Pinellas County commissioners should act soon to add fluoride to the county water supply. They have wrung their hands too long over an issue that has been resolved by nearly every responsible health organization. There is no doubt that fluoridated water dramatically improves dental health in children and adults.
More than 65 percent of Americans served by a public water system drink fluoridated water, and it is the major reason tooth decay has declined overall in recent years. That has contributed to an even wider health advantage, because dental infections have been linked to other illnesses.
Dr. David Satcher, the past U.S. surgeon general, put the matter in perspective: "Community water fluoridation remains one of the great achievements of public health in the 20th century."
The benefit has not been available to customers of the Pinellas County water system, however, which serves two-thirds of the county's population. (Meanwhile, St. Petersburg and some other Pinellas cities have fluoridated their water for years without complaint.) Past county commissions have considered fluoridation, then dropped the idea in the face of a small, sometimes fanatical group of critics who try to scare the public into believing fluoridation is not safe. Yet study after study has disproved that claim.
Those who are afraid to act suggest waiting for yet another study. There is no justifiable reason for further delay.
It is time for commissioners to make a decision based on science, not emotion. The benefits of fluoridated water are obvious, the fears irrational.
