Photo: The treatment plant in Marlborough will be offline for the next three months.
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority will shut down the fluoride feed that supplies Belmont for approximately 90 days starting this week as part of a project to replace portions of a 20-year-old fluoride feed piping and equipment at the Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough that serves two million customers in 47 communities in MetroWest and metro Boston.
“While fluoridation is important for dental health, health officials indicate that this short-term shutdown does not require any special additional action by consumers,” said an MWRA press release.
“MWRA has been adding fluoride to the water since the 1970s to reduce tooth decay and promote community public health,” said Fred Laskey, MWRA’s executive director. “Like most other water suppliers, we follow the recommendations of the CDC, as well as the World Health Organization and the American Dental Association. These are the public health experts, and we look to them for guidance on this important issue.”
For questions about the fluoridation project, contact the MWRA at 617-242-5323 or ask.mwra@mwra.com
Modern science indicates that ingested fluoride isn’t a nutrient or essential for healthy teeth as it was believed to be when artificial fluoridation began in the early 1900’s Old time dentists thought they had their magic bullet with fluoride when vitamins and minerals were just being discovered to “cure” (prevent) disease. But after 78 years of water fluoridation reaching record numbers of Americans via the water, foods made with that water and from dental products, the US faces a tooth decay epidemic. More dentists and more dental schools and more dental professionals have been created. And low income folks still must get dental care in hospital ER’s because most dentists won’t treat Medicaid patients and the American Dental Association successfully lobbied to have dental excluded from Medicare.