Whiteville decides to add fluoride to water

By NICOLE CARTRETTE

Drinking water in the city of Whiteville has never been fluoridated.

On Tuesday night, council voted unanimously to change that.

The decision comes after weeks of deliberation over the cost, safety and method used to add the “cavity fighter” to city drinking water.

Even if the city can’t win a federal grant to pay for the $40,000 start-up cost, councilman Tim Blackmon said the city should start the program.

Despite some discussion over the cost that will require the city to dip into the fund balance, Blackmon’s motion passed.

Eager to do something about the large number of children he has seen with rotten teeth in his pediatric practice, Dr. Randolph Matthews advocated that the city and county add fluoride to prevent tooth decay. He leads an effort to pursue a grant to pay for the implementation.

Dr. William Maultsby, a retired dentist, said many larger cities such as Charlotte fluoridate water.

“If it’s good for them I don’t know why it’s not good for Whiteville,” Maultsby said. “If you have seen what I have seen there would be no question.”

Council decided at a June 27 meeting that more information was needed after Azure Spivey, head of the water department, presented N.C Public Water Supply information that suggests fluoridation of groundwater is not recommended.

Matthews and Spivey told council Tuesday that fluoride could be added to the water without dumping it directly into the wells.

It can be added in the pipes after it is pumped out of the city’s wells, similar to the way chlorine is added Mathews told council.

Councilman Howard Jones said he was not aware of any cities he had managed needing additional manpower for fluoridation.

Spivey asserted that he has needed an additional operator for years to handle the current workload.

The only opposition to fluoridation came in the form of an article suggesting fluoride was unsafe. A concerned citizen dropped off a copy of the article at city hall.

“A lot of information from these special reports use twisted information,” Matthews defended the practice that has existed for 60 years in the U.S.

The only known risk of excessive fluoride usage is a mild cosmetic effect of “white lacy markings across the tooth’s surface” – fluorosis, Matthews said.

The American Dental Association, U.S. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute and Centers for Disease Control (CDC), among others, recommend fluoridation.

North Carolina is ranked 18th in fluoridation, according to a 2002 CDC report that indicated 84.6 percent of the state was on fluoridated water systems.

Prior to implementation an application must be submitted to the state. A number of safety precautions including feeding equipment specifications and safety guidelines must be met.