Fine with me. You self-reliant types can go get your water somewheres else.

Don't most people get enough fluoride protection from, like, brushing their teeth?

Fluoride isn't free. The cost of this town keeps rising by leaps and bounds. When will it end?

Take the money, and provide free dental care for every Portland child, and do a public information campaign to get kids off sugar. It would cost less, be far more humane and produce a better outcome.

I find it ironic that those advocating a clean smile sport a dirty smirk.

"Admiral Randy's hellbent on doing it"

He needs to make sure his next job with the flouridation company is well-funded.

First comes the fluoride. Next there will be forced vaccinations and rampant autism.

I already need to wear my cell phone wave jamming hat everywhere and take my daily iodine pill. Enough is enough!

Great. Not only will our water bill go up (again), but now we'll start having to buy bottled water too.

Form Letter 4887:

Hello J***,

Thank you for contacting Flouride Info.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having problems with tooth decay. I know they can be very annoying. Cavities are common in mouth areas, but there are ways to control them and make your mouth a less desirable home for them. There are also ways to manage your decaying teeth outside to deter cavities. We did answer questions about cavities from a few customers during the summer months of the pilot. So far, we’ve had success in controlling them.

Inside the house:
First, keep your mouth tightly closed when you are not using it. You may want to store your teeth in a cabinet when you are not actively using them. Also it is important to empty your mouth frequently into your Portland Composts! Roll cart.

I know change can be difficult. But every step we take to reduce what is being taken to the landfills is a step in the right direction.

We do appreciate hearing from people, whether it’s comments and concerns, or helpful hints.

I hope the information above with help with the decay issues.

Regards,
Lithium Next

Michelle,
Who would have ever thought the timing of this,
how handy that Nestle will be able to provide bottled water
for us to buy now!

If fluoridated water is such a good idea, why didn't Mayor Creepy or the Fireman undertake this initiative before they were lame ducks?

More to the point: who's paying Weiner's invoice this time?

By the time they get done adulterating Portland's famous (probably soon-to-be formerly) pure mountain drinking water, there'll be no one left to care whether or not its recycled urine and waste.

The goody-too-shoes who continue to push their agenda upon the residents now include forced medication on the public is absolutely to much. "Fluoridosis" will be the next scourge upon the public, and will begin to manifest it self 10 years from now. Children with hard tooth enamel, and grey teeth will begin to be more prevalent, older residents with brittle bones all because of fluoridated water.

The horses figured out that the fluoridated water was toxic, why can't the people? See 'Poisoned Horses'.
http://www.fluoridealert.org/videos.aspx

Local dentist Dr. Bill Osmunson video about effects of fluoride.
http://www.fluoridealert.org/videos.aspx

City of Portland is going backwards on this issue.

Fish ought to pack his suitcase and go back to New York. He is not representing the wishes of the people here who have voted no to this several times and do not want their drinking water medicated with fluorosilicic acid, a toxic waste byproduct of the phosphate mining industry.
http://www.naturalnews.com/030952_CDC_fluoride.html

The pathetic thing about this is that Fish must already know this, and if he doesn't, he should do the research and stop listening to lobbyists and once again going along with Leonard and the PWB.
In my opinion, using the children on this matter as an excuse is the biggest con the children have ever been used for and they have been used and abused, the very children who will have no say about what is given to them to drink. This will especially affect poor children whose families cannot buy their way out of this by buying bottled water.
With the economy going sour, there might be many more who cannot afford the change of our water, we need to keep the good tap water we have now, one of the best in the country. This is pathetically about who can make more money here and not about the overall health of our community.

I don't get it--we're still fighting this issue?

So, since the majority of people in the US drink fluoridated water, there must be ample, peer-reviewed evidence of "fluoridosis," yes?

Those of us who can afford to buy not only bottled water, but fluoride treatments for our children, know personally both it's efficacy and lack of visible side effects.

The ADA has endorsed fluoridation (not only treatments but in the water supply) for a long time, which is not exactly a conflict of interest, since cavities are getting harder to come by with fluoride treatments.

Jack, I agree completely with your objection to the typical secretive, autocratic process the loons in charge insist upon, but wonder what objections you have to fluoridation itself.

"Rampant autism," my Aunt Fanny.

Facts?

Are you saying that a child (actually, the parents), coming into a public-school system, should be able to choose whether or not they can be infectious or not?

clinamen, you are exactly right. There is alot of money and very little conscience involved with the fluoride issue. Off hand I don't remember the name of the dentist/lobbyist, who is pushing fluoride on the indigenous populations in Alaska, but his named popped up in several fluoride campaigns, I wouldn't be surprised if he is one of many behind this campaign.

I wish they would just do fluoride rinses at school instead of having everyone drink the stuff.

Maybe because most people are not in school. Adults get cavities, too.

Unless you really believe the amount of fluoride in the water is really harmful, it makes sense.

Do you feel the same way about chlorine in the water supply? Should we not have anything added to our water?

I don't have a problem with that argument, provided there is something behind it other than fear or hearsay. And right now, I think the public-health arguments prevail.

Let's add vitamins, too. And flavoring, so that kids will drink more of it and not become dehydrated.

Tom R, you want info? Here's one source:
http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/brain/index.html

Another:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/03/paul-connett-fluoride.aspx

Crackpottery, right?

Let's take this a bit further:

http://www.fluoridealert.org/toothpaste.htm

From the Wiki article about Florine:

Fluoride ion, when directly applied to teeth, reduces decay and for this reason is used in toothpaste and municipal water fluoridation. (Emphasis mine)

Notice it did not say drink. It said directly applied, which you can do by a mouthwash. So, what about the residual, entering the gut? Since Florine is the most active halogen, why would anyone want to ingest it? Don't swallow the toothpaste, but drink the water (and eat soups prepared with fluoridated water, summer drinks like lemonade, beer)

What does the EPA say about this chemical added to the water? Where does the waste wind up?

Ah, yes! Crackpotty!

There is a ton of scientific research on why this is a really, really bad idea.

For all those folks thinking Government wouldn't do this if is wasn't safe, geez who many examples do you need to prove that is patently false?

This is just another example of fascism in action - government run by and for business without any citizen involvement.

FACT:

In western Europe, most countries have rejected water fluoridation, including: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland.

As other countries reject this poison, we are now going to add it?

Wonder what the brewers have to say about this.

Recent customer at my berry booth said: "Next they'll be forcing us to vaccinate our kids for diseases that don't exist in the US."

Jesus...

1. Vaccination is the reason they don't exist.

2. The entire planet can be reached in less than a day, so local eradication of typhoid is irrelevant.

Thanks for all the good information. It's been a long time since my kids were kids and we had to think about fluoride. We gave our kids fluoride drops when they were very young, but after good oral hygiene, sealants made the biggest difference in their lack of cavities. After about age 35 or so, the incidence of cavities drops off, so the fluoride treatments are really meant for children, not the general population. Shouldn't we be treating just the children?

For the first 30 years of my life I lived in cities with fluoridated water. Zero cavities. Not genetically strong teeth, either. Correlation or causation, I want fluoridated water for my infant daughter.

Read up on what kind of fluoride is being used and where it is coming from, it may be a different kind than the one you grew up on. If you read below you will find that silicofluorides have not been rigorously tested for safety. I would question why you would want this type of fluoride for your infant daughter. At any rate, there are many of us are concerned about overall health issues. One cannot separate the issue here and say good for the teeth, let us all drink it and never mind what other side effects there might be as long as it is good for the teeth. There are opposing views as to how good it really is so would be best to be prudent.

Then there is a kind of ugly side to this - a big "push" by some who want to "impose" their will on others who refuse. People should have a right to say NO to drinking this, and those who want it so badly can get it in other ways. In Europe for example it can be in salt. People who don't want it can buy a fluoride free salt such as toothpaste can be purchased fluoride free.

This questionable product simply does not belong in a very basic need, our drinking water. I wonder how much money will be spent on the campaign to try to convince us otherwise. Worse yet, trying to convince us that to believe studies opposing are considered crackpottery and then our council fast tracking trampling over our community and surrounding communities that apparently hadn't even been lobbied or informed. But why bother with the public or those other water users, when this "push" can work so well with just getting three people to vote for it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation_controversy

An epidemiological connection between silicofluorides, an industrial byproduct which is used to fluoridate much of the U.S. water, and lead uptake in children was observed in a 2000 study.[24] A 2006 U.S. CDC-funded study was unable to replicate the results,[25] which the original researchers responded to in a 2007 rebuttal.[26] Aside from the lead connection, concerns are raised as to whether silicofluorides might have different effects on the body than sodium fluorides, and silicofluorides have not been rigorously tested for safety.[2

Not that it means anything, but funny nevertheless..

When my wife first visited the dentist here, upon examining her cavity-free maw he said---

"No cavities or fillings---you didn't grow up here did you! Hahaha!"

Prior to Portland, I'd always lived in cities with fluoridated water and have suffered no ill-effects I can determine, and have had few cavities. I'm not sure what the big deal is.

Residents against Fluoride in Portland's drinking water can sign Change.org petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/city-council-of-portland-oregon-don-t-fluoridate-portland-s-drinking-water