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Fluoride bill looks like a dead issue – Supporters don't have enough votes to get the proposal going
The Oregonian – June 20, 2007
A bill backing statewide water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay is stuck in the Joint Ways and Means Committee without the votes to move it to either house before the Legislature adjourns. That means Oregon will retain, at least until next year, its ranking as the third-least fluoridated state in the nation, behind Hawaii and New Jersey. Only one in five Oregonians uses water with fluoride in it. (more...)
The Oregonian – May 7, 2007
The gap in Oregon's smile – Those trips to the dentist might not be so long and costly if lawmakers made water fluoridation a state priority
The Oregonian – May 3, 2007
Oregon isn't known for its movie star teeth, unless you count horror movies. Children here are significantly more likely to have decaying teeth than the national average, and their parents have a higher rate of missing teeth than adults in other states. It doesn't seem to matter that Oregon children use dental sealants more often, or that Oregon adults visit the dentist at close to the national rate: Our teeth just keep rotting, spurred on by two giant gaps in the state's health care system.
First, Oregon ranks 48th in the nation for fluoridating its water. Residents of Portland, Gresham, Hillsboro and scores of other cities go without. State lawmakers may address this problem by voting on a fluoride bill as soon as this week. (more...)
Fluoridation clears committee
Oregon Public Broadcasting – April 28, 2007
A bill to require cities with populations of 10,000 or more to fluoridate their water cleared a House committee in Salem yesterday with no recommendation. The hotly debated issue goes to the House floor for debate. A similar Senate bill has yet to get a hearing. Oregon ranks 48th among states in percentage of residents with fluoridated water, which has been shown to deter tooth decay. Federal health officials estimate that every dollar invested in fluoridation saves $38 in reduced dental costs. But in Oregon, a coalition of antigovernment conservatives, advocates of local control and environmentalists, have blocked statewide fluoridation.
Fluoridation bill moves
The Oregonian – April 28, 2007
A bill requiring cities to add fluoride to their water to prevent tooth decay cleared a House Committee on Friday without a recommendation as to whether it should pass.
The move sends the passionately argued fluoridation bill to the House floor. A similar Senate bill has yet to get a hearing. (more...)
It's time for Oregon to fluoridate water
The Oregonian – April 13, 2007
By Mark O. Hatfield
I was struck by the first sentence of a Feb. 1 story in The Oregonian ("Mention fluoride, and fight's on"): "Decades after most of the rest of the nation accepted adding fluoride to the water supply to prevent tooth decay, the issue remains a flash point in Oregon."
I find it disappointing that, after 50 years of debate, Oregon lawmakers appear frozen in time. It is hoped that this session the Legislature finally will act to require fluoride in water supplies serving communities of 10,000 or more.
In 1952, when I served in the Oregon House of Representatives, the board of the national Parent-Teacher Association recommended local PTAs work for fluoridation of community water supplies. It was an important public health issue then, especially for children. It still is today. (more...)
Support fluoridation of public water supplies
Statesman Journal (Salem) – April 13, 2007
By James K. Lace
Drinking optimally fluoridated community water has helped to prevent needless suffering from dental disease. The CDC has cited community water fluoridation as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. It is included along with adding Vitamin D to milk to prevent rickets, adding iodine to salt to prevent thyroid disease and adding chlorine to water supplies to prevent transmission of harmful microorganisms. (more...)
Lebanon still waiting for results of fluoridation – Dentists say benefits will take a generation to show up
Albany Democrat Herald – April 12, 2007
By Patrick Lair
LEBANON — Less than six years after Lebanon began fluoridating its drinking water, dentists say it’s too early to see results. But they want to keep the project going.
Lebanon started adding fluoride to its water in the fall of 2001 in line with a City Council decision in January 2000.
The benefits of fluoridation would be hard to measure in the population of my practice after just this amount of time, said Dennis Clark, who’s practiced dentistry in Lebanon for 25 years. “The beneficial effects will be most observable in a generation.” (more...)
Water fluoridation edit based in myth
Corvallis Gazette Times – April 10, 2007
I am disappointed. It appears that our editor is using the same old scare tactics against water fluoridation.
The annual cost of water fluoridation runs between 50 cents and $3. For every dollar invested in water fluoridation, about $38 in dental treatment is saved. This is especially important for today’s children, where tooth decay is the most common disease.
Compared with communities without water fluoridation in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, communities with water fluoridation have 15-40 percent less tooth decay. (more...)
Oregon fluoride bill inches forward – A House panel moves the plan along but without a recommendation
The Oregonian – April 4, 2007
A proposal to add fluoride to Oregon's water supply to prevent tooth decay stayed alive -- barely -- in the Oregon House on Tuesday.
After two hours of sharply divided testimony, the House health policy subcommittee voted to move the fluoridation bill to the full House Committee on Health Care but without a recommendation on its merits. (more...)
Officials renew debate about mandated fluoridation – Bills have stalled in the past three legislative sessions
Statesman Journal (Salem) – April 4, 2007
Oregon's perennial tug-of-war about adding fluoride to the water supply in cities with more than 10,000 residents resurfaced Tuesday at the state Capitol, with a familiar cast of adversaries facing off about the benefits and risks of mandated fluoridation. (more...)
Fluoride Debate Heats Up In Oregon House
OPB –April 4, 2007
SALEM, OR 2007 – Oregon lawmakers are once again taking up the contentious issue of fluoride in drinking water. As Correspondent Chris Lehman reports, the proposal has failed several times in Salem and it appears to have an uphill battle this time as well.
Fluoride in drinking water has been hailed as one of the biggest public health policy achievements of the 20th century. But most people in Oregon drink water without fluoride. (more...)
Fluoride bill back before Legislature
Medford Mail Tribune –April 4, 2007
SALEM — The biennial battle over fluoridation to promote dental health surfaced again Tuesday in the Legislature.
The Health Care Subcommittee on Health Policy held the first public hearing on a bill mandating that municipal water systems serving 10,000 or more customers add fluoride to their drinking water. Invited testimony only was taken, with each side limited to approximately 50 minutes. (more...)
Winners and losers from across the nation (editorial)
Statesman Journal ( Salem) – March 16, 2007
WINNER: Fluoridated water. Salem, Keizer and Dallas residents have it, helping prevent tooth decay and related disease. But about four-fifths of Oregonians don't, ranking the state 48th in the nation for fluoridated water. House Bill 3099 would require fluoridation of water supplies that serve 10,000 or more residents.
Mention fluoride, and fight's on
The Oregonian – February 1, 2007
Drinking water - As the fluoridation debate rages in Oregon, a bill stalls in committee
Decades after most of the rest of the nation accepted adding fluoride to the water supply to prevent tooth decay, the issue remains a flashpoint in Oregon. (more...)
More than just a pretty smile
The Oregonian – January 21, 2007
Only the rich or uninformed could love Oregon's record of ignoring fluoride and let teeth rot where they may
Commentary by Susan Nielsen
Rich people with beautiful teeth may have no idea what I'm talking about. Their teeth are private treasures, to be whitened like fine cotton and tended like box hedges. Their smiles aren't a matter of public health, but of personal pride. (more...)
Law would require fluoride in water
Supporters optimistic Senate bill can pass
Medford Mail Tribune – January 14, 2007
SALEM – The Oregon Dental Association has launched a new drive for a state law that would require domestic water suppliers that serve more than 10,000 customers to fluoridate their drinking water. (more...)
Dental Groups Want Mandatory Water Fluoridation
Oregon Public Broadcasting – January 11, 2007
A coalition of dental groups is pushing a bill that would put fluoride in tap water across much of Oregon. (more...)
New Report Finds Serious Oral Disease Problem in Oregon
Salem-News.com – November 17.2006
( SALEM) - Oral disease is a serious, often overlooked public health problem that affects the majority of Oregonians during their lifetime, according to a new report from the Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Division. (more...)
