizens. In fact, no specific or accurate data on the actual number or demographics of Edgartown’s population that would have been served exists. Though I am not certain if this is the case in Oak Bluffs as well.
Currently the CDC states that sealants are initially 81 percent effective, and water fluoridation is 25 percent, effective at reducing cavities. The estimate of $640,00 for fluoridating our water could translate to $1,929 toward dental care for each and every one of the students in Edgartown, and hopefully would cost a lot less than that per child.
Debra M. Gaines
Edgartown
The post A focused alternative to fluoridation appeared first on The Martha's Vineyard Times.