Monday, February 7, 2011
Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I confess, I’m writing this after the fact and the events may not match the dates perfectly. History may never forgive me.
Calgary City Council voted to stop adding fluoride to the water supply.
This is one of the hottest issues, perennially, in Calgary. We got fluoride added after a couple of plebiscites said, “No” and then one said, “Yes”, about 25 years ago. Before then, people who wanted fluoride for themselves or their children had to get it in little bottles and add it in drops to their water at home.
I was taught that fluoride is essential for strong teeth and bones, but that too much or too little is harmful. There is an optimal range, and that is what the addition of the fluoride to the water supply was aiming for.
One lady called in to the radio and said that by boiling water for babies’ bottles, parents were changing the fluoride concentration, I think by a factor of 40. I don’t know how that fits within the optimal range, or whether it’s true, but it’s certainly something to check out if you’re in that position.
Which we now won’t be.
I expect the health unit will advise us to add fluoride into our water at home if we have kids or perhaps if we are at risk of osteoporosis.
I don’t mind. I want it, and I’ll add it. I am happy to let people who don’t want it make their own informed choice.
I also hope those same people are scrupulous about their children’s diets and dental hygiene, because the absence of fluoride will mean extra care is required to keep the teeth and bones healthy.
Wonder how long it will be before we have another fluoride discussion.
jill