Did you know Walton county's water is NOT fluoridated?

I don't know if that is good news or bad news.

I was just informed by my daughter's pediatrition that our water does not have fluoride in it. I am shocked!!! I contacted regional utilites and they confirmed it. They didn't really know why though. Does anyone know why we don't have fluoride in our water?

I don't know if that is good news or bad news.

I was just informed by my daughter's pediatrition that our water does not have fluoride in it. I am shocked!!! I contacted regional utilites and they confirmed it. They didn't really know why though. Does anyone know why we don't have fluoride in our water?

I think whether it's good or bad depends on how much access to healthcare and dentistry you and your family enjoy.

I hope those of you who do rejoice in the fact that we've managed to keep fluoride out of the water supply here in Walton County are generous in your support of the Children's Volunteer Health Network. They do a lot of good work for children in the less fortunate part so of the community where many children suffer -- truly suffer -- from horrible dental problems.

One more -

DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH FLUORIDE

Happy reading!;-)

And six more-

REVIEW OF FLUORIDE: BENEFITS AND RISKS

Fluoride Benefits

Benefits - Fact Sheets - Community Water Fluoridation - Oral Health

Benefits of Fluoride

Why Fluoridation Is Important

Fluoride - Benefits to Teeth

Ho-boy, time to dust off the tin foil berets again:roll:

Fluoridation of drinking water is safe. Fluoridation of drinking water is beneficial to public health. Period.

Wingnuts have been trying to blame every malady known to man on water fluoridation, but as is always the case in these type scares, the proof for cause and effect is lacking (closely related scares are vaccination and aspartame).

So while there is no shortage of worthless websites that can be posted here to scare the bejeezum out of people regrding fluoride, I will post one from the CDC that has cited case studies for reference, and there is no pitch for herbal remedy/detox crap to 'rid your body of fluoride' anywhere to be found.

Safety - Community Water Fluoridation - Oral Health

If you want to prove there is a link between fluoridated water and bad health, it would be easy enough as municipal water is only partially fluoridated in the Florida panhandle. If the assertions put forth by the cuckoobirds are true, we could expect to see a signifigantly less healthy populace in the 'fluoridated sample' versus that in the 'unfluoridated sample'. Of course, this will prove to be impossible, so back to posting links to junk websites. Oh well.

Local dentists do give fluoride treatments. The problem is that dentists are few and far between in this community. A further complication is that there are not many dentists who participate with insurance companies, and every dentist I'm aware of requires payment in full at the time of service. They also require a full set of x-rays at a pretty high mark-up for an initial visit. Dental care is cost prohibitive to the working poor and those who just manage to get by, and for those on Medicaid it is virtually impossible to find a dentist willing to accept Medicaid.

We forget that we live in a big county, and most of the people who live in Walton County do so on $26,000 a year or less. Many, many people do not have access to adequate dental care. In many communities, there is a belief that the baby teeth will just fall out, so there is no point in taking a child to the dentist. There are so many areas I've come across where the children have little brown teeth and cover their mouths when they smile. I also personally know of two children from different families in our community who went to bed tonight with major dental pain from abscesses and exposed pulp, and will go to bed in pain for at least a couple of weeks waiting for a Medicaid slot to open for one and a church to raise money for the other.

If we can't tolerate the easy solution to the problem -- fluorinated water -- then we should have the decency to insure these children have access to dental care.

Rapunzel -

In all fairness, don't you think you're leaving a major factor out of your equation? Sugar?

It's pretty well known that the cheaper foods are commonly "packed" with sugar and these foods become very popular when income evades. Look at Walmart's earnings compared to say, Fresh Market. And I also think it's pretty well known that refined sugar "attacks the bones", starting with the teeth.

And there's plenty of things the state could do for our children, but doesn't. I'd be more than happy to apply more of my tax dollars to our children and even pay more, but unfortunately the government seems to have free rein lately - let's just say their kinda hard to talk to.

Maybe in an indirect way this thread will start some kind of awareness and action for the children that need it. But please don't make us all drink their fluorinated water.

(Wow - that last guy was kinda loud!)

I'm not suggesting you drink the fluoride. I am just urging you to support the only organization in our area that seems to be doing anything to protect children's teeth in this area if you're going to oppose fluoridation. I think many people lose sight of how large this county really is, and how many of it's people live on the margins. I've been blessed to have to do a lot of volunteer work up in DeFuniak and further north in the last few months, and it's really opened my eyes to how much of a bubble we live in down here in SoWal. I think I'm safe in saying most people in our community (Walton County) don't have access -- whether they can't afford the prices or the two hour drive from Paxton -- to Fresh Market through no particular fault of their own.

And yes, while sugar is probably a big part of the problem, a child isn't really able to make their own food choices and shouldn't be blamed. Fluoride might give them some protection. But, if the tiny amounts of fluoride that would provide that protection are that objectionable (and remember, fluoride is naturally occuring in many water systems, and the fact that the people living in areas with naturally fluoridated water had healthier teeth prompted the discovery -- fluoride is a supplement, like vitamin C 18th century sailors -- a megadose of vitamin C can do harm) then I encourage you to embrace the yin and yang of your position and really get involved in doing something to help children in urgent need of help.

Children's Volunteer Health Network has a bus that is a dental lab. They visit area schools and give fluoride treatments, cleanings, teach kids to brush, etc. That is why I mentioned CVHN in an earlier post. As far as children in need of dental care -- it's a major problem in this county.

I'm all about the ethics of the yin and yang of issues lately. I think some of us often forget the unintended consequences of our passionate beliefs. Fluoride is a cheap fix for a complex problem. I'm not a particular fan of fluoridated water, but I'd take it over the knowledge that a five year old needs $450 before she can have an abcess treated (her physician did give antibiotics to control the infection, but the nerve is still exposed), and her parents are service industry workers who won't be able to come up with that kind of money until the season gets back in swing. In the meantime, she's in terrible pain. If you really hate the idea of fluoride, I just encourage you to actively do something to help these children -- whether it's giving to CVHN or working to improve the diets of local children (Kendra with the IFAS Extension service is working on a slow food project you could get involved with). If you do choose the more difficult row to hoe, I have nothing but respect and support for your position on fluoride.

I grew up taking fluoride tablets because our rural well water wasn't fluoridated, then moved to a "city area" where our water had flouride in it.

Amazingly, I have good teeth and have not suffered major health problems or needed a new age cleanse to correct this craziness. :roll:

P.S. Most people need a severe reality check as to what dangerous stuff in their water REALLY is. If it's plentiful, clear and you don't have to strain floaties or sediment out of it, you are doing better than most of the planet!

My teen-age son spent much of his life, and all of his early years, drinking (unfluoridated) well water - and has not had one single cavity. I was raised on the citified, fluoridated stuff and have a mouthful of silver. Go figure.

If you want fluoride, by all means add it to your own water, but please leave mine alone.[/QUOTE]

I agree - My wingnut doctor also agrees

I grew up taking fluoride tablets because our rural well water wasn't fluoridated, then moved to a "city area" where our water had flouride in it.

Amazingly, I have good teeth and have not suffered major health problems or needed a new age cleanse to correct this craziness. :roll:

P.S. Most people need a severe reality check as to what dangerous stuff in their water REALLY is. If it's plentiful, clear and you don't have to strain floaties or sediment out of it, you are doing better than most of the planet!

My teen-age son spent much of his life, and all of his early years, drinking (unfluoridated) well water - and has not had one single cavity. I was raised on the citified, fluoridated stuff and have a mouthful of silver. Go figure.

If you want fluoride, by all means add it to your own water, but please leave mine alone.