To fluoride or not to fluoride: That is the drinking water question in SW Washington
Jan 29, 2025, 2:30 PM | Updated: Jan 30, 2025, 9:13 am
The idea of adding fluoride has come up again in three southwest Washington cities. (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Three cities in Southwest Washington have joined the list of communities nationally that have revisited the issue of adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water.
City council members in Longview plan to discuss the issue Thursday during a public debate-style workshop, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. Battle Ground waded into the debate earlier this month and the Camas City Council plans to hold a hearing in March. The meetings held or planned so far have all been informational only.
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Debate on fluoride rekindled
The debate has gained new traction after a federal judge in California last year ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate fluoride in drinking water further because high levels could pose a risk to the intellectual development of children. It also comes as the U.S. Senate weighs President Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has said he wants the federal government to advise local governments against putting fluoride in their drinking water.
More than 70% of the U.S. population that uses public drinking water systems has access to water with fluoride levels that prevent tooth decay, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At a Jan. 6 Battle Ground City Council study session, Battle Ground Deputy Mayor Shane Bowman weighed the city’s cost of spending between $10,000 and $15,000 a year on fluoridation against the outcomes of improved oral health for residents.
“I don’t know if you’ve taken your kid to a pediatric dentist, but that’s very minimal — $10,000-$15,000 – when you think about the difference it is for the kids that maybe don’t have the access to dental health,” Bowman said.
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World Health Organization: Fluoride has both positive and negative effects
According to the World Health Organization: “Fluoride intake has both beneficial effects – in reducing the incidence of dental caries – and negative effects – in causing tooth enamel and skeletal fluorosis following prolonged high exposure. The ranges of intakes producing these opposing effects are not far apart.”
Critics contend that adding fluoride to public drinking water is outdated and say its use should be a matter of personal choice.
Portland, Oregon, is the largest U.S. city that does not fluoridate its water.
Contributing: Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest
